Max Boot graduated from the University of California in 1991 with high honors and a degree in history. In 1992, he received his masters from Yale University. Boot has been the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow in National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York since 2002, is a regular contributor to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and other publications, and is a contributing editor to the Weekly Standard and the Los Angeles Times.
Q: Do you think the U.N.’s call for Syria to give up chemical weapons will help the situation in the Middle East?
A: I think there is good cause to doubt the sincerity of the Russian proposal to have the U.N. take charge of the Syrian chemical weapons stockpile. Especially since today, Putin said he would not support a Chapter 7 resolution that would authorize military action in the event of Syrian noncompliance, so it’s hard to know if there isn’t a threat of military action, what would force Assad to give up something that’s such a bulwark of a regime. So to me, this looks like a stalling tactic on the part of Syria and Damascus and not a serious proposal.
Q: What do you think is the best course of action to take with regards to Syria?
A: A lot have been arguing for a couple of years now that we should be arming, training, and supporting the moderate elements of the Syrian opposition, and helping them, if necessary, with a no-fly zone and air strikes the way we did in Libya in 2011. I think the fact that Assad has used chemical weapons has upped the ante, which makes a credible international response all the more critical.
Q: But many people argue that the Syrian opposition is composed of al-Qaida. How would you respond to that?
A: Part of it on the Al-Jazeera front, and the Islamic state for Syria and Iraq are definitely al-Qaida affiliates. That’s not that part of the opposition that I’m suggesting we support. The problem is that those extremists are already supplied with arms, but the more moderate opposition groups don’t have that support and training. What I’m proposing is to support the moderate, non-jihadist groups of the Free Syrian Army as a bulwark against al-Qaida.
Q: Do you think that countries with basic Islamic values, countries like Egypt, Libya, and Syria will be able to have democratic regimes?
A: There already are Islamic democracies like Malaysia and Indonesia, but there’s no question that the growth of democracy in the Middle East is going to be a slow tortuous process, but then it was a tortuous process in the West too. I mean, democracy has taken root in every corner of the world; it’s now in 120 countries. It’s hard for me to believe that the Middle East is permanently immune from representative self-government.
Q: What would you say is the most important aspect to focus on in American foreign policy?
A: I would say I think the biggest issue right now is: will we continue as a world leader or are we going to retreat and decline. I think we still have the capacity of world leadership, we just need some will to go with it. Unfortunately, that will is not readily apparent in Washington today.
