Democratic Foreign Policy Figures Press for Intervention in Syria
Former Defense Secretary William Perry and former Obama administration officials Ann-Marie Slaughter and Dennis Ross add to pressure on the White House from regional allies and Republican rivals.
President Obama’s vow to limit U.S. involvement in the Syrian civil war is being criticized from a usually sympathetic quarter: the Democratic foreign policy establishment.
Senior Democratic foreign policy figures, along with diplomats who have worked for Democratic administrations, are saying the administration needs to do more to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe and preserve U.S. influence in a key Mideast state.
The views of these figures, including former Clinton administration Defense Secretary William Perry and former Obama administration officials Ann-Marie Slaughter and Dennis Ross, add to pressure on the White House from regional allies and Republican rivals as the Syrian conflict has intensified.
Photos: Syria conflict [Graphic content]
“You’ve seen more calls for action, starting on the right and now on the left,” said Jamie Fly, executive director of the Foreign Policy Initiative, a conservative group that advocates a strongerU.S. militaryrole in Syria. He said the evolving nature of the war — including the regime’s use of more deadly aircraft, the rising death toll and fear of a growing terrorist presence — has led to more voices calling for action.
The Obama administration has imposed sanctions and diplomatic pressure on the regime of President Bashar Assad. It also is providing nonlethal aid, such as communications gear, to the Syrian rebels.
But the White House fears that military involvement could intensify a sectarian proxy war, and it worries about divisions among world powers and war-weariness at home. Also, Syria has formidable Russian-built air defenses that are supported by Russian personnel.
Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told MSNBC on Thursday that “the reality is that a no-fly zone is not a simple proposition” and would involve putting in troops as well as destroying air defenses “that are among the most sophisticated in the world.”
The Democratic critics, while stopping short of proposing a ground invasion, maintain that more must be done.