Russia And Iran Stand With Syria
WHITFIELD: Saudi Arabia is calling for international action in Syria saying this, quote, "The Syrian regime has lost its legitimacy within the Arab world and internationally," end quote. Two major influencers in this Syrian crisis are Russia and Iran. Russia which has sent warships to the region hold as seat in the U.N. Security Council and has been a thorn in the side of the U.S. efforts to get the U.N. to OK military action against Syria. Iran is Syria's largest ally in the region and also has irritated world leaders over its nuclear ambitions. Joining me now from Washington is Joe Cirincione, a global security expert and the president of the Ploughshares Fund, which focuses on nuclear weapons policy and conflict resolution. Joe, first off, let me get your reaction to Saudi Arabia joining in this chorus. We have heard from Australia, France and Turkey all condemning Syria. Now Saudi Arabia doing the same, but you know, an Arab nation, very different.</s>JOE CIRINCIONE, PRESIDENT, PLOUGHSHARES FUND: Thank you, Fredricka. Yes, a very important statement and one that maybe will precede an Arab League statement on this. The United States very much wants the support of the Arab League, particularly in the case of any military action, but more importantly in any diplomatic solution to this crisis. Whatever your view on the military strikes almost everyone agrees that there is no military solution. A military strike can degrade Assad's capability, but it won't topple him from power, won't end the chemical weapons threat and certainly won't end the slaughter. Only a diplomatic solution can do that. To get that you need the involvement of all the players in the region including Russia and Iran, they have a very key role to trying to bring an end to this slaughter.</s>WHITFIELD: What would it take to get Russia and Iran on board to condemn because if anyone else has a word in this, most would say they're more complicit than anything else?</s>CIRINCIONE: They are. They're backers of the Assad regime. You might see Russia, for example, increasing its arms shipments to Assad in this case. Both have a similar interest to that of the United States. They would like to stabilize the conflict and they would like to keep Assad in power. You heard the president say the focus of our military action would not be regime change. There's a very good reason for that. You think Assad is bad? What follows an Assad collapse could be much, much worse, including a rise to power of al Qaeda-like Islamist forces that are fighting Assad. So what your outcome might be to stabilize, keep Assad in power at least for the moment and try to reach a diplomatic solution. Russia and Iran might have a say, interest in that. Ironically the president moving towards military action could be a lever to get Russia and Iran to aid a diplomatic solution.</s>WHITFIELD: That's where it gets very confusing then because, you know, critics of the Obama administration would say it's what happens next, which would be the greatest worry and if the Assad regime, if the objective is not to remove him, then how is it this kind of strike would help stabilize this country if it's the same regime and just now suffering a blow from U.S. attacks?</s>CIRINCIONE: That is one of the biggest argument against the strikes, if they really are just a shot across the bow, symbolic effort and then why are you doing this, you might make the situation worse. The president now has a diplomatic window for the next week. I think he did the right thing going to Congress. The Congress has the authority to make war, not the president. That's our constitutional democracy. But it buys him about a week, 10 days in which he can push the diplomatic solution. He has to put as much effort into trying to reach a political solution to this crisis as devoting to his military actions. A good place to start is G-20 meetings that will take place in Russia, St. Petersburg, September 5th and 6th. There he can try to say to Putin, you don't want me to strike, what are you going to do? How are you going to help end this slaughter?</s>WHITFIELD: The president beginning his travels to that region starting this Tuesday. After Monday, he is going to be meeting with among other people, members of his staff and also U.S. Senator John McCain, how the country proceeds as it pertains to Syria. Thanks so much, Joe Cirincione. Appreciate your insight.</s>CIRINCIONE: My pleasure, Fredricka.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, the U.S. says evidence that lethal sarin gas was used in Syria is overwhelming. What exactly does sarin gas do to a person's body? We'll explain why it's so toxic and deadly next.