Hadi al-Bahra, the former president of the Syrian National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, said that the US administration has finally folded the page on its cooperation with the al-Assad regime in the fight against the Islamic State forces and pointed out that the truth of the al-Assad regime is more exposed than ever before.
In an interview with Zaman al-Wasl, al-Bahra discussed the changing American policies on Syria and the al-Assad regime. He said that the American administration’s priorities have not changed and their main aim is still eliminating the Islamic State. However, he stressed that the Syrian opposition must organize itself politically and militarily.
- Everyone is wondering after the massacre of Khan Shaykhun and the American strike: has America changed towards Syria?
In reality, the recent American position towards Syria which came as a response to the regime’s recent crimes against innocent civilians, targeting them with chemical weapons, is considered a fundamental and important change in America’s policies and priorities in Syria. It can be said based on the recent American action that this new administration has turned the page of accepting cooperation with the Bashar al-Assad regime in the war on terror. It clearly outlines that security and peace cannot be achieved in Syria in the presence of al-Assad. It even considers that the continuation of the al-Assad regime impedes reaching a political settlement.
It seems that the crime of al-Assad in Khan Shaykhun was the last nail in the coffin of any role played by al-Assad in the fight against terrorism. This crime revealed more today about the nature and truth of this bloody regime.
Do you think the American strike has set limits for the regime?
Certainly, the American military strike on the al-Shayrat airport that holds the chemical stockpile put an end to the imaginary red lines which former US President Barack Obama spoke of. The red lines are now effective, and the message is clear that the United States will not stand by idle in the event of a threat to its national security, but the declared priorities of US policies are still the same.
What are the priorities of US policy?
First, the American focus is largely on eliminating the Islamic State, Al Qaeda, and the organizations associated with them in accordance with Security Council resolutions. Second, comes their efforts to achieve stability in the areas liberated from the Islamic State and the other terrorist organizations. Third, according to the American priorities is achieving orderly political transition in Syria through a political settlement which guarantees al-Assad’s departure from power at its beginning.
-Disintegration of Assad Army-
In your opinion what are the American fears about the situation in Syria?
The US administration and the rest of the world's influential powers still fear that the Islamic State or al-Qaeda may take control of Syria if the al-Assad regime falls and the army disintegrates into militias before they are defeated. For this reason, they see that it is necessary to have an organized political transition but after eliminating these groups. During a meeting with the Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that his country wants a political transition and an organized departure for al-Assad.
Anyone who knows Syria’s history and the Syrian people knows that extremists will not rule in Syria because the Syrian people’s history and diversity will not accept such extremist forces.
-Defeating Terrorism-
In all honesty and transparency are Syrians capable of confronting the Islamic State?
This question should be addressed to the American administration, but the question can be asked in another way: Is it be possible to defeat the terrorism represented in the Islamic State and others in Syria as long as this regime and its crimes continue, and the injustice against the Syrian people continues? What I would like to say and what we repeat in many meetings is that we as Syrians are the real stakeholders in eliminating terrorism in Syria and we are the only ones capable of uprooting it from the ground in our lands. There are real experiences from on the ground, including what happened in Jarablus and al-Bab, as the Euphrates Shield forces managed with Turkish support to expel the Islamic State from these areas because there is a will and support.
- But for the factions, terrorism is not only the Islamic State forces.
Indeed, in the eyes of the Syrians terrorism includes all the environments and causes that led to its existence in Syria, and at its helm the tyranny of the regime and its crimes in partnership with the sectarian militias sent by Iran to achieve the extension of its regional influence. There can be no successful policy against terrorism without dealing with its roots and the elements that feed into it. From this launch point, the American Administration sees the priority of stopping the extension of Iranian influence in the region and curbing its ambitions. Iran is one of the real obstacles to a political solution in Syria through the spread of sectarian militias everywhere.
-Organizing Opposition is Essential-
- At this stage, which can be called the American turn, what should the Syrian opposition do?
The Syrian opposition must reorganize itself politically and militarily based on the developments in international positions. It must prove its ability to fight terrorism and stop it, achieve stability in the areas under its areas influence and areas that will be liberated later from the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and any associated organizations to prove that it can achieve security, stability and protect all Syrians without discrimination.
