POMED Notes: Hearing on U.S. Policy Towards Syria

On Wednesday, Chairman of the U.S. Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs Senator Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA) chaired a hearing regarding U.S. Policy Towards Syria and potential future action the United State Congress and the U.S. Government at large could take to further push President Bashar Al’Assad from power. The Honorable Jeffrey Feltman, Assistant Sectreary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State, along with Luke Bronin, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes testified before the Senate committee on this subject.

For full event notes, continue reading. Or, click here for the PDF.

Casey began the hearing with an opening statement with the intent to examine U.S. policy towards Syria. Casey noted “that Syrian men, women and children have courageously engaged in demonstrations for more than six month. They seek democratic reforms and protection for human rights, but the Assad regime has responded with terrible violence…and perhaps more important of all- this violence comes one week after the Assad regime agreed to an Arab League deal for reform.” Casey also highlighted the recent increase in violence in the city of Homs and the impact the conflict has had on the Syrian-American community, such as the case of the brother of Dr. Hazem Hallek who was tortured and murdered by the regime after visiting him in the United States and returning to Syria. Casey applauded Ambassador Robert Ford for his efforts in Syria and stated he would be sending a letter to the Obama administration requesting further sanctions against the Assad regime, “we must continue to take specific and visible actions to support democratic reform.”

Casey then laid out several efforts that should be pursued, including sanctioning of more individuals who support the Assad regime, the establishment of a “Friends of the Syrian People” contact group, suspension of Syrian membership in the Arab League if the regime does not allow independent monitors into the country, and continued vocal pressure from individual members of Congress “expressing concern for the ongoing violence.” Casey also stressed that despite number obstacles facing the Syrian opposition, it was important for the opposition to “communicate a unified vision for the future of Syria.” The Senator also wanted to see the Syrian National Council elucidate on its position regarding the protection and inclusion of minorities- especially Alawites and Christians- and also make clear the makeup and composition of the SNC and its membership. Furthermore, Casey stated that the SNC “must speak with one voice” and have clear message.

Opening statements from Feltman and Bronin were then heard. Feltman began by stating unequivocally “Assad is destroying Syria and destabilizing the region. An orderly transition that removes Assad from power is in our national security interests.” Nonetheless, Feltman stressed that a transition process for Syria post-Assad would be “long and difficult” but that internally, “a large number of Syrians agree that Assad must go.” Feltman noted that Assad has become a pariah within the Arab world and that some of the Arab nations have offered Assad sanctuary in an attempt to get him to exit power.  Feltman said the State Department was continuing to “urge our Arab partners to continue putting pressure on the regime” and that the State Department was willing to work with the non-violent opposition and keep the movement peaceful. Feltman also noted that considering the utter lack of a Syrian political or civil society, what the Syrian opposition has done so far was “quite amazing.” Lastly, Feltman stressed that the opposition must continue convincing Syrians that there is a better alternative to Assad and that violent resistance is counterproductive and would divide the international community. Feltman also stated that the State Department will continue to press for human rights groups and journalists to be allowed into the country to protect civilians through observation of the situation on the ground.

Bronin opened up with a review of the role of financial sanctions. He discussed the sanctions that have targeted Syria’s energy sector and the targeted sanctions against regime insiders. Bronin noted that three-dozen officials and organizations have been sanctioned to-date, including Syriatel, members of the Syrian military intelligence services, the Syrian Airforce intelligence services, Rami Makhlouf and Bouthena Shabaan. Bronin also noted that the Treasury department “used preexisting authority to target Syrian commercial banks.” He also stressed that role of Iran in helping the Assad regime suppressed the protests and to that extent, the Treasury Department have sanctioned the heads of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Finally, Bronin highlighted the coordination between the U.S. and the E.U. who have done similar levered similar sanctions against the regime and implemented a comprehensive ban on oil and gas.

Senator James E. Risch (R-ID) then gave a brief opening statement. Risch noted that “there is a huge difference between Syria and Libya” and that the Syrian opposition is largely unarmed, and hence do not have the ability to do what the Libyans did in liberating their own country. Risch stated that Congress should do everything it can to isolate this regime. Risch also agreed that Ambassador Ford was the right man for the job.

