“Friends of Syria”, nonmilitary solution possible only if US and Russia stop the weapons

Speculation Surrounding Friends of Syria: How Will Syria’s Crisis be Addressed?
Charles Baeder – 24 February 2012 – Tunisia Live

Tunisia is holding the International Conference of the Friends of Syria

As diplomatic delegations and teams of journalists from around the world gather in Tunisia for the international Friends of Syria conference, many observers wonder whether the international community, through this summit, will finally confront Bashar al-Assad’s regime and respond to the battered Syrian opposition’s long unanswered calls for aid and recognition.

The lives of over 6,000 Syrians have been lost since the onset of the regime’s violent crackdown nearly a year ago, and demands for a coordinated international response to the crisis have reached an unprecedented level of urgency. After talks within the UN Security Council reached a standstill, the Friends of Syria conference was proposed by the Arab League as a means by which the international community could bypass the stalled process and draw up a peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis.

However, now that the opportunity has presented itself, some experts are doubtful of the resolve of the international actors attending the summit to act decisively in halting the unrelenting violence in Syria.

“I’m hoping for the best, but I’m setting modest expectations,” stated Robert Zarate, the president of the Foreign Policy Initiative – a U.S. non-profit foreign policy advocacy group. Zarate noted his skepticism that clear, definitive measures would be put forth by the conference’s delegates to address the deteriorating crisis in Syria. “Ultimately, we are seeing a ‘least common denominator problem’ – a way to find the least controversial solution to the problem, ” he said.

According to a press release issued yesterday from the U.S. Department of State, three pillars have been outlined as areas of discussion to be touched upon throughout the conference. The first pillar concerns the provision of aid to humanitarian groups on the ground. However, determining what form this aid will take is likely to be a divisive subject, as many countries have expressed an unwillingness to support the opposition in Syria militarily for fear of an escalation of the conflict. …more