Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States has sought to form an international
coalition to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2013.

Officials said President Barack Obama has decided to launch an
initiative to convene Arab and Western allies to end the civil war in Syria.
They said Obama intends to meet the leaders of Syria’s neighbors as well as
other Middle East states over the next few weeks to draft a unified
regional strategy on everything from Iran, Syria and the Palestinians.

“He will use these opportunities to discuss the complex developments in
the broader Middle East,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said. “Not just Syria, but including Syria.”

Officials said Obama has scheduled meetings with the leaders of Jordan,
Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. They said Jordan and Turkey were most affected by the two-year Sunni revolt in Syria while Qatar and the UAE were playing a major role in financing the rebels.

The meetings with Arab leaders reflect Obama’s decision to form an
international coalition against Assad. Obama, criticized for failing to help
the rebels despite more than 70,000 dead, intends to link Syria with other
regional issues, particularly the U.S. campaign for a Palestinian state in
the West Bank in 2014.

“We want a coalition that will work together on a range of issues seen
as destabilizing the region,” an official said.

On April 5, the White House organized a high-level interagency meeting
that sought options on Syria. Officials said the White House has signaled to
both the Defense Department and State Department that Syria would be a
leading priority for the administration in 2013.

Officials said Jordan would play a major role in any campaign against
Assad. They said the visit by Jordan’s King Abdullah and his meeting with
Obama on April 26, the second in a month, were meant to determine U.S.
military and civilian aid to help the Hashemite kingdom, with nearly 500,000
Syrian refugees, defend against any spread of the Sunni revolt in Syria, in
which Al Qaida was believed to be a significant participant.

“We are extremely concerned of the risk of prolonged sectarian conflict
that, if it continues as we’re seeing, leads to the fragmentation of Syria,”
Abdullah said.

  King Abdullah, Obama enlists Arab allies for unified strategy to oust Assad, Palestinian state, two-year Sunni revolt