In an interview with Zaman al-Wasl, al-Bahra discussed the changing American policies on Syria and the al-Assad regime. He said that the American administration’s priorities have not changed and their main aim is still eliminating the Islamic State. However, he stressed that the Syrian opposition must organize itself politically and militarily.
- Everyone is wondering after the massacre of Khan Shaykhun and the American strike: has America changed towards Syria?
In reality, the recent American position towards Syria which came as a response to the regime’s recent crimes against innocent civilians, targeting them with chemical weapons, is considered a fundamental and important change in America’s policies and priorities in Syria. It can be said based on the recent American action that this new administration has turned the page of accepting cooperation with the Bashar al-Assad regime in the war on terror. It clearly outlines that security and peace cannot be achieved in Syria in the presence of al-Assad. It even considers that the continuation of the al-Assad regime impedes reaching a political settlement.
It seems that the crime of al-Assad in Khan Shaykhun was the last nail in the coffin of any role played by al-Assad in the fight against terrorism. This crime revealed more today about the nature and truth of this bloody regime.
Do you think the American strike has set limits for the regime?
Certainly, the American military strike on the al-Shayrat airport that holds the chemical stockpile put an end to the imaginary red lines which former US President Barack Obama spoke of. The red lines are now effective, and the message is clear that the United States will not stand by idle in the event of a threat to its national security, but the declared priorities of US policies are still the same.
What are the priorities of US policy?
First, the American focus is largely on eliminating the Islamic State, Al Qaeda, and the organizations associated with them in accordance with Security Council resolutions. Second, comes their efforts to achieve stability in the areas liberated from the Islamic State and the other terrorist organizations. Third, according to the American priorities is achieving orderly political transition in Syria through a political settlement which guarantees al-Assad’s departure from power at its beginning.
-Disintegration of Assad Army-
In your opinion what are the American fears about the situation in Syria?
The US administration and the rest of the world's influential powers still fear that the Islamic State or al-Qaeda may take control of Syria if the al-Assad regime falls and the army disintegrates into militias before they are defeated. For this reason, they see that it is necessary to have an organized political transition but after eliminating these groups. During a meeting with the Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that his country wants a political transition and an organized departure for al-Assad.
Anyone who knows Syria’s history and the Syrian people knows that extremists will not rule in Syria because the Syrian people’s history and diversity will not accept such extremist forces.
-Defeating Terrorism-
In all honesty and transparency are Syrians capable of confronting the Islamic State?
This question should be addressed to the American administration, but the question can be asked in another way: Is it be possible to defeat the terrorism represented in the Islamic State and others in Syria as long as this regime and its crimes continue, and the injustice against the Syrian people continues? What I would like to say and what we repeat in many meetings is that we as Syrians are the real stakeholders in eliminating terrorism in Syria and we are the only ones capable of uprooting it from the ground in our lands. There are real experiences from on the ground, including what happened in Jarablus and al-Bab, as the Euphrates Shield forces managed with Turkish support to expel the Islamic State from these areas because there is a will and support.
- But for the factions, terrorism is not only the Islamic State forces.
Indeed, in the eyes of the Syrians terrorism includes all the environments and causes that led to its existence in Syria, and at its helm the tyranny of the regime and its crimes in partnership with the sectarian militias sent by Iran to achieve the extension of its regional influence. There can be no successful policy against terrorism without dealing with its roots and the elements that feed into it. From this launch point, the American Administration sees the priority of stopping the extension of Iranian influence in the region and curbing its ambitions. Iran is one of the real obstacles to a political solution in Syria through the spread of sectarian militias everywhere.
-Organizing Opposition is Essential-
- At this stage, which can be called the American turn, what should the Syrian opposition do?
The Syrian opposition must reorganize itself politically and militarily based on the developments in international positions. It must prove its ability to fight terrorism and stop it, achieve stability in the areas under its areas influence and areas that will be liberated later from the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and any associated organizations to prove that it can achieve security, stability and protect all Syrians without discrimination.