A round of talks in Moscow has ended in failure, as Saudi Arabia rejected Russian calls to back an effort to unify all anti-ISIS forces, including the Assad government, with an eye toward deferring the question of government until after the war.
Saudi FM Adel Jubeir insisted Assad was to blame for the emergence of ISIS, and could never be allowed to be “part of the solution,” saying they would never accept him having any place in the future of Syria. Syrian officials slammed the comments.
The Saudi position is not surprising, as the Sunni kingdom has been openly backing rebels against the Alawite Assad government from the start. A secular unification to fight ISIS would run counter to Saudi goals of eventually installing a Sunni-dominated government in their sphere of influence in Assad’s place.
The US had previously spurned this idea too, but has more recently been said to be open to the idea, particularly with the US-trained rebel faction that was supposed to defeat ISIS failing so spectacularly. That doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, however, with the Saudis but one faction liable to object, and years of money and effort being pumped into various factions, a lot of nations won’t want to give up on the idea that their chosen power will win the war outright.
I would suggest that Putin & Obama read T.E. Lawrence's 'Seven Pillars Of Wisdom' …His account of the Arab Campaign in the Middle East in WW1…& his struggle to lead the Arabs in a revolt against the Ottoman Empire…The British military was astonished that he was able to unit the various tribes in a common cause…He stated that his most difficult problem was not the Turks…But keeping the Sunni , Shiite & other tribes from killing each other…These tribes have been slaughtering each other for thousands of years…The ' Arabs ' identify with their tribe…not their nation…As ' Lawrence of Arabia ' discovered…Russia & Putin are wasting their breath…
Exactly. These are religious conflicts and political solutions will not end them as long as there are sectarian animosities. Either the different religious sects identify and prioritize those things that are mutually beneficial and learn to live harmoniously or the only solution is the annihilation of the opposing religious group.
The world has moved a long way since Lawrence's time and participants' memoirs are always to be taken with a grain of salt ("How I won the war single-handed in spite of the stupidity of all the others"). Only a short time before, Americans were slaughtering Indians and stealing their land and had stopped doing so by Lawrence's time only because there were practically no Indians left to slaugter! The Arabs have no monopoly on primitive savagery!
Sure Abel, and why the hell should you be part of the "solution." Russia would be better off talking to Kerry, and from that side exert pressure on Saudi Arabia. If the US decides that Assad stays (which will happen anyway, but at least if makes DC think it's omnipotent), then I don't see the Saudis going against the US.
From the very first day of Syrian turmoil Saudis wanted to change Syrian government, for one and only reasons, a unity between Iran, Iraq and Syria was on the rise, religiously, culturally, politically, economic all was discussed and on the table for further unification of nations. European Neo Fascism hand in with Neo Liberals in hand with USG and Saudis-GCC didn't like the idea. Saudis-USA-English been and are behind all and every terrorists out there, either in libya, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Any idea,if is a democratic, socialist, communist, functional democracy's, social democratic movements organized by the people in Middle East needs to be destroyed by either USG, the English, other European in cooperation with Saudis and GCC, unless the idea is for expending the religious dictatorial regimes as Turkish Erdogan regime or Saudis and GCC are. The Neo Liberal and Neo fascism ideas are based on a rhetoric "changing world" which if there is any changes it is them that are changing to the worst not for better, creating all these wars, creation of old and new stone aged caliphate regimes is their motive behind militarization of the world.
Wars, dictators and Empire USA
Most profound, over 7 billion people on earth and yet they do nothing to organize the downfall of the Hitler style dictator of Saudi Arabia, a demonic creature that now has the Middle-East totally engulfed in war.
For the trading of Western war materials for Middle-East oil, this is essential if all the oil-rich dictators are to stay in power, for keeping the people enslaved by fear is what wars, dictators and Empire USA are all about.
What strikes me is the increasing irrelevance of Putin. Ever since he painted himself into a corner in Ukraine, he's been dashing up and down the planet trying to look important and announcing vast projects which (conveniently!) won't be ready for 20 – 30 years (at which point Putin will be 93 years old!). When he failed to put up money to help Greece (and thereby put the EU in his pocket), he revealed what many already suspected: Russia is more or less broke. That deprived him of credibility and influence in all spheres, including the Middle East. A recent Pew poll shows, for example, that Russia and Putin are getting very low numbers where it matters (74% negative opinions in Israel, for example). Thus, probably nobody regards him as a seriously player in that region.