Dangers of Saudi influence in Syria - by Frank Merkow

 As the civil unrest in Syria becomes more acute, the United States must reassess its strategy towards that key Middle East state. In particular, the U.S. must revisit its attitude towards the role that Saudi Arabia has been playing in the Syrian conflict. The continued influence of Saudi Arabia in Syria can only further destabilize the situation on the ground, undermine U.S. interests in the region and dim the prospects for a future democratic Syria.

In the wake of the Bush administration’s intervention in Afghanistan, and more disastrously, in Iraq, the Obama Administration has been circumspect in its involvement in the Middle East. It has lent rhetorical support to the Arab Spring, calibrating its policy to the situation on the ground and to U.S. interests.  It has properly been reticent to add a third armed conflict in the Muslim world to the U.S. agenda. The administration acted militarily in Libya only with both United Nations Security Counsel and Arab League blessings, and then allowed others, notably France, to do the heavy lifting. This approach has been criticized as “leading from behind” but it reflects a proper understanding of the limits of U.S. power and influence in the region. 

In Syria too, the Obama Administration has been active but cautious. It has led the effort in the U.N. to impose sanctions on the Syrian regime and has been active in providing non-lethal support to the Syrian opposition. On the ground, however, it is Saudi Arabia, and to a lesser extent, Qatar, that have been supplying the anti-Assad forces with weapons and finance. Whether as a U.S. proxy, in coordination with U.S. intelligence agencies or purely on its own initiative, Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as the primary source of financial, political and military support for the anti-regime forces in Syria. At a recent Gulf Cooperation Counsel summit, the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal pronounced that the arming of the Syrian opposition was a “duty.”  Such a policy may serve the interests of the Saudi Kingdom by undermining a key ally of its strategic adversary, Iran but the results can only be disastrous for U.S. interests and the future of Syria. 

As it has in other conflicts throughout the Muslim world, Saudi Arabia is expanding its influence in the Syrian conflict by arming and funding those elements of the opposition whose aims are limited to the establishment of a narrowly defined Sunni, Salafist government, one that takes its religious inspiration from the Wahabi government in Riyadh. Such an approach will only alienate the secularly oriented segments of the opposition as well as those religious minorities, Christians, Shia, and assorted others, that are already wary of the opposition’s goals for a future Syria. These religions minorities, while often finding the Assad regime distasteful, see the minority Alawite government as the last layer of protection for minorities from the Sunni mass movements taking control throughout the region. 

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