Jarba in Washington: Obama, There Is a Lot You Can Do

American President Barack Obama has an adequate opportunity to avoid repeating the tragedy that occurred in Iraq, and to avoid offering a late apology to the Syrian people like the one he offered the Iraqi people. The visit of Ahmad Jarba, president of the Syrian National Coalition, presents an appropriate opportunity for Obama to grant Jarba’s requests so that the regime can be toppled.

Jarba affirmed, “We do not want many weapons or massive weapons, we want quality weapons in small quantities.” Jarba was clear in his speech at the U.S. Institute of Peace last Wednesday in terms of what the Syrian opposition needs in order to tip the scales of power on the ground and reach a political resolution.

In his speech, Jarba requested “deterrent weapons to neutralize air strikes and shift the balance of power on the ground, which will open up a real chance for a political resolution.” Jarba prefaced this direct request for anti-aircraft weapons with an assurance to the Americans that the opposition forces are the ones who are fighting against terrorists.

Obama asked the Iraqi people to “let bygones be bygones”; we want him to say the same to us, but today, not tomorrow. We hope that he will grant Jarba what he is requesting, support the opposition quickly, stop Bashar al-Assad in his criminal tracks, put a stop to Iran’s support of al-Assad, refrain from engaging in any exchanges or negotiations with Tehran, and prioritize putting an end to Syrian bloodshed.

The U.S. Congress recognized that the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, which is said to be the largest intelligence base in history, is the entity that is actually leading Iraq and is responsible for the national and societal division and perpetuation of terrorism. When, then, will Congress recognize that Washington’s foot-dragging, late decisions and faulty agenda are responsible for what is going on in Syria? And that Robert Ford, the previous U.S. ambassador in Syria is responsible, in one way or another, for the circumstances that came after him in terms of the Syrian opposition — the very same circumstances that he rushed to criticize as soon as he left his position, even though he had blood on his hands for them.

Obama told the Iraqis, “We can do it.” The Syrian people know that, indeed, “he can do it,” if he were to apologize to the Syrian people, radically change American policy, and change the policy of turning a blind eye to Iran and its destruction, which is effectively a green light for more killing.

The Syrian people are waiting for Obama to tell them, “Since we turned a blind eye from your massacre and the destruction of Syria, we will send John McCain on a tour around Syria’s neighboring countries to assure the nations and the refugees that a resolution is near. Before that, we will send him to pressure Iran to stop supporting the Syrian regime and reinforcing them with militias, and to assure Iran that the game has changed, the rules are different now — better yet, the game is over.”

They are waiting for Obama to assure the Syrian people, “We will send McCain to the Friends of the Syrian People and the Gulf countries in order to contribute a large amount of funds to rebuild Syria,” and, “all [of this] we can do.”

The Syrian people are waiting for Obama to promise the Americans and Syrians that Washington will not treat each issue independently, but instead will treat Syrian blood as a priority and that the new American ambassador will completely change the country’s policy and work with a clear strategy toward a single goal, just as our Western instructors said in human rights training sessions: freedom and democracy.

Bahia Mardeeni is a Syrian writer and journalist.