Editorial

Taming the ‘Wild’

They don’t believe in fair play—the United States and its western allies. They have tried everything short of open and direct military intervention in Syria : funding the rebels, imposing devastating sanctions, inflicting proxy war on the country, both covert and overt, seeking (in vain) a UNSC resolution to sanitise blitzkrieg, sabotaging every genuine attempt to search for a diplomatic solution. And yet all of this has so far proved of no avail. The rebels of the ‘misnamed’ Free Syrian Army (FSA) are in the race because of American backing. The destructive strategy of both sides—FSA and Assad’s Government—has created a living hell for ordinary Syrians. The sectarian hatred utilised by the game planners in Washington is the manifestation of the time-tested ‘divide and rule’ policy. The fanaticism of the bigots is not alone directed against those holding to the Alawite faith, but is no less fervent against other religious and ethnic minorities, particularly christians.

The allegation that Turkey, a NATO member, is deliberately giving provocations in the Syrian crisis, to prepare ground for direct NATO bombing, cannot be dismissed lightly. Then it will be just re-run of Iraqi and Libyan scenarios. Ankara, of late, at Washington’s promoting, seems to have raised its stakes. Having long provided aid, succour and sanctuary to armed rebellion against the Syrian leadership, while turning the common border into a porous one, the Turkish government has actually exposed its citizens to the perils of living in what has virtually become a battle zone. With death of a Turkish family of five in cross-fire along the international border, NATO was quick to vow to ‘‘defend’’ Turkey, and Washington utilised the occasion to get a UNSC resolution that