American policy in Syria has over the past decade been chaotic, bumbling and tragic in equal measure. From an early reluctance to call on President Bashar Al Assad to step down, to absurd attempts to back the opposition with just enough arms to maintain a stalemate without doing anything to protect civilians from the destruction, and America's failure to act on its own chemical weapons red lines, the US policy on Syria helped seal the ultimate defeat of the rebellion.
That lack of coherence in America's regional strategy manifested under former US president Barack Obama, when he negotiated a nuclear deal with Iran, while attempting neither to tame its regional ambitions nor the proxy militias that were unleashing havoc in Syria.
Washington’s focus on counter-terrorism – through a narrow campaign to defeat ISIS – without trying to address the violence and power vacuum that led to the rise of the group’s depraved ideology, gave carte blanche to Mr Al Assad and his backers to violently subdue his own populace.
Even Mr Obama’s vaunted deal to strip Damascus of its chemical weapons arsenal, after the latter used it to kill over a 1000 people in the towns of Eastern Ghouta in 2013, did not prevent other chemical atrocities in Khan Sheikhun and Douma, as well as dozens of chlorine attacks.
Donald Trump did more than his predecessor to punish Mr Al Assad through limited strikes after chemical attacks and through wide-ranging sanctions, but his tweet-based foreign policy and impulsive troop withdrawals ensured that Washington had little capacity to influence peace negotiations, which were dominated by Russia, Iran and Turkey. This resulted in a deadlock.
The next US president has the opportunity to revive these stalled peace talks and leverage the broad and tough Caesar sanctions, which the US imposed earlier this year, to push for a political resolution. Failing to do so risks perpetuating a frozen conflict and heaping further misery upon Syria's beleaguered people.
US involvement in Syria began with a call in October 2011 for Mr Al Assad to step down, followed by non-lethal aid for the Syrian opposition. Separate CIA and Pentagon programmes were set to arm Syrian rebel groups, but only succeeded in providing a little weaponry to carefully vetted rebel groups that had little influence on the ground, and certainly no arsenal that could have allowed them to shoot down Mr Al Assad's warplanes.
These programmes eventually descended into farce when the campaign against ISIS began, as the US insisted that those weapons should be used to combat terrorist groups rather than the regime, and were eventually cancelled.
Despite declaring chemical weapons a red line, the US dithered when they were used, allowing the Assad regime to continue to wage its campaign that killed hundreds of thousands of civilians with impunity.
The US focused its military efforts to defeat ISIS after the group declared its false caliphate. Washington backed Kurdish militias that spearheaded the assault on the terrorists' strongholds, alienating Turkey, which saw the strongholds as a national security threat.
The next US president also has an opportunity to undo a decade of damage
The lack of a clear strategy was manifest in Mr Trump's sudden decision to withdraw American troops from Syria, a surprise to most diplomats, analysts and his own military, prompting the resignation of his defence secretary and abandoning his Kurdish allies, who were forced to seek a rapprochement with the Assad regime.
American involvement in Syria is not necessarily altogether good, but at the very least it counters the influence of Russia and Iran, that have aided Mr Al Assad’s worst excesses. And Turkey, which is primarily interested in prosecuting its conflict with the Kurds, and building a sphere of influence along its southern border, rather than striving for a comprehensive peace.
The Caesar Act offers a useful leverage point for the next US president to push for tangible political reforms in exchange for lifting the sanctions, which are primarily aimed, at least publicly, at holding accountable Syria’s war criminals.
Inadvertently, Mr Trump has created conditions – through the Caesar Act and the wide-ranging sanctions against Iran – for the US to force a re-examination of the peace process and to offer incentives to Mr Al Assad's staunchest backers to come to the negotiating table and seriously discuss ways to end the war.
But the next US president also has an opportunity to undo a decade of damage that Mr Obama’s craven policies and Mr Trump’s term have done – not just in Syria but to international norms at large.
The effects of the Syrian conflict have been felt beyond the country’s borders. It triggered a refugee crisis that reshaped politics in Europe. It also eroded customs against bombing hospitals, starving civilians to death and using chemical weapons. Allowing war crimes such as these to continue enshrines barbarity instead of decency.
The next US president, whether it is Joe Biden or Donald Trump, must work seriously towards solving the Syrian crisis. The rejuvenation of a decrepit entity we call the international community depends on it.
Kareem Shaheen is a veteran Middle East correspondent in Canada and a columnist for The National
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
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Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
INFO
Everton 0
Arsenal 0
Man of the Match: Djibril Sidibe (Everton)
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
The specs: 2018 GMC Terrain
Price, base / as tested: Dh94,600 / Dh159,700
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Power: 252hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 353Nm @ 2,500rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.4L / 100km
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
EXPATS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
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Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Results
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