Ribal Al-Assad spoke today about Syria, the Middle East and the global threat of Islamic extremism to an audience at the FAES Foundation in Madrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FAES, the Foundation for Social Studies and Analysis is a private non-profit organization works in the sphere That of thoughts and political Proposals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Linked to the Popular Party Since its inception in 1989, FAES Foundation is presided by Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Aznar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FAES is a leading think tank Committed to nurturing the political thoughts and activities of the liberal and reformist centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The full text of his speech can be found below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before I begin, I want to say a few words about Islamism, which is a term you will hear a lot in the speech that follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Islamism is a political ideology that has corrupted and perverted the religion of Islam to suit its own vicious ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So when Islamists claim to be acting in the name of Islam when they attack close to home, in cities like Boston, New York, or San Bernadino \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 or abroad, as in Paris and Brussels\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 you shouldn\u2019t believe them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These people are not telling the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The truth is that Islam is a religion of peace, based on mercy and forgiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am Muslim, and I can tell you that my religion does not sanction the murder of innocents, or any of the other violence and oppression the Islamists themselves actually worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With that made clear, I want to move on to the topic of Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and explain how what began in that country as a government clampdown on a peaceful protest movement \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 was transformed into a vicious proxy war between external powers pursuing their own interests \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and how this external interference has gradually drawn in global powers\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 including Russia and the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For as you all know, in recent months Russia has become much more active in Syria\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 intervening directly to support the regime with 5,600 air strikes as of mid-January\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and an average of 100 missions per day since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is twice the number of sorties that have been flown by the US and its allies \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which have mostly been in support of Kurdish fighters \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 who are actually allies of the Syrian regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And even though the coalition\u2019s objectives are more limited than Russia\u2019s\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 focused as they are on helping the Kurds to tackle the Islamic State \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 it\u2019s clear that its efforts are not enough to be truly effective, especially when you compare them with the air campaigns carried out in Afghanistan and Iraq \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which were some 40 times the intensity of the coalition\u2019s current mission in Syria (!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until very recently, the US and Russia have taken directly opposing positions on the regime \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 with Russia committed to supporting it and the US committed to an opposition that, despite all hopes, is not moderate at all \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and although lately we have seen some signs of cooperation between the two countries over the conflict in Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 tensions between them remain very high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indeed, it was only two months ago that Russian Prime Minister Medvedev warned at the Munich Security Conference that a \u201cnew world war\u201d could break out if NATO ground troops were to enter Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which is a scenario Turkey seems to have been doing its best to bring about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its shooting down of a Russian jet last November, for example \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 was clearly an attempt to drag NATO into the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s worth noting that since the day the Russian jet was downed \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 Turkish incursions of Greek airspace \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which before that day had numbered over 2,000\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 were completely stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Turkey\u2019s gambit to drag in NATO failed \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and actually just gave the Russians a convenient excuse to deploy to Syria their S-400 air-defence missile system \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which is far more advanced than the S-300 system the West has long worried Russia would deliver to the Syrian regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This means that Russia has now imposed a de facto no fly zone over Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and now any country flying over Syria has to cooperate with the Russians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is all in addition to Russia having state of the art tanks and artillery on the ground \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 not to mention a submarine, the cruiser Moskva, and the warship Serpukhov in the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has also been reported that Russia has deployed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Within the context of the Syrian conflict, therefore\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 President Putin is therefore quite right to say that the policy of isolating Russia has definitively failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But there is still a significant danger that the conflict will escalate into a more serious clash between Russia and the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I sincerely hope that this danger will be averted, however \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and that instead the international community can come together to confront our common enemy \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which, as I will make clear in this speech, is global Islamic extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That will be the first step in bringing lasting peace to my country and the wider region \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which is necessary for its people to begin their journey to true freedom and democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But before I go on to talk about how the international community must respond today and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
tomorrow to the crisis in Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and about how it affects our own national security \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 let me look back to yesterday \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and talk a little about how this tragic situation came about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you are aware, the present conflict began in 2011 with a series of protests against the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
