In These New Times

A realistic assessment as befits the author of “The Dispensable Nation: American Foreign Policy in Retreat.” I would only point out that the defeat of the rebels doesn’t mean the defeat of diplomacy- it is a precondition for it. The takfirist rabble was never going to feature at an international peace conference even if they were disposed to negotiate and, furthermore, they would never respect any cease-fire agreement. A token presence, however, can always be arranged. The essential role of the peace conference, in the first instance, is to conceal the reality revealed in this article. But we can have high hopes that once the process has been set in motion its consequences will be positive and far-ranging.

Vali Nasr

Bloomberg

4th June, 2013

Syria’s uprising offered the possibility of a strategic defeat of Iran. In this scenario, Iran would be weakened by the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, its single Arab ally and a vital link to Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia. Isolated, Iran would become more vulnerable to international pressure to limit its nuclear program. And as Iran’s regional influence faded, those of its rivals — U.S. allies Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia — would expand.

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