There is little chance that Arab countries would agree to a reported plan by the United States to replace its forces in Syria with Arab troops to keep terrorists at bay, says a senior lawmaker, who believes such a decision contradicts international law.
Citing US officials, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that the Trump administration is seeking to assemble an “Arab force” to replace the US military contingent in Syria and help stabilize the northeastern part of the country after the defeat of the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group.
Jalil Rahimi, a member of Majlis Judicial and Legal Affairs Commission, said such a military presence on Syrian soil would translate into “direct occupation”, which counters international law.
“Deploying military forces from other countries to Syria would be tantamount to interference in the country’s internal affairs. In fact, it would mean aggression against the country given that Syria is an independent sovereign state,” he said in an interview with ICANA.
John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s new national security adviser, has called Abbas Kamel, Egypt’s acting intelligence chief, to see if Cairo would contribute to the effort, officials said.
The initiative comes as the administration has asked Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to contribute billions of dollars to help restore northern Syria. It wants Arab nations to send troops as well, the report said.
Details about the initiative, which were not previously disclosed, have emerged in the days since the US-led airstrikes against Syria in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack that Damascus denies.
Before the strikes by US, British and French forces, Trump had made clear he wants to withdraw the roughly 2,000 US troops in the war-torn country—evidence of his desire to disengage from Syria.
Violation of Int’l Law
Rahimi maintains that inherent differences between Arab states would deter them from mobilizing their troops.
“Unless Saudi Arabia lifts the heavy shadow it has cast on many Arab countries, the majority of Arab states would not be ready to directly cooperate with it,” the lawmaker said, adding that the Arab world in general is not “united”.
Internal problems have weakened certain Arab countries, such as Iraq, Syria and Libya,” Rahimi noted, describing “political differences” between Arab nations as an impediment to closer cooperation.
Another MP, Ali Reza Rahimi, a member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, argues that the “new scenario” would further aggravate the situation in the war-torn country.
“If the United States moves to prepare the ground for irregular warfare in Syria by assembling forces from Arab countries, the status quo of regional alliances would change and the security of the region would be undermined,” he said, ICANA reported.
