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| Brzezinski warns against deeper U.S. engagement in Syria |
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 Former U.S. national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski has warned against deeper U.S. engagement in Syria and says that Barack Obama’s declaration that the use of chemical weapons by Syria would cross a “red line” was a mistake.
Obama’s setting of a “red line” if Bashar al-Assad’s government used chemical weapons was made “without too much thought,” Brzezinski said in an interview on Bloomberg Television on Saturday.
Brzezinski, who served under Democratic President Jimmy Carter, warned that U.S. military involvement in Syria would risk “a large-scale disaster for the United States.”
As the U.S. administration reviews options that include arming the insurgents fighting Assad, Brzezinski said the U.S. is backing the weakest of the militants trying to oust Syria’s president. “What did we accomplish” if the result of deeper U.S. involvement bolsters “the more radical elements,” including those with ties to al-Qaeda, he said.
The U.S. must be careful “not to get engaged in such a way that we become the chief protagonist, and eventually not just in Syria, but in the region as a whole” Brzezinski said.
Brzezinski also warned of the dangers of a regional war in Asia that could rival the conflicts that tore apart Europe in the 20th century.
“There is a potential danger that Asia could unwittingly replicate the disasters that Europe experienced in the last century,” said Brzezinski, who is now a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington policy group.
Citing the administration’s announced “pivot” to Asia, Brzezinski said, “We might have somewhat unintentionally signified to the Chinese that we want to organize some sort of a coalition against them.”
Brzezinski said the U.S. must have the capacity to credibly counterattack any cyberthreat from governments such as China or from hackers. Referring to the so-called Stuxnet virus that was deployed against Iran’s nuclear program, Brzezinski argued against the U.S. initiating such cyberattacks.
(Source: Bloomberg)
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