After opening statements, the hearing was opened up to questions from Senators on the panel. Casey opened up with a question regarding putting together a “contact group” for Syria and whether this was an avenue the State Department was pursuing. Feltman stated that they are working on this idea of a contact group. Feltman stressed that they would like to get the Arab nations themselves to work on this contact group and take the lead to help push back against the Assad regime’s propaganda regarding the revolution being a foreign plot.

Questions from Senators Casey, Risch, Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) focused on the role of Turkey and the Arab League and what both could do to continue helping the situation in Syria. Regarding Turkey, Feltman stated that Turkey is an important issue and noted that one of the Assad’s foreign policy successes was the Turkish-Syrian relationship and how a year ago they were close friends, but that relationship “is in tatters at this point”. Feltman also stressed the role Turkey has played as an important role in a couple of areas, including providing safe haven for about 7,500-8,000 refugees, providing a space to allow the opposition to organize themselves and putting an arms embargo against the Assad regime. Feltman further stated that the State Department felt that Turkey is playing an extremely positive role and State wants to continue to urge Turkey to formalize economic sanctions as trade between Turkey and Syria continues to decrease. With regards to the Arab League, Feltman noted that Syria is considered to be an important part of the Arab world and there were numerous ideas for how to tackle the Syrian issue. Feltman noted that one such idea being circulated was suspending their membership or asking the UNSC for action; “They know Bashar has lied to them. There is recognition privately that Bashar’s days are numbered. Qatar used to lend Bashar a plane to fly around… but now they are heading the committee to try and find a way to get Bashar to leave. For Arab Leaders their own credibility with their own populations are now on the line regarding this issue.”

Boxer (D-CA) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) brought up the role of the UN in the conflict and the issue of Russian and Chinese obstructionism within the UN, and how they can be convinced to drop their attempts to block a resolution regarding Syria. Feltman noted that since Russia has “stated that they want a peaceful solution, they say we want the violence to stop, well we want the same thing as well. Lets say we take the Russians at their word, then they should join us in requiring monitors and international media to enter the country and review the situation. I don’t think the Russians can sustain their opposition to the Syrian people for very long.”

Risch asked how long the opposition could continue to hold out versus how long the Assad regime could continue to survive under the new regimen of sanctions.  Feltman noted that “it was hard to predict” but that the biggest problem was the regime’s attempt to turn the peaceful movement into an insurgency because the regime doesn’t know how to deal with peaceful protests, but the regime knows how to deal with violence. Bronin noted in regards to the regime’s ability to survive the sanctions, that while he “would hesitate to speculate on a timeline, their revenues have dropped dramatically” and that the sanctions have been successful not just against the energy sector but have also impacted Syria’s tourism industry and thus the regime is drawing down on their international currency reserves faster then they expected.

Senators Shaheen and Marco Rubio (R-FL) asked questions regarding Iran’s role in the Syrian conflict. Feltman stated that while the Iranian regime is supporting Assad and is providing the technological know-how and equipment to follow protesters and track down online activists. Yet, Feltman noted that Iran is embarrassed by the current situation in Syria and that some in the Iranian leadership feel that they “have lost credibility with the Arab world and I think Iran is in an interesting bind right now, they are trying to save Bashar while also trying to position themselves for a future [without Bashar].” Feltman also noted that a year ago Bashar’s favorability ratings within the Arab world were quite high, and yet today those numbers are quite low. In response to Rubio’s question regarding whether or not the loss of Syria would really harm Iran’s international and regional ambitions, Feltman affirmed this and noted that “Syria is essential to the extremely negative role Iran has played in the region…Iran is Syria’s best friend and only friend really in the Arab world…Our embassy reports that these demonstrations across Syria have an anti-hezbollah and anti-Iran flavor to them. They know who is helping the regime jail, torture and kill them.”

Finally, Casey brought up the case of American technology used to block the internet, ended up being used by the Assad regime to repress protesters. Casey specifically cited Blue Coat Systems Inc. and some internet filtering devices that were reportedly sent to Iraq but somehow ended up in Syria. Bronin and Feltman both stated that the Senator would have to speak with the Department of Commerce about this case and that indeed the Department of Commerce was looking into how this occurred and whether any laws were broken.