Massive Boost to Syrian Rebels

The Syrian opposition received a major boost yesterday with the announcement that the British government would provide £5 million in non-lethal equipment. This is great news for democracy in Syria and bad news for the Assad regime, it is also good news for us. By giving this aid to Syrian rebels we are establishing contacts in the new Syria. Everybody knows that Assad’s days are numbered and that his regime will not last, it’s just a matter of how long he will last. We know that by helping the rebels now, they will look more kindly to the Britain when democracy finally comes to Syria’s beleaguered citizens.

So what else could we do to help? Arming the rebels is out of the question because the weapons could fall into the hands of militant Islamists. Any other avenue requires UN support, the problem here of course is the opposition of China, but more important is Russia.  This rules out any sort of direct military action from outside forces, there will not be a no fly zone in Syria and there will certainly be no “boots on the ground”. The best thing that Britain and the rest of the West can do is to try and persuade Russia to change its position, if we can convince them that regime change is inevitable then it could be a game changer. When Assad is finally kicked from power the Syrian people will not be impressed that Russia was protecting their oppressor on the international stage. We must convince Russia that to have a voice in a new Syria, they will need to change support. This isn’t impossible.