Why Washington Really Wants Assad to Go

This is Why Washington Really Wants Assad to Go

A ceasefire followed by a democratic (and internationally supervised) presidential election might seem like the best way to bring peace to Syria. Damascus and Moscow see it this way, but not Washington, investigative journalist Robert Parry asserted.

© AFP 2015/ JALAA MAREY

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The US political establishment, particularly hardliners from both parties, does not want to see democracy in action in Syria since popular voting is unpredictable, meaning that there is a chance people will keep Bashar al-Assad in power.

Publicly, Barack Obama maintains that Assad has zero chances of being reelected but privately he might have reservations. At any rate, this is not a risk Washington is willing to take. "The US position is to bar Assad from the ballot, thus ensuring 'regime change' in Syria, a long-held goal of Official Washington's neoconservatives," the analyst noted.

This position is deeply engrained in Washington's psyche.  

"A key problem appears to be that the Obama administration has so demonized Assad and so bought into the neocon goal of 'regime change' that Obama doesn't feel that he can back down on his 'Assad must go!' mantra," Parry assumed.

In other words, the US president denies Syria's right to democracy because it does not suit Washington's needs.

"Democracy – supposedly one of the US government's goals for Middle East countries – can be the answer to the problem. However, since democracy can be an unpredictable process, it might not guarantee 'regime change' which apparently makes democracy an unsuitable solution for Syria," Parry lamented.

If this is indeed the case, then Washington has only two options when it comes to Syria: continue supporting rebels, who are fighting to overthrow al-Assad, or send ground troops to the war-torn country.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20151215/1031761936/us-syria-assad-democracy-elections.html#ixzz3uamedsEP