regime \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which were widely interpreted in the context of the so-called Arab Spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And many Syrians were indeed crying out for democratic reform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These good people didn\u2019t dream of igniting civil war when they took to the streets \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 but sadly their protests were hijacked by those who had a very different and much more sinister agenda \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and democratic leaders on the ground were pushed to the side by radicals committed to sectarian war and the imposition of brutal sharia law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which is why, to this day, the overwhelming majority of so-called opposition forces are in fact Islamic extremists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These extremists, I should add, are the first to admit that they love death, and want nothing more than to kill and to die in the service of their twisted ideology.\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and we need to remember that their ambitions are by no means limited to Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 but their goal is to establish an Islamic Caliphate under sharia law which stretches from Xinjiang in China to Andalusia in Spain \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 everywhere, in fact, where they see themselves as a majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So how exactly was this movement for freedom and democracy hijacked by jihadists who have absolutely no respect for freedom \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 or human rights \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026or the democratic process?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The answer is that powerful regional players have intervened in the conflict \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and are now effectively fighting a proxy war on Syrian soil, using these jihadists as their pawns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I’m sure you all know, the major rivalry in the Middle East is between Iran on one side and the Gulf states and Turkey on the other \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and all of these states are shamefully complicit in the catastrophe that has engulfed Syria and the wider Middle East \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 having manipulated the sectarian divide between Sunni and Shia Muslims to further their own interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One reason for the involvement of the Gulf states is that they feared the democratic forces unleashed by the Arab Spring \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 with its calls for dignity and popular representation \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and worried that similar uprisings could threaten their own autocratic and repressive regimes, through a kind of democratic domino effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hence from the very beginning they made sure that extremist elements infiltrated the Syrian opposition \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and used jihadist television stations to foment sectarian war rather than genuine democratic change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another reason for their intervention is that the leaders of Turkey and the Gulf states all believed that by intervening in Syria they could bring down the regime in a matter of months \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 thereby isolating Iran \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and bringing its nuclear programme to a halt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They also hoped to ensure that the new system would not be democratic and would be under their control \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 so they began competing with each other in their support for radical Islamist groups inside Syria who they expected to do their bidding when the regime fell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clearly not everything has gone according to their plan (!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now that Iran has signed its nuclear deal with the US, it is, in some ways, a partner of the West rather than its implacable enemy\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and with sanctions on the way to being lifted it is much better placed to further the strategy of expansion it has been pursuing since the invasion of Iraq \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which, I should add, effectively handed Iran control of most of that country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran is also now able to help finance Russia’s intervention in Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and better placed to deploy more of its own ground troops in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And as the recent visit of Revolutionary Guard Commander Qassem Soleimani to Russia reminds us \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 Iran still has an active alliance with Russia \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which, in fact, is about to supply Iran with the S-300 missile system \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 as well as a cadre of Sukhoi Su-30SM fighter jets and other advanced weaponry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran also announced not long ago that it had signed contracts with Russia worth a total of around 40 billion dollars for a variety of industrial and infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And while some observers have speculated that Iran’s intervention in Syria was about securing the nuclear programme \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 if anything, the reverse is true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran\u2019s nuclear programme, like its intervention in Syria, is only a means to an end \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 namely the domination of the greater Middle East \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And ironically, the rise of Salafi extremism since the Arab Spring has only helped Iran \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 because minorities throughout the region have heard the hateful sectarian rhetoric coming from top clerics on satellite TV and other media owned by the Gulf states \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and they have seen the wholesale slaughter of minority groups, whether Christians, Alawites, Kurds, Shias, Druze, Ismailis, Yazidis \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 not to mention the suffering of the peaceful majority of the Sunnis who reject the Islamists’ ideology!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So it\u2019s hardly a surprise that minorities across the entire region have begun turning to Iran in the hope of protection from the growing Islamist menace \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which is of course a role the Iranians are only too happy to take up \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 by sending arms, money and men to their proxies and allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hope by now it\u2019s clear that the unintended and self-defeating consequence of Turkey\u2019s and the Gulf countries\u2019 support for Islamist groups in Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 has ultimately been to aid Iran in its quest to dominate the greater Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But where was the democratic Western world when the seeds of this great mess were sown back in 2011?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, the West was badly disorganised \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 with policies for Syria that were uninformed and poorly focused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, along with many other Western leaders,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
recognised the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated Syrian National Council \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 but it took Mrs Clinton 18 months to realise the Syrian National Council did not represent the Syrian people \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 by which time, of course, Islamist fighters were busy tearing Syria to pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this outcome was to be expected from an opposition dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 whose flag, we should remember, clearly states what the group stands for\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 with statements proclaiming that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAllah is our objective; the Prophet is our leader; the Qu\u2019ran is our law; Jihad is our way \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and dying in the name of Allah is our greatest hope.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But nothing was learned from this, because soon afterwards the Syrian National Coalition was formed in Qatar \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 where the so-called representatives of the Syrian people were once again hand-picked by regional powers \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 including the Salafi-Wahhabi elements that were added only to please the Saudis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
