50 US experts implore Obama to press Syria harder |

50 US experts implore Obama to press Syria harder |

clipped from article: Around 50 US-based experts on Middle East policy and strategy signed an open letter to President Barack Obama this week imploring him to demonstrate greater leadership on the Syria crisis.

Their petition calls for tougher sanctions, greater contact with Syria’s opposition and the creation of havens for the protection of Syrian civilians. Signatories include expatriate activists from Syria, Lebanon and Egypt as well as commentators, academics and former top-level national security officials Elliott Abrams, L. Paul Bremer and Douglas Feith.

Photo by: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

The letter calls for four specific actions to help bring an end to the “brutality” the regime of President Bashar Assad has inflicted on its people.

First, it appeals to the White House to support “crippling” sanctions on Damascus proposed by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Mark Kirk and Joe Lieberman, and representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Eliot Engel.

Next, it recommends the formation of a contact group of international allies to coordinate strategies for increasing pressure on Assad.

Third, it calls for greater interaction with the Syrian opposition, “especially the Syrian National Council, as well as those who have defected from the Syrian military,” to evaluate their leadership and weigh options for increasing their influence.

Last, it suggests working with Turkey and other international partners to create havens for Syrians fleeing the violence, “as well as no-go zones for the Assad regime’s security forces.”

“The Syrian government, which has been on the State Department’s State Sponsors of Terror list since 1979, maintains a strategic partnership with Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah.

For years, the Assad regime also assisted the transit of foreign fighters who were responsible for killing numerous American troops in Iraq,” the signatories wrote.

“The emergence of a representative Syrian government that protects the rights of all of its citizens and opposes violent extremism in all forms would therefore be a significant blow to Tehran and dramatically improve regional security and stability.”
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