Syria’s only hope of peace is if Assad is removed

(The Guardian)- The authors of this article are the current and the three former presidents of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces

Terror has returned to the streets of Paris. So, too, has the realisation that international efforts to defeat terrorism are failing. Islamic State is emboldened. Terror attacks continue. And innocent civilians pay the ultimate price. As the presidents of Syria’s main opposition group — the Syrian National Coalition — we’ve watched the violence in Syria destroy our nation, infest the region, and now, threaten peace and security in Europe.

Today we say “enough is enough”. It’s time to face the facts: the haphazard approach to the crisis in Syria has been a disaster. Comprehensive solutions are needed that can end the war in Syria and destroy terrorist groups such as Isis once and for all. This week, we have a chance to achieve precisely that.

A new round of Syria peace talks are under way in Vienna. If properly conducted, these talks could help achieve a sustainable end to the crisis in Syria, and an effective approach to tackling Isis. But to do so, world leaders must recognise that the two come hand-in-hand. To achieve a political solution we must defeat Isis, and to defeat Isis we must achieve a political transition in Syria.

The Syrian National Coalition has long maintained that to achieve a transition in Syria, we must have an effective plan to fight terrorism. That is why during peace talks in Geneva in 2014, we stated clearly that we were ready and willing to conduct parallel and simultaneous talks on the two key issues of forming a transitional governing body and fighting terrorism.

But then — as now — Assad was not interested. Despite his claims to want to counter terror, he did everything in his power to scuttle the talks and increase the scale of the killing across Syria. As he did, the threat posed by terrorists grew, and Syria subsequently became a safe-haven for Isis.

Let us be clear: Assad never has been, nor will ever be, an alternative to Isis. He will never bring peace to Syria, nor will he ever be capable of taking on extremists. There is no capacity on the regime’s side to regain control and restore stability to the country.

 Moderate forces of the opposition are the only forces that have proved capable of combating Isis and winning back territory, as the Free Syrian Army (FSA) did in 2013. But, thanks to the failure of our western partners, Syria’s moderates are deeply under-resourced. Despite our repeated appeals, we never received the support needed from our friends.

The only way to effectively take on Isis is to create a ground force capable of fighting terror and stabilising the country. With proper support, such a force could eradicate the Isis terror nest in Raqqa. But this will only happen when we formulate a political plan that ensures a transition away from Syria’s current leadership and state clearly that the end game is Assad’s exit from power.

By exit we mean a genuine end to the Assad family’s rule and a consistent plan for the transformation of Syria’s deeply corrupt security sector - in stark contrast to the precedent set by Yemen, where Ali Abdullah Saleh was allowed to remain head of his political party and in de facto charge of the security apparatus, with terrible consequences for the country.

Under the aforementioned conditions, the opposition would work with Syrian government organisations to restore basic services and the FSA would willingly concentrate its efforts on defeating Isis. De facto cooperation would occur with the units of the Syrian national army that are not tied directly to the Assad family.

The FSA, together with these army units from which identified criminal officers have been removed, would form the two natural components of an indigenous force dedicated to fighting Isis and any combination of forces that aims to destabilise the country. Such a force would provide the international community’s best chance to defeat Isis.

 But to do so, Russia must stop its targeting of Syrian moderate opposition strongholds and end its attacks on FSA forces - attacks that have only made Isis stronger and served to kill innocent civilians. Russia must also stop its misguided insistence on keeping Assad in power. If and when Russia abandons this position, it will find the political opposition ready to cooperate. A powerful, effective centrist grouping of opposition members and institutions of government could be formed without Assad and his immediate cronies, capable of stabilising the country and carrying on the fight against Isis.


Underpinning this approach – and in order to make the path to political transition viable – is the urgent necessity to stop the indiscriminate aerial bombardments that remain the primary driver of insecurity across Syria. The protection of civilians must be at the centre of any political process, including at Vienna. So too must Syrians themselves.

It will be up to Syrians to implement a peace, and so it should up to Syrians to lead the political process. And Syrians are abundantly clear: Assad cannot be part of a future, democratic Syria. Only by removing Assad can we save what remains of the Syrian state and effectively tackle terrorism so that Syria - and the world - can be safe once more.