None of this was undertaken with genuine democracy and representation in mind, by the way \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which raises the question as to how such an opposition really differs from the current regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In terms of opposition fighters on the ground \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 the US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper described the rebels early on in 2012 as \u201cnot a national movement,\u201d deeply fractured, and infiltrated by al-Qaeda \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and General Dempsey admitted that none of the rebel groups in Syria shared our interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2013, Secretary of Justice Eric Holder confirmed that the Free Syrian Army had imbibed the ideology of al-Qaeda\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and General Lloyd Austin III pointed out that the conflict in Syria cannot be resolved militarily \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 with the added warning that, and I quote, \u201dleft unchecked, the spread of violence and terrorist activity emanating from Syria could result in a long, drawn out conflict \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 that extends from Beirut to Damascus to Baghdad to Yemen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But as late as September of that year, the new Secretary of State, John Kerry, was still claiming at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting that there was \u201cno\u201d al-Qaeda presence in Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 despite the fact that its presence had been established beyond all doubt (!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clearly, the West has not been on top of its game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But unfortunately, the lessons that should have been learned have not been learned \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and it remains the case that Western policy in the Middle East is poorly focused and detached from reality on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consider Libya, for instance \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 where according to US Army General David Rodriguez the Islamic State has doubled in size over the last year and a half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yemen is another depressing example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 After years of fighting Al-Qaeda in Yemen \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 the United States\u2019 efforts are being completely undermined \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 because the Saudis are once again building up al-Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood and other extremist groups to use as proxies in their war against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because of the Saudis\u2019 policies even Islamic State has been able to establish a foothold in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then of course there is Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Obama administration more or less admitted this last year when it announced a 500 million dollar programme to create a new moderate rebel force in Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 after concluding that its half-hearted efforts backing existing forces over the past 5 years have had practically no impact \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and realising that even supposedly vetted fighters have ended up either running away or handing over their weapons to the likes of al-Nusra (!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But just a few months later, the administration abandoned this programme too \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 with General Lloyd Austin telling a dumbstruck US Senate Committee that the number of fighters trained by the US who were actually capable of battling the Islamic State was only around \u201cfour or five\u201d (!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s clear that after so many years of allowing our supposed allies to promote sectarianism \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and to incite hatred and killing of minorities and all those who do not share their perverted ideology \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 it is simply too late to create an all-inclusive national force from scratch \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So we shouldn’t be surprised when groups such as D-30 and the Hazm Brigade surrender their US weapons and sign up to the Nusra Front \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and neither should we criticise the Russians for bombing supposedly moderate rebels \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 when again and again they have been proven to be Islamic extremists (!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indeed, we in the West have managed things so badly in Syria that General Lord Dannatt, the former chief of the UK general staff, has recently suggested that we begin working with the regime because, in his words \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 \u201cthat is the least worst of several very unattractive options.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And he is not alone in that assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The former UK Ambassador to Syria, Peter Ford, has also said that the West has to stop propping up the so-called moderate opposition, which he claims is \u201cnot moderate at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But such advice has generally gone unheeded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, some have even begun to argue the West should back Jabhat al-Nusra \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which is the Syrian affiliate of al-Qaeda (!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These people seem to believe that if al-Nusra can be persuaded to polish its image and rebrand itself to appear less viciously sectarian \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 then suddenly it will become a suitable ally for the democratic world (!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So while even men as distinguished as General David Petraeus might suggest using the al-Nusra Front to fight Islamic State \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 with all due respect I must strongly disagree \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 because at the end of the day, this idea is not a sign of strategic thinking but simply of desperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jabhat al-Nusra, we must remember, is a branch of al-Qaeda \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and it was Al-Qaeda, not Islamic State, which was responsible for 9\/11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was Al-Qaeda which was responsible for the 7\/7 attacks in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it was Al-Qaeda which was responsible for the Madrid train bombings, the Mumbai attacks and so many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, one of the foremost advocates of providing the Syrian rebels with military support was Robert Ford, the former US ambassador to Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and even he has admitted that the results of doing so have been disastrous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ford said in February last year that for too long the US had looked the other way while the groups they were backing in Syria worked alongside the Nusra Front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They did so because they naively believed al-Nusra\u2019s backers in Turkey and Qatar \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 who said they were a home-grown anti-regime force, unlike Islamic State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But as he now admits, \u201cNusra Front is just as dangerous \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and yet they keep pretending they\u2019re nice guys, they\u2019re Syrians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indeed, the whole idea that there are somehow \u201cgood Islamists\u201d and \u201cbad Islamists\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 or good terrorists and bad terrorists \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 is a very dangerous one \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 as the terrible blowback from US support for Islamists during the Soviet-Afghan war really should have taught us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thankfully, however, the view that we should support violent Islamist fanatics committed to the West\u2019s destruction remains a minority in the United States \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 but the same cannot be said of such a view in the Middle Eastern countries that we call allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qatar, for example, has funded and armed Jabhat al Nusra for many years \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and it has long called for the West to recognise the group as moderate \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and promoted its leader on Al-Jazeera, allowing him to spread his hateful message \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 all despite its being listed as a terrorist organisation by the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So rather than thanking Qatar for acting as a mediator whenever al-Nusra takes hostages \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 we should really listen to Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former chair of the UK Parliament\u2019s Intelligence and Security Committee \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 who was completely right to point out Qatar’s role in promoting terrorism \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and