Jin Canrong: The United States Will Still Attack Syria in Order to Curb the Shiite Alliance

Jin Canrong, China’s U.S. expert and Associate Dean at the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, discussed how he reads Obama’s speeches regarding U.S. plans on the Syria crisis. Jin said, “If Syria’s proposal to give up chemical weapons for peace progresses, then in the short term I think it greatly reduces the possibility of the use of force. … But in the long run, he [Obama] will still launch the attack because the real target when he attacks Syria is Iran. Syria, Iraq’s Shiite population, the Syrian government, and Hezbollah together have formed a Shiite Union from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. This is not acceptable to the United States and Saudi Arabia. They must get rid of it. The key to getting rid of it is through its weak point, namely Syria. As long as the goal of curbing the Shiite alliance is maintained, [the U.S.] is not going to give up; the war to attack the Bashar regime will happen sooner or later.”