What Philip Ruddock couldn't find in US

Philip Ruddock blasts lack of US, European leadership on Syria

August 31, 2015

(Translation of this article appears in Arabic section)

Liberal Party elder statesman Philip Ruddock has gone further than any Coalition figure in blasting the "absent" leadership of the United States and Europe on the bloody turmoil in Syria.

Bombing parts of Syria … will probably create more refugees rather than less. I can't see the logic in this

The former immigration minister said Washington and the key European countries being affected by a refugee crisis driven in large part by Syria were the obvious powers to find an international solution.

Liberal Party elder Philip Ruddock. Photo: Andrew Meares

But he said previous bad experiences in the Middle East appeared to have frightened countries away from taking leadership this time around.

"My own view out of Europe and North America is that in a sense they're almost unwilling because of their earlier experiences in relation to Iraq, in relation to Europe's engagement in Libya. And for that reason, the leadership you might normally expect appears to be absent," he told Fairfax Media.

Mr Ruddock, who recently visited the US and Europe as a member of Parliament's Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, said he was "looking for a steer as to where the leadership is coming from" in conversations with the State Department and Congress.

"I couldn't see it," he said.

He added: "When you sat down with the Brits and the French, talking about a broad range of issues and you're asking yourself, 'Where is the leadership coming [from]?' you had difficulty identifying it."

His remarks reflect views that have been expressed privately by some government figures.

They follow Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's comments on Monday morning that European countries facing an influx of asylum-seekers from Syria should do more to combat the Islamic State terror group in that country, including by joining air strikes.

The Abbott government is currently considering expanding the RAAF's air strikes from Iraq to neighbouring Syria.

Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said Ms Bishop "should explain why she's urging other countries to carry out airstrikes in Syria when her own government is yet to confirm its intentions".

Mr Ruddock said veto-wielding China and Russia needed to be engaged in the United Nations Security Council to get an international response to the Syrian crisis, which has driven more than four million people into neighbouring countries such as Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon and further abroad, many to Europe.

However refugees are fleeing not just groups like the Islamic State but also the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad, who would be strengthened by more devastating strikes against the militants.

Former senior Australian diplomat Richard Woolcott said a heavier air campaign might therefore make things worse for refugees.

"Bombing parts of Syria … will probably create more refugees rather than less. I can't see the logic in this," he said.

Paul Power, CEO of the Refugee Council of Australia, said that Europe needed to "marshal the political will to deal with the crisis within Syria at the source". This would require a regional approach, he said.