Int'l Law Expert: Assad 'Unspeakable,' But Deal With ISIS First

The noxious presence of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad on the global stage should not distract the United States and its allies from the job at hand, which is to eradicate the Islamic State (ISIS) from both Syria and Iraq, a U.S. Navy officer and legal scholar told "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner on Newsmax TV on Friday.

"Right now the focus is on ISIS and rightfully so," said Joshua Fiveson, a Harvard-trained law clerk, naval ensign in the Judge Advocate Generals' Corps, and legal correspondent for the global military news Web site Blue Force Tracker. 

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While few doubt Assad's brutality toward his own people, and many credit him with enabling ISIS, Fiveson said the world's collective legal, political and military instutions are not prepared yet to go after Assad or fill the vacuum his removal would create. 

For now he remains "the best bad option" in a situation with "multiple bad actors," while the U.S.-led coalition tries to identify legitimate heirs to a Syria that is rid of both ISIS and Assad, said Fiveson.

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