Obama warns of unstable Syria
Assad regime’s collapse could create extremist hotbed, president says
AMMAN, JORDAN— U.S. President Barack Obama warned Friday that an “enclave for extremism” could fill a leadership void in war-torn Syria — a chilling scenario for an already tumultuous region, especially for Jordan, Syria’s neighbour and a nation at the crossroads of the struggle for stability in the Middle East.
Obama said he remains confident that Syrian leader Bashar Assad’s government will ultimately collapse. But he warned that when that happens, Syria would not be “put back together perfectly” and could become a hotbed for extremists.
“I am very concerned about Syria becoming an enclave for extremism, because extremists thrive in chaos,” Obama said at a news conference with Jordan’s King Abdullah. “They thrive in failed states, they thrive in power vacuums.”
Obama’s 24-hour stop in Jordan marked his first visit to an Arab nation since the 2011 Arab Spring protests began. Jordan’s monarchy has clung to power in part by enacting political reforms, including parliamentary elections and significant revisions to the country’s 60year-old constitution. Still, tensions continue to simmer, with citizens questioning the speed and seriousness of the changes. Protecting Abdullah is paramount to U.S. interests. The 51-year-old king is perhaps Obama’s strongest Arab ally and a key player in efforts to jumpstart peace talks between Palestinians and Israel. Jordan has a peace treaty with Israel, and that agreement has become even more significant given the rise of Islamist leaders in Egypt, which was the first Arab country to ink a treaty with the Jewish state, in the 1970s. Obama arrived in Jordan after wrapping up his visit to Israel. On Friday, he opened the last full day of his Mideast trip with several stops around Jerusalem and Bethlehem, all steeped in political and religious symbolism. Obama is scheduled to fly back to Washington on Saturday.