8/13/2019 Times Saudi Failure to Arm Syrian Rebels Lets Assad Tighten Grip

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Saudi failure to arm Syrian rebels lets

Assad tighten grip

An anti-government protest in Aleppo by civilians and Free Syrian Army fighters

Hugh Tomlinson,Riyadh, and Michael Evans Published at 12:01AM, February 21 2014

SaudiArabia has marginalised its powerful intelligence chief in a stark admission that

his policy of aggressively arming Syrian rebels is failing to weaken the Assad regimes

grip on power.

As Western intelligence agencies lament the newfound strength of the Syrian

Government with defections reduced to a trickle the Saudis have appointed a

new man to take charge of the kingdoms approach to the civil war.

The change at the top of intelligence sees Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the Interior

Minister who is well respected in Washington for his counter-terrorism operations,

replacing Prince Bandar bin Sultan as the main policymaker on Syria.

Prince Bandar, viewed as the main cause of the bitter divisions between Saudi Arabia

and Washington, had urged military intervention by the US and wanted to give the

rebels heavier weapons, including shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles.

That policy, however, led to thousands of foreign militants participating in the war,

including al-Qaeda extremists, and the threat of a terrorist blowback in the region

and throughout Europe.

Now, along with continuing the policy of pushing for heavy weaponry, intelligence

chiefs in Riyadh are also expected to take measures to stop would-be jihadists

leaving Saudi Arabia for Syria.

The implied admission that arming the rebels has failed to make a difference on the

battlefield comes amid official acknowledgement that hopes for a mass-defection of

key army and security personnel from the Assad regime have proved wrong.

American sources said the number of defections had been cut to a trickle.

Mr Assads inner circle, largely a family affair, has remained totally loyal.

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8/13/2019 Times Saudi Failure to Arm Syrian Rebels Lets Assad Tighten Grip

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The intelligence sources said that the togetherness, as well as support from Iran,

Hezbollah and Russia, and the regimes control of the skies, meant Mr Assads

position remained resilient.

The Saudis have renewed their calls to Washington to give its backing to the delivery

of anti-aircraft missiles to the rebels, which they believe could force a reduction in thelarge-scale bombing of opposition-held territory.

Mr Obama has so far refused to give his approval, fearing the missiles could fall into

the hands of al-Qaeda-affiliated groups in northern Syria.

Prince Mohammed, whose appointment has not been announced in Riyadh, went to

Washington last week and met Susan Rice, the US National Security Adviser. It is

likely that arming the rebels with heavier weapons will have been discussed.

Mustafa Alani, a security specialist with the Gulf Research Centre who is close toSaudi intelligence services, told the Wall Street Journalthat Prince Mohammed could

be the one to convince the Americans that the surface-to-air missiles could be

provided without the risk of being switched to militant groups.

The Americans have to change their policy, and Prince Mohammed is the right

person to take this mission. Hes the one who can calm their worries, he said.

The new man is also expected to play a bigger role in diplomatic efforts to bring the

civil war to an end, possibly putting added pressure on Moscow to stop arming the

Assad regime.

The marginalising of Prince Bandar, a former Ambassador to Washington, followed a

number of diplomatic gaffes and the feeling in Washington that he had become too

volatile in dealing with the Syrian issue.

Bandar was brokering policy on his own. He got too big and too erratic, a Western

intelligence source said.

A Saudi source said: The Foreign Ministry has been forced to repair the damage

done by Bandar. The strategy in Syria is not working.

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