to insist that the Qataris \u201cmust choose their friends or live with the consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for Saudi Arabia \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is well-known that the country has long been a critical financial support base for global terrorist groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WikiLeaks cables have revealed that individuals and institutions in Saudi Arabia have pumped millions of dollars into extremist groups \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 from Europe to India to Indonesia \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and Hillary Clinton herself has even stated that, and I quote, \u201cdonors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to terrorist groups worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Likewise, the former Head of French Interior Intelligence, Yves Bonnet has accused both Qatar and Saudi Arabia of funding extremist Islamist networks in France \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and Bernard Squarcini, a previous Head of France’s counter-espionage and counter-terrorism Intelligence agency, has pointed to Saudi Intelligence supporting extremist groups from Afghanistan to Lebanon \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and Syria to Egypt to Mali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To put it simply, Saudi Arabia\u2019s support for global terrorism is clear and undeniable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this is hardly surprising given the fact that the kingdom’s own political culture is fundamentally Islamist \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, Islamic State and Saudi Arabia both follow the same vicious brand of Wahhabi Salafi Islam \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and prescribe almost identical punishments on a host of legal offences \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 including death by beheading, crucifixion, stoning and other barbaric practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just a couple of months ago, in fact ..<\/p>\n\n\n\n
.. during an interview with a Dubai TV channel \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 a former imam at the Grand Mosque in Mecca justified the execution by beheading of American journalists \u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and said that Islamic State militants \u201cdraw their ideas from what is written in our own books.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saudi religious figures also regularly incite hatred and violence against religious minorities across the Middle East \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 For example, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 who is the highest religious official in that country \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 has called in the past for the burning of all Christian churches in the Arabian peninsula (!) \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 He has also welcomed a statement from the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Sheikh Yussef al-Qaradawi ..<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 who, by the way, just happens to live in Qatar \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 where he called for all Sunnis to take up arms and kill the Shias and Alawites, whom he says are infidels deserving of death (!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 These are just a couple of the many outrageous statements for which he has never been disciplined by the Saudi government \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and, even more shamefully, no Western leaders have spoken out about this either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In another incident, in October last year over 50 Saudi clerics published a statement commanding all Muslims to join the so-called jihad against the Syrian regime, Russia and Iran \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So you have to remember that while the Saudis may make noises about combating sectarianism and Islamic extremism \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 as with their announcement last December of a new Islamic anti-terror alliance made up solely of Sunni-led states\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 in reality, this is just a Saudi attempt to counterbalance Iran by inflaming sectarian divisions between Sunnis, Shias and minorities across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is of course completely unacceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thankfully, a few high profile figures in the West have begun to subject Saudi Arabia to some long overdue criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, for example, last December rebuked Saudi Arabia for funding radical preachers and mosques in Germany \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 rightly noting that many dangerous Islamists come from these communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He made clear that it was not acceptable for the Saudis to continue spreading extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his words \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 \u201cthe time to look away is past.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And in a recent interview with Jeffrey Goldberg, President Obama attacked state-sanctioned Saudi misogyny \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and described how Islam in Indonesia, where the President spent some of his childhood, had become more intolerant and exclusive \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 as a result of the fact that \u201cthe Saudis and other Gulf Arabs have funnelled money and large numbers of imams and teachers into the country \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 to teach the fundamentalist version of Islam favoured by the Saudis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr. Goldberg also says that President Obama has \u201cquestioned, often harshly, the role that America\u2019s Arab allies play in fomenting anti-American terrorism\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and noted that the President \u201cis clearly irritated that foreign policy orthodoxy compels him to treat Saudi Arabia as an ally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But while such statements are very true and very important \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 the question has to be asked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where are the consequences?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A recent European Parliament vote in favour of an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia is an encouraging development\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 but this decision is non-binding \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and in any case it is not enough \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 because too many leaders in the West are prone to using strong words, without matching these words with appropriate actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nowhere is this more true than in the case of Turkey \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which has recently received some 6 billion euros in aid and promises of visa-free access to Schengen \u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 in exchange for its cooperation on the burgeoning migrant crisis \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which, I should add, is a crisis partly of Turkey\u2019s own making \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 given its meddling in Syria and its constant refusal to control its own borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, I mentioned earlier that Turkey has been involved in the crisis in Syria from the very beginning\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 the reason being that President Erdogan sees Syria as the natural starting point from which to extend Turkey\u2019s influence south into the Middle East \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 cutting off Iran and cementing Turkey’s own role as the champion of Sunni Muslims throughout the region\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 in what is effectively an attempt to recreate the Ottoman Empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, like the Gulf states, Turkey believes that jihadists and extremism are appropriate tools with which to achieve its foreign policy objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides Turkey\u2019s support for Islamist extremist groups such as Al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Shams and many others \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 there is strong evidence that Turkey has been actively collaborating with the Islamic State \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 particularly in terms of purchasing its smuggled oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 And this is not, as President Erdogan likes to pretend, an allegation manufactured by Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 Much to the annoyance of Mr. Erdogan, even the leader of the opposition