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Regional allies desert Al Assad as troops kill protesters and suppress reformists

(Gulf News, August 11) – The violence perpetrated by the Syrian government on its own people has isolated President Bashar Al Assad from his former allies in the region. This week Turkey hardened its line and was joined by leading Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to condemn the violence and distance itself from its former friend.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has told Al Assad that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has "run out of patience" with the Syrian crackdown that has killed over 2,000 people. Turkey had worked hard to improve relations with Al Assad over the past few years, and its desertion is a major blow to Al Assad's regional standing.

But more importantly, the GCC states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain have recalled their ambassadors for consultations, indicating they also are fed up with the continuing violence meted out by Syrian troops on their own population. This comes after Saudi Arabia had worked hard to build bridges with Al Assad's government which was seen as being far too close to Iran.

The mystery so far has been Iran's silence on the escalating violence in Syria. Ahmadinejad inherited a well developed alliance as Iran and Syria had made common cause to cope with the impact of the American invasion of Iraq. Ahmadinejad will not want to dump his most significant Arab ally, but he is also nervous of linking himself to a regime that may well collapse in the foreseeable future, or at the very least be fatally wounded for years to come.

There is no doubt that the Syrian government's brutal attempt to survive the current protests is doing it no good in the region. It has not succeeded in stopping the protests and there is nothing like success to encourage apparent friendships. But the present round of continual killing and suppression is forcing everyone to abandon Al Assad.