Five questions on Syria for the Obama administration
Danielle Pletka | The Enterprise Blog
February 06, 2012

Getty Images

  • Download

Article Highlights

  • "#Syria is going to hell in a handbasket, and the world is watching" -@dpletka 5 questions for the Obama administration

    Tweet This

Syria is going to hell in a handbasket, and the world is watching. This morning, the State Department announced that the U.S. ambassador to Syria and his few remaining staff were gone, the embassy shuttered. That step and this weekend’s Russian and Chinese veto of an almost toothless U.N. Security Council resolution will dominate the news this morning, but the real question is: What next?

"Syria is going to hell in a handbasket, and the world is watching." -Danielle PletkaHere are five questions for the Obama administration, which professed itself “disgusted” by the Russian and Chinese veto:

1.    Will the United States support the arming of the Free Syrian Army?

2.    Will the United States join a “coalition of the willing” with the Arab League and others to support the Syrian opposition?

3.    Will the United States convene or join in the convening of a conference of the Syrian opposition to build unity and plan for the post-Assad transition?

4.    Will the United States release and urge others to release information about the foreign bank accounts of top Syrian officials, rather than waiting as everyone did post-Qadhafi?

5.    If it’s not doing the above, what exactly is the Obama administration doing for the people of Syria, except talking?

  • Download
Also Visit
AEIdeas Blog The American Magazine
About the Author

 

Danielle
Pletka

  • As a long-time Senate Committee on Foreign Relation senior professional staff member for the Near East and South Asia, Danielle Pletka was the point person on Middle East, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan issues. As the vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at AEI, Pletka writes on national security matters with a focus on Iran and weapons proliferation, the Middle East, Syria, Israel and the Arab Spring. She also studies and writes about South Asia: Pakistan, India and Afghanistan.


    Pletka is the co-editor of “Dissent and Reform in the Arab World: Empowering Democrats” (AEI Press, 2008) and the co-author of “Containing and Deterring a Nuclear Iran” (AEI Press, 2011). Her most recent study, “Iranian influence in the Levant, Egypt, Iraq, and Afghanistan,” was published in May 2012. She is currently working on a follow-up report on U.S.–Iranian competitive strategies in the Middle East, to be published in the summer of 2013.


  • Phone: 202-862-5943
    Email: dpletka@aei.org

  • Assistant Info

    Name: Alexandra Della Rocchetta
    Phone: 202-862-7152
    Email: alex.dellarocchetta@aei.org
Show More | See Full Profile

What's new on AEI

image The Fed can't save the stock market again
image Obama's IRS and AP scandals cast big chill on free speech
image Organic industry's credibility eroded by misinformation about GE foods
image It's not universal coverage
close

Join the AEI Media List

AEI's press office frequently sends press advisories highlighting the availability of scholars to discuss particular news topics, as well as recent AEI products (such as studies, articles, and testimonies). Please enter your contact information below to be added to our media list.
JOIN MEDIA LIST
AEI on Facebook
Events Calendar
  • 20
    MON
  • 21
    TUE
  • 22
    WED
  • 23
    THU
  • 24
    FRI
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 | 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Free beer: Liberating libations from ‘Bootleggers and Baptists’

Join us for a discussion of the history and future of federal and state alcohol regulation and competition, followed by a reception with beer, wine, and spirits.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 | 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
NCLB sanctions: Tests taken, lessons learned

Join education scholars and practitioners for a discussion about the latest NCLB research and its implications for future education policy.

Event Registration is Closed
Thursday, May 23, 2013 | 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Competing visions of the common good: Rethinking help for the poor

What shared commitments do we have as citizens and neighbors to care for one another? How can a proper ordering of America’s political economy enable the most people to have the best life? At this event, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), a longtime champion of human rights causes, and AEI President Arthur Brooks will join Wallis in addressing these and other questions.

VIEW EVENT DETAILS
No events scheduled this day.
No events scheduled this day.
No events scheduled this day.
No events scheduled this day.
No events scheduled this day.