The resignation of Sheikh Moaz, president of the Syrian Opposition Coalition, “represents a failure of American leadership which is only further weakening what is left of Syria’s responsible, democratic opposition.” says Arizona Senator John McCain. McCain issued a statement upon news of the resignation calling Sheikh Moaz “a fine and decent man who served the democratic cause of the Syrian people with dignity.”
“The international community, and the United States in particular, bears some responsibility for this setback. The Obama Administration spent a lot of diplomatic capital to facilitate the formation of the Syrian Opposition Coalition under Sheikh Moaz’s leadership. But over the past several months of the Coalition’s existence, the United States has done precious little to support their efforts. The moderate Syrian opposition is in a race against time to survive the radicalization of the conflict in Syria.”
McCain stated that “radicals and terrorists are emerging as the power on the ground in Syria because they are proving themselves relevant to people’s lives. They are delivering humanitarian and medical assistance, and they are increasingly leading the resistance to Assad with the best fighters. If the United States remains on the sidelines of this conflict, the Syrian revolution will be hijacked by Al-Qaeda, and anti-American radicals will inherit post-Assad Syria.”
Just last week, McCain and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) wrote to President Obama to urge him to take more active steps to stop the killing in Syria and force Bashar al-Assad to give up power.
“We believe there are credible options at your disposal, including limited military options, that would require neither putting U.S. troops on the ground nor acting unilaterally,” the senators wrote. In the letter, they laid out several recommendations that, they said, would “ease the suffering of the Syrian people and protect U.S. national security interests.”
Reports that chemical weapons have been used in Syria caused great alarm this month prompting a call for the provision of arms to vetted Syrian opposition groups, targeted strikes against Assad’s aircraft and SCUD missile batteries on the ground, and the establishment of safe zones inside Syria to protect civilians and opposition groups.