FP: Congresswoman leads-one person congressional delegation to Syrian Embassy

Sheila Jackson Lee is infamous on the Hill for being a terrible boss. I am charitable in saying she is known for her diva-like qualities and tormenting her staffers.

She is also well known for her antics, and this one takes the cake.  She wrote a letter asking the Members of Congress to join her at the Syrian Embassy in Washington "to ask for an immediate cease-fire, a resumption of international mediation, and a peaceful end to the conflict."

Not surprisingly, not one other member joined her on her meeting at the Syrian Embassy to "express ur disapproval of actions taken by President Bashar al-Assad's troops against the people of Syria."

Not only is she crazy, she's stupid for letting herself be used by the al-Assad regime.

According to one congressional aide, "It's hard to show your support for the people of Syria by legitimizing a regime that continues to brutalize them."

Yikes. 

McCain and Graham reiterate support for arming Syrian rebels

Senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham, both on the Senate Armed Services Committee, went before the Sunday talk shows this morning to speak out strongly in favor of arming the Syrian rebels. 

"I believe there are ways to get weapons to the opposition without direct United States involvement," said McCain. "...People that are being massacred deserve to have the ability to defend themselves.  So I am not only opposed, but I am in favor of weapons being obtained by the opposition."

The same day, Army General Martin E. Dempsey told Fareed Zakaria, "I would challenge anyone to clearly identify for me the opposition movement at this point."

"There are a number of players, all of whom are trying to reinforce their particular side of this issue. And until we're a lot clearer about who they are and what they are, I think it would be premature to talk about arming them."

Dempsey also noted Syria's military is "very capable" and the country has a "sophisticated, integrated" air defense system.  

As Abu Muquwama noted, according to the 2011 Military Balance, Syria has 4,950 main battle tanks; 2,450 BPMs; 1,500 more armored personnel carriers; 3,440+ pieces of artillery; and 600,000 men under arms in the active and reserve forces. How is it possible outside forces provide the Syrian rebels with the material necessary to counter this? The answer is that it's not possible; intervention will become necessary.

I am really torn about this issue. On the one hand, what's happening in Syria isn't right. Al-Assad will not stop until he's taken out. But arming the opposition makes me extremely uneasy.  It won't solve anything, and would probably lead to foreign intervention. 

Plus, aren't these guys amongst the rebels?

Yes. 

Does the term blowback ring a bell?

I wouldn't trust them not to turn the weapons against religious and racial minorities, especially Shi'ites, a sect the militant organization considers apostates.  Providing them with weapons would in effect be saving the lives of some--those targeted by the al-Assad regime--by sacrificing those of others--those targeted by al-Qaeda.  

Egypt vs. Pakistan, con't

A friend rightly pointed out this morning that Egypt and Pakistan are two different countries, two different cultures, two different societies.  I mentioned this in passing in my previous post highlighting Dunne and Nawaz's piece in the New York Times asking if Egypt can avoid Pakistan's fate. When I initially read the headline of the NYT piece I was a bit skeptical--I hate easy situational comparisons that ignore differences between countries (Egypt is becoming Pakistan! Turkey is becoming Iran! Afghanistan is our Vietnam!). Glosses over too much.  And if it's simplistic enough to be featured on CNN, it's probably wrong.

I think another important thing to mention is the liberals/activists/more Western-oriented individuals, whatever you want to call them, still have faith there is a place for them in Egypt. They're engaging in their communities and politics (although to varying degrees of success) and many are moving back to Egypt to contribute to this new society.  Most people I met from Pakistan, however, that fit this bill have left and never looked back.  A few months ago I met a girl on an airplane from Pakistan and she said there was no space in society for people like her.  To me, Pakistan should be worried about this when the best and brightest feel disassociated and unwelcome.  At the bare minimum, they will be unable to shake their economic stagnation without engaging these sectors of society.

But regarding Egypt's decision to try 19 Americans in a case linked to foreign funding of NGOs, SCAF is obviously playing politics here.  It's easy to divert attention from an economy in the toilet when you're deflecting blame to foreign elements. It's also an easy way to maintain support of an otherwise antsy public--Egypt's under siege by the Americans/Israelis/whoever. Best to maintain unity.

I am torn about whether or not the United States should pull aid funding.  We'd be playing politics right back.  According to Gallup, Egyptians overwhelmingly don't even want the money, but the aid was never about what Egyptians want. It is more for pursuing United States priorities.