Former Carter National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski called for the United States to "leave some room for [an] Iranian role" in a resolution to the Syrian conflict Friday on MSNBC:
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Given what the senator has just said, dad, before we move to guns, what do you think the best next step forward is with Syria?
ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI: First of all, I'm a little baffled by our recent decision to give money to the rebels but refuse to give them arms on the grounds we don't know who they are, they are not reliable. Because if we give them money but not arms, they will use the money to buy arms. So what are we accomplishing if, in fact, we don't know who is, so to speak, on our side. Beyond that, I think frankly, I think the problem of Syria is susceptible to an international resolution, provided we are able to engage both Russia and China in a serious dialogue and we leave some room for Iranian role as well because Iran is a neighbor. I think that attempt is perhaps more likely to produce a productive outcome than plunging into a conflict which as the senator said very well, can have regional implications and become not an imitation of what happened in Iraq, but something even worse than what happened in Iraq.