Former US Ambassador Robert Ford speaks to Kurdistan 24 about Syria, Peshmerga
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Former United States Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford spoke on Wednesday in an interview with Kurdistan 24 about US policy in Syria and also said he expected that his government would continue its long history of cooperation with Kurdistan Region Peshmerga forces as an important partner on the world stage.
He made the comments while participating in a panel discussion at the Middle East Peace and Security Forum (MEPS21) held this week in the American University of Kurdistan (AUK) in Duhok.
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When asked about American intentions in Syria, Ford pointed out that the US does not yet have firm plans for its path forward in the embattled nation, but that its first priority in Syria is to fight ISIS in northeastern Syria and provide humanitarian aid there.
He also indicated that the US’ second priority is to “try to help to find accountability for war crimes committed by Syrian government officials, but none of these will bring peace to Syria.”
“We should be honest about it; the Americans cannot bring peace to Syria.”
“When you talk about ceasefires,” he continued, “for the Americans, the most important ceasefires are in northwest Syria and northeast Syria, and the Americans support these things, but of course other countries including Turkey and Russia and the Syrian government have a big role and it is not only an American question.”
After being asked about US attempts to reduce Iran's presence in Syria, Ford said, “I do not think the Biden administration has a realistic hope that American policy can compel - can force Iran to withdraw all its forces from Syria.” Although the former Trump Administration had some notion to try to do so, “the Biden administration is more realistic.”
“It is interesting that the number one country which is attacking Iran in Syria is not the United States; it is Israel,” he said. “Of course the Americans support the Israeli air attack against Iranian positions - there was another one yesterday - but the Americans do not think Iran will withdraw all its forces from Syria.”
The diplomat explained that the fighting in Syria will not affect the Iran nuclear negotiations in Geneva and that Tehran understands that “you can negotiate one problem even while you continue to argue and even fight in another different area.”
“I think the Americans understand that Iran is going to have a role in Iraq and Syria, but the Americans do not want for the Iranian presence in Syria to be a threat against neighboring countries such as Israel or Jordan or Turkey,” he told the forum's participants and attendees, saying, “Americans want the final deciders who make decisions about policy in Iraq to be Iraqi officials and not Iranian.”
Turning the conversation to events farther eastward, Ford explained, “American policy in Afghanistan could never succeed because American strategy depended on a strong Afghan partner, and Afghan partner was never strong,” for multiple reasons.
In answering a question regarding the struggle of the major powers in the Middle East and additionally whether the new US administration can succeed in shifting the balance of power, guessing that “we will probably see in the next years the Americans work closely with allies in the region, including Kurdish regional government and Iraq’s federal government in Baghdad as well as in other countries in the Gulf region, Jordan, Israel, and I hope someday Turkey.”
Addressing the Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga forces, he stated, “The Americans are continuing an assistance program with the Peshmerga. We have a long history of cooperation with the Peshmerga. Since the first time I came to Iraq in 2003, we had cooperation with Peshmerga then and it has continued ever since.”
“I don’t think the cooperation with Peshmerga will end; I think it will continue, but I also think the Americans want to reduce their role in Iraq’s defense and give more responsibility to Iraqi security forces, including Peshmerga in the Kurdish region,” Ford added.
Regarding the Sinjar (Shingal) Agreement, signed by the governments of Erbil and Baghdad to bring security and governance to the Yezidi(Ezidi)-majority district, that has yet to be fully implemented due to the presence of multiple outlaw militias groups in the area.
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“Sinjar is a complicated question, as there are many sides involved.”
“The important thing to understand is that, in the time of Biden Administration,” he concluded, “the Americans will leave this to Iraqis from the Iraqi Kurdish region and other parts of Iraq to find the answers, and it would be a very different kind of American approach from what you saw 10 or 15 years ago.”