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Source: Getty

In The Media

Military Strike in Syria Will Not Lead to A Political Process

A military strike in Syria will not result in changing the parameters of the conflict and will not result in President Assad agreeing to a political process.

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By Marwan Muasher
Published on Sep 4, 2013
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Russia and Eurasia

The Russia and Eurasia Program continues Carnegie’s long tradition of independent research on major political, societal, and security trends in and U.S. policy toward a region that has been upended by Russia’s war against Ukraine.  Leaders regularly turn to our work for clear-eyed, relevant analyses on the region to inform their policy decisions.

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Middle East

The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

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Source: BBC World News

As Washington debates over approving a U.S. military strike in Syria, Carnegie’s Marwan Muasher told BBC World News that the military strike has no clear objectives, will not result in changing the parameters of the conflict, and will not result in President Assad agreeing to a political process. While President Obama and French President François Hollande have argued that a strike would degrade the regime’s ability for a chemical attack, Muasher maintained that it would not do much to the regime itself “which has shown no mercy in killing its own citizens.”

"I think what is needed is a political process rather than more suffering for the Syrian people," he said, highlighting that majority of Arab public opinion is against Assad and against a military strike which they do not see as part of the solution. “We have to find a process other than a military strike, which is not going to involve boots on the ground, which is not going to result in changing the game. We have to find a political process before it is too late,” Muasher concluded.

This interview was originally aired on BBC World News.

About the Author

Marwan Muasher

Vice President for Studies

Marwan Muasher is vice president for studies at Carnegie, where he oversees research in Washington and Beirut on the Middle East. Muasher served as foreign minister (2002–2004) and deputy prime minister (2004–2005) of Jordan, and his career has spanned the areas of diplomacy, development, civil society, and communications.

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Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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