The Arab League member nations from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have announced today that they are withdrawing all monitors from Syria, shifting their focus to pressing the United Nations Security Council for intervention against the Assad regime.
The removal of GCC staff will leave the Arab League looking to replace about a third of its monitors at a time when the Syrian Foreign Ministry has announced that it has agreed to extend the mission.
The move reflects a growing split within the Arab League between the Saudi-led GCC nations, increasingly in favor of a foreign invasion of Syria to install a new (more GCC-friendly) regime, and a number of other members who are trying to negotiate some sort of settlement.
The monitor mission has largely not gone to plan. Violence between military forces and defectors has been reported in several cities across the country. The mission was initially intended to make way for reconciliation talks, but as fighting continues and Syria rejects a “Yemen solution” pushed by the Arab League, the struggle to find some sort of amicable end-game continues.
Members comprising the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council are themselves some of the worst dictatorial regimes. This is the case of pots calling the kettle black.
I was just going to say that. Funny how these tiny oil producing sheikdoms with no regards or concerns for the rights of their own people are suddenly arbiters of the fates and freedoms of other nation's rulers and people.
Russia and China have already said they would veto this.
"…pressing the United Nations Security Council for intervention against the Assad regime."
My, my…I wonder why those very wealthy GCC countries who are pushing for an invasion of Syria by mostly non-Muslim nations don't do the job themselves? Could it be that they aren't interested in spending any of their wealth on this? Rather have the US/NATO/UN pay for the effort to install a pro-GCC regime. How shallow.
Tell the tyrants of the GGC to send their own armies onto Syria.
Bad enough that we have one middle east “ally” who expects us to fight their wars for them. We don’t need more.
Too difficult to bribe these theocratic states so GCC wants US to use force for THEM…………………