24 Nov 2015

Obama and Hollande find unity on Syria

On a day when the Syrian conflict seems more chaotic than ever, Presidents Obama and Hollande opted for simplicity. Citing 9/11 and Paris’ 13/11, they declared, “We are united, in total solidarity. ISIS must be destroyed.”

Judging by their joint press conference at the White House, not only do they agree on their aim, they seem to agree on how to get there. President Hollande laid out:

Scale up air strikes in Iraq and Syria. Strengthen and broaden the scope of those strikes. Take back key locations from ISIS. Close the border between Turkey and Syria to stop the flow of foreign fighters. Work together with our partners. Support all those fighting ISIS on the ground.

Russia

When asked about the Russian jet shot down by Turkey, both urged against any escalation but President Obama cited Turkey’s right to defend itself.

Russia is where President Hollande travels later this week. There were murmurings in Washington that the French leader might be too ready to offer concessions, to buy Russian cooperation. But that was not in the air in the East Room.

The message instead was even a grand coalition will be just grand without Russia, unless Moscow signs up to some basic parameters. Shift to targetting ISIS. Actively support the ceasefire, and move away from supporting Bashar al-Assad.

For the first time, President Obama offered up some specific detail on how Assad’s fall from power might be managed. Describing the Vienna process as ‘our best opportunity’, he swerved a question for an end date to the Assad regime. He explained it will happen as soon as there is a new constitution, and elections, in which “Mr Assad chooses not to run.” It seems Secretary of State John Kerry has his orders.

There was a time when the French were not so enamoured of the Obama administration’s policy on Syria. In August 2013, French engines were hot, as one analyst told me this week, when Bashar al-Assad crossed President Obama’s red line on chemical weapons. But then the UK, and the US, stepped back from military action.

Now, President Hollande says “there is a new mindset”. Three hundred thousand Syrian lives later; with a generation of Syrians cast adrift from their own country, and scattered to Europe and the US; and a terrorist force able to target European, African, and Middle Eastern capitals; the urgency is clear, even if the solution remains far from simple.

Tweets by @C4KylieM