People\u2019s Democratic Party, Selahattin Demirtas, has criticised Turkey\u2019s dealings with Islamic State \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 And just this January, Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said that the Islamic State has \u201cenjoyed Turkish money for oil for a very, very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 This Turkish money has of course been crucial for Daesh and is what has helped it to grow to such monstrous proportions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Turkey\u2019s links to foreign jihadists are not limited to the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the last five years, hordes of foreign volunteers have crossed from Turkey into Syria and Iraq to join the jihadists there \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and according to Europol director Rob Wainwright, between 3 to 5,000 of these battle-hardened veterans have now returned to their home countries in the West \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 many hiding among the vast masses of refugees \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and all thanks to Turkey\u2019s deliberately lax border controls and its support for jihadists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a point President Obama publicly complained about last year \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 when he said that \u201cTurkish authorities recognise this is a problem but haven\u2019t fully ramped up the capacity they need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Almost one year later, however, very little has changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In December, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said that Turkey still needed to do more to control its borders \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and in fact just a couple of weeks ago it was revealed that King Abdullah of Jordan \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 who is an official ally of Turkey \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 recently told members of the US Congress that Turkey was sending Islamic extremists to Europe under the cover of refugees as a matter of policy (!) \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And what does Turkey receive for this massive breach of trust and its continued refusal to cooperate with its allies?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026Nothing more than a slap on the wrist from the US, apparently \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 And from the European Union, mountains of money and the promise of EU accession (!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But as former UK shadow Home Secretary David Davis has explained \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 accepting Turkey into the EU would be a catastrophic mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the Muslim Brotherhood\u2019s Yussef al-Qaradawi talked a few years ago about Islam\u2019s \u2018peaceful conquest\u2019 of the West \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 the vehicle he had in mind was Turkey\u2019s prospective EU membership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But allowing Turkey into the EU would also be a moral failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The West should be disciplining Turkey, not rewarding it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under President Erdogan, Turkey has become increasingly violent and unpredictable \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 with crackdowns on the press, the democratic opposition and freedom of speech \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 as well as unrelenting persecution of the country\u2019s Kurdish minority \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 constant attempts to drag NATO into the conflict in Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and, of course, the growth of Islamic radicalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of this has contributed to the climate of insecurity and fear that now plagues Turkey \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and is the reason why President Obama has come to see Erdogan as \u201can authoritarian whose policies have failed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But really, we shouldn\u2019t be too surprised by any of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Erdogan began his political career as part of the Turkish Islamist movement \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 he has claimed in the past that democracy is just a train you board to get to your destination \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and he was jailed on the charge of inciting religious hatred when he publicly recited an inflammatory poem, part of which I will now quote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe mosques are our barracks \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 the domes are our helmets \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 the minarets are our bayonets \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and the faithful are our soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Erdogan will of course continue to try to sell himself as a moderate \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 but his recent criticism of a US House of Representatives Bill labelling the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation shows that this particular leopard will never change his spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, as I have warned many times, despite all of President Erdogan\u2019s sympathy and tacit support for radical Islamists \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 nothing will prevent extremists from targeting Turkey if they believe the need arises \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which, in fact, they have done now on several occasions, killing and wounding many hundreds of innocent Turks \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Any small step Erdogan takes to distance himself from them will invite violent retaliation from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and besides, these people are committed to creating an Islamic Caliphate under sharia law \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which is something an ostensibly secular, democratic Turkey allied to the West is anathema to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Erdogan has put himself in this position by deciding to support the Islamists \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 provoking the Syrian regime to begin supporting the Syrian Kurds \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 whose proto-state in the north is a source of inspiration for the more than 20 million Kurds in Turkey \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 most of whom, it is important to note, are Alawite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So you see, the Islamist threat is not just about what Islamic State and other Islamist extremist groups are doing in my country \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 as horrific as that is \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 but it is about how jihadists are being deliberately used by our so-called allies \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 to further what they believe to be their own interests \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 but which is a policy that actually leads a range of self-defeating outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our allies, in short, have become serious liabilities\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and this is why we must urgently rethink our geopolitical alliances and priorities \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026. which is an undertaking that is all the more important in light of the global consequences of the Syrian conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I’m afraid to say the Western strategy in this respect has been flawed from the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the West had moved early on in the conflict to take a lead by fostering a genuine democratic opposition \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 by calling a conference for all democratic groups who would sign up to the ideals of equality regardless of religion, sect, ethnicity, gender and so on \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 it would by definition have automatically excluded Islamists from the very start \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 since these sorts of people will always be hostile to such ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the West had done this, there might now have been democratic opposition forces worthy of the name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, our so-called allies were allowed to take the initiative, as I have described \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 inciting sectarian hatred and calling for jihad \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and turning Syria into a slaughterhouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And now we are stuck with the terrible results of all this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of these terrible consequences is the refugee crisis, which is a topic I want to briefly touch on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the World Bank, since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, over 6.5 million of my fellow countrymen have been internally displaced \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and almost 4.4 million are registered refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of these people are living in tents in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 with little food, no heaters or air conditioning nor proper medical care \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 let alone education for their children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UN estimates that almost 90 percent of these refugees are living in crushing poverty \u2026 and have difficulty finding work permits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UN has also reported that wealthy men from the Gulf states have used the camps as a source of underage brides \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In light of all this, it is hardly surprising that these families want to leave to find a better life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If only the Gulf states had redirected the billions of dollars they have spent on weapons and propaganda for Islamic extremists towards supporting the refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because now, these same Islamist groups are taking advantage of the uncontrolled flow of people \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 in order to send their fighters to Europe\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 as the head of Germany\u2019s domestic intelligence agency, Hans-Georg Maassen, pointed out just a couple of months ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 A number of the Paris attackers, in fact, were able to enter Europe undetected \u2014 the ringleader of the plot even boasted about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 Just a few days ago the EU border agency Frontex announced that \u201cirregular migratory flows could be used by terrorists to enter the EU\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has confirmed that Islamic State has access to Syrian government printing machines and blank passports \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 as well as biographical data and fingerprints of Syrian citizens \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 raising the prospect that the travel documents of many apparent refugees could actually be fake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given the huge number of refugees, it won\u2019t be easy to screen people effectively \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which is another reason why many EU governments want to talk to the Syrian regime \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 because at least they have a better idea of who the refugees are and which ones could pose a threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The saddest thing is that it didn\u2019t need to be like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These refugees have been languishing in camps for years without receiving the assistance they needed from the international community \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and still not enough is being done for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Had the West acted early to help these desperate people \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 whose quest for freedom and dignity has left them homeless and destitute \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 then perhaps the migrant crisis would not have reached the enormous proportions it has today \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and we would have shown the peaceful majority of Syrians that we are serious about giving them a better life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a matter of fact, it would have been cheaper for us to support Syrian refugees located in neighbouring countries \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and the refugees would have certainly preferred to stay close to home \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 where they still have relatives \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and to live in countries which share the same culture \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 where they could still speak their own language \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and have the hope of returning home as soon as the conflict comes to an end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But we cannot change the past. Our priority now must be to ensure the defeat of the Islamists and bring calm to Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 so that a peaceful transition to democracy and stability can begin \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and the refugees can return home to help rebuild their country with the full aid and support of the international community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is here, I believe, that the US and Russia can and must work together \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 for the good of Syria, the region, and indeed these two countries themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because although I understand the arguments of those who describe Russia as the gravest threat to US national security \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026and who are therefore wary of cooperating with President Putin\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 I respectfully differ \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and agree instead with Michael Morell, the former Deputy Director of the CIA \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 who said that the single biggest threat to US national security at present comes from the jihadist groups now returning from Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In terms of the bigger picture, it is indeed the case that Russia is becoming increasingly close to China \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and that the relations of both of these countries with the United States have significantly worsened \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 but this due to the fact both countries feel threatened by the West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two countries have been boosting cooperation in the military, financial and energy sectors \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 increasingly switching to settlements in yuan, which will reduce the influence of the dollar on the world financial and energy markets \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and not too long ago the Chinese announced a Silk Road-style economic corridor linking China to Russia, Mongolia and a number of other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indeed, China is now directly challenging the West\u2019s policy of cutting off credit to Russia, by pledging to extend financial aid to Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moreover, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu announced last November that the two countries are intent on forming a \u201ccollective regional security system\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and planning joint naval drills not only in the Pacific, but even in the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan has spoken of the ever-closer military-to-military relations between the two countries \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 including \u201chigh-level visits, joint exercises and professional communication.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many Russian military exercises seem to have been deliberately chosen to send a clear message to NATO and its members\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 with Russia\u2019s ambassador to Denmark warning that if the Danes were to sign up to NATO\u2019s missile defence programme, \u201cDanish warships will be targets for Russia\u2019s nuclear weapons\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the diplomatic front, China has backed Russia \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 with the Chinese ambassador to Belgium, Qu Xing, blaming the Ukraine crisis on a game being played by the Western powers \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and calling on them to take Russia\u2019s security concerns more seriously \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which, given the planned quadrupling of US defence spending in Europe, are concerns that do not seem to have been registered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More recently, China\u2019s new special envoy to Syria has praised the Russian military mission to Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 saying that they \u201chave effectively curbed the spread of extremists and terrorists\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and that this \u201cwill help the political settlement of the Syria issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China is also very concerned about the United States\u2019 so-called pivot to Asia \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which will include moving 60 percent of the US navy\u2019s assets to the region \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 as well as other developments \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 such as the planned deployment of US missile defence systems in South Korea and plans to sail American warships in the waters between Vietnam and the Philippines \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which fuel China\u2019s fears that the US is practicing a policy of encirclement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So we need to place the Syrian crisis within the framework of these issues \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 because this broader context help us to understand why China and Russia see how the Syrian conflict relates to politics in their own regions \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also helps us to understand how the Syrian conflict could become a more serious confrontation \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 between the US and its allies on one side and Russia and China on the other \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which is in fact a concern that has already been raised by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately President Obama responded to Lavrov\u2019s comments by insisting this would not be allowed to happen .\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 telling a White House press conference, \u201cThat would be bad strategy on our part.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He can say that again (!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indeed, as John Kerry said just a couple of weeks ago in Moscow, cooperating with Russia is in the \u201cstrategic interests of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is particularly true in terms of defeating the Islamic State, Al Nusra and other groups that share the same perverted ideology \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 because what matters is not so much the particular brand name of each group, but the vicious ideology that unites them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 This poisonous ideology and the extremist organisations it spawns pose real and present dangers to the United States \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and are in fact threats we share in common with the Russians and the Chinese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indeed, Islamic extremists pose the greatest threat to world peace since the Nazis \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 because they do not have a single army to defeat \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 ambassadors to summon\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 or borders to invade \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and they are growing in numbers not only in the Middle East but in all the countries I have mentioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China, for example, faces a particular threat from Islamists in Xinjiang province \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 as it is believed that hundreds if not thousands of Chinese citizens have been fighting in Syria and Iraq \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and as China\u2019s special envoy for the Middle East, Wu Sike, has said, \u201cwhen these fighters return home they will pose a severe challenge and security risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because of these concerns, Beijing has warned Turkey that if it continues to support these fighters, China will in turn support Kurdish rebels in Turkey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I’m sure that everyone would prefer China to be involved in a coordinated international effort to defeat terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And there are a few reasons to be hopeful that international cooperation in Syria is bearing some fruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For despite our regional allies\u2019 constant attempts to sabotage such an outcome \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 Russia and the United States still managed to jointly draw up a cessation of hostilities in Syria a couple of months ago \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and this has led to a marked reduction of violence in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also, very recently a US citizen being held by the Syrian regime was released, after Russian intervened to provide assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And while Russia\u2019s partial withdrawal from Syria is largely symbolic \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg confirming recently that \u201cRussia maintains a considerable military presence in the country\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 the move nevertheless suggests that Russia wants to be seen as a responsible global actor that is capable of finding political solutions \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 such as a negotiated end to the Syrian conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former French defence minister Paul Quiles recently argued that the fall of the regime without an organised transition would lead to \u201ca Libya-type situation \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 the collapse of the state, chaos, then the destabilisation of Lebanon and doubtless Jordan too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And he also condemned nominal Western allies like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
for seemingly working towards that very outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it is true that peace in Syria will never be achieved if our regional allies continue to sabotage negotiations \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which they are doing, as the continued exclusion of the Kurds and other genuinely democratic groups goes to show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the Western powers continue to exclude the Kurds from the talks at Geneva \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which Russian Foreign Ministry rightly noted \u201chas been done to please some of the regional players\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026then they will be left with no choice but to create an independent state of their own \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which of course will encourage the Kurds inside Turkey to want the same, further destabilising that country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the Kurds have, in fact, recently declared their intent to have a federal system for the areas of northern Syria under their control \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 while Russia recently announced that it is increasing support for Kurdish groups in Syria and Iraq \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 at the same time as it is increasing pressure on opposition forces around Aleppo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moreover, if peaceful groups with a stake in the country continue to be excluded on the grounds that they are not involved in the fighting \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 then we are almost inviting them to pick up weapons and join the fray so they can actually get a seat at the table (!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The recent withdrawal of the Saudi-backed opposition from the peace talks in Geneva presents an opportunity to put the record straight on this matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the government of Russia recently said in a statement \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 \u201ccertain opposition forces and those external forces which are their patrons are continuing to rely exclusively on achieving their own plans and clearly inflated ambitions, acting on the principle of \u2018all or nothing\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Islamist opposition is clearly not interested in peaceful dialogue \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which while certainly problematic \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 nevertheless provides an opportunity to engage opposition groups which are committed to peaceful, democratic reform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I have said on many occasions \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 only a political, diplomatic and inclusive transition to democracy will allow Syria to achieve peace and remain free of instability and extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this is not the direction in which things seem to be headed \u2026 because the talks at Geneva have largely become an arena for external powers to decide the fate of Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the job of the UN is not to do the bidding of these powers by picking and choosing who should join the talks in line with what Turkey or Saudi Arabia or Qatar want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The job of the UN