The United States' efforts to replace its troops in Syria with an Arab coalition force are geared toward localizing regional conflicts, containing Iranian influence and carving out an autonomous Kurdish entity in the war-ravaged country, says an international affairs analyst.
Citing US officials, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that US President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to assemble an "Arab force" to replace Washington's military contingent in Syria.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Egypt are reportedly potential contributors to the proposed Arab expeditionary force.
Trump himself called on western allies in the Middle East last month to pick up more of the financial and military burden in the conflict and deploy their own troops to the Arab state.
Objectives
In an interview with the Iranian Diplomacy website published last week, Hassan Hanizadeh said the plan is mainly intended to help enhance Tel Aviv's security through stationing the forces along Israel's borders.
"This way, any direct conflict would be between the resistance forces and the Arab army rather than between the resistance forces and Israel."
Regional countries and forces opposed to Israel and the US are often referred to as a "resistance front".
Ramifications
The expert maintains that the proposal, which seeks to confront Iran and curtail its influence in Syria, could have severe repercussions for the region.
"First of all, there would be a conflict between Iran and the [coalition] countries. Secondly, Israel would get involved in the Syrian war to help out the Arab countries."
This would spark a huge fire that could engulf the entire region, he said, adding, "The proposal is in line with efforts toward localization of wars in the Middle East, which has been on the White House's agenda for years."
Hanizadeh also believes that Trump is seeking to bring regional Arab countries closer to Israel through such a plan.
Bid for Autonomy
According to him, another possible mission pursued by the US is to gain control over swathes of Syria and establish autonomous entities, such as an autonomous Kurdish region.
He argues that as not all the Kurdish parts of Syria is held by Turkey, the US can embark on a campaign to form a self-governing Kurdish region in the country and the presence of Arab armed forces can help "legitimize" it.
In March, Turkish forces swept into the northwestern Syrian town of Afrin, raising their flags in the town center and declaring full control after an eight-week campaign to drive out Kurdish forces, opening a new front in the multi-sided civil war.
Hindrances
The political analyst added that the plan to band together Arab troops does not seem feasible as it faces substantial obstacles, including Ankara's opposition to any US support for Kurdish autonomy in Syria. Russia's objection to the formation of an Arab coalition is another decisive factor as it believes it would only exacerbate and prolong the seven-year-old conflict and would drive up the financial and human costs of the war, he noted.
Hanizadeh predicts that Egypt would probably not come on board as it has on several occasions tried to remain "neutral" on the issue of the Syrian war.
Internal Arab disputes should also be taken into consideration, he said, adding that deployment of Arab forces would not prove useful because of their lack of serious war experience.
Military Resources
Meanwhile, Qatar and the UAE have little manpower and few military resources to spare, he commented.
Hanizadeh says another snag is the fact that Saudi Arabia is bogged down in a war in Yemen and may not be willing to wind down its military presence there.
It would possibly send a number of soldiers to Syria in a "symbolic" gesture if an Arab force is created, the expert stated.
He added, "Riyadh, Doha and Abu Dhabi are afraid of sending their forces to Syria because deployment of forces without the sanction of a United Nations Security Council resolution can make them a legitimate target for any group or player in Syria."