is to create an inclusive environment in which all Syrians are represented and can have a say in mapping out their destiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We owe this to the Syrian people \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and we cannot allow them to be left with the choice between dictatorship on the one hand\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and Islamist theocracy on the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is not the path to peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This leads me back to an important point:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 as well as rooting out existing terrorists at home and abroad, we also need to tackle Islamism as an ideology \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 because as the Pentagon\u2019s Press Secretary, Rear Admiral John Kirby, has said, the \u201ccentre of gravity\u201d of our enemies is their ideology \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and so to ultimately defeat them we must destroy this ideology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 Now, in order to do this, we have to clamp down on the most dangerous channels of this hateful perversion of Islam \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 on the internet, satellite TV stations and every other form of media \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 through which vulnerable people can be recruited from their very own bedrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Western countries can learn from the UK government in this regard \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which not too long ago announced an exemplary new strategy to tackle the promotion of Islamism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This strategy includes banning radical preachers from posting material online \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and prevents anyone with convictions for extremist activity from working with children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
‘Extremism disruption orders,\u2019 as they are called, will stop individuals engaging in extremist behaviour \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 premises used to support extremism will be closed \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and internet service providers will be forced do more to remove extremist material and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
identify those responsible for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Prime Minister David Cameron says, “It’s no good leaving this simply to the police or the intelligence services \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 it’s no good simply talking about violent extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We need to confront all extremism”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is, in fact, exactly what I have been saying for many years \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 but for too long my words seem to have fallen on deaf ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As British foreign secretary Philip Hammond has admitted \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026the UK has been \u201ctoo reluctant in the past to recognise the link between non-violent<\/p>\n\n\n\n
extremism and violent extremism.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the UK, like other Western countries, has also been too reluctant to confront its so-called allies about their role in promoting this extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We really do need to hold accountable and bring to just all those who fund, incite, and give shelter to terrorists and extremists \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 whoever and wherever they may be, as they pose a direct threat to our national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said just a few days ago, \u201cthese people are about to win the ideological war. They\u2019re the ones the young generation listens to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So while it is all well and good to take measures to protect Western citizens from radicalisation \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 unless we go after the root source of radicalisation \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which lies in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other exporters of extremism \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 there is little point to such actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On this note, I would like to point to some remarks made by US Vice-President Joe Biden during a talk to students at Harvard University in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vice President Biden said that America\u2019s allies in the region were, quote unquote, \u201cour largest problem in Syria\u2019 \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and then went on to describe, just as I have here tonight \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 how the United States\u2019 regional allies had effectively started what he termed a \u201cproxy Sunni-Shia war\u201d in their determination to bring down the Syrian regime \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 deliberately cultivating groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Nusra, Islamic State and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
None of this was unknown to informed observers of the region \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But still, it was subsequently alleged that the vice president had apologised for raising these issues in public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To me it seems totally unacceptable that the Vice President of the most powerful country in the world should be apologising for simply telling the truth (!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This episode reveals the complete inadequacy of the West\u2019s current policy towards its allies in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rather than coddling them, we need to name and shame individuals and states who are responsible for promoting division and hatred\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and we have to ensure that counter-extremism strategies like the one unveiled by the British government are rolled out not only throughout the West \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 but more importantly throughout the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that means insisting that our allies \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 including Turkey and the Gulf states \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 play their part in combating Islamism \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 rather than deliberately encouraging and spreading it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, we need to promote economic development and political freedom throughout the Islamic world and beyond \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 so that young people there can face the future with hope \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 instead of the despair and misery in which extremism thrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that won\u2019t happen overnight \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 but the Organisation for Democracy & Freedom in Syria is committed to helping<\/p>\n\n\n\n
this developmental process over the long term \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 as is the Iman Foundation, which I founded to promote dialogue, challenge extremism and bring positive change across the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To conclude, I want to reiterate that the first step in bringing peace to my country \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and consequently greater security to the rest of the world \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 is to recognise the severity of the crisis in Syria \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 and its increasingly international character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That, however, requires us to recognise the underlying problem of Islamic extremism \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 which is a problem we must resolve to address with the increased vigour and determination that the task truly deserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thank you.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ribal Al-Assad spoke today about Syria, the Middle East and the global threat of Islamic extremism to an audience at the FAES Foundation in Madrid. FAES, the Foundation for Social Studies and Analysis is a private non-profit organization works in the sphere That of thoughts and political Proposals. Linked to the Popular Party Since its […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":147,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-speeches","category-videos"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5907,"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions\/5907"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/odf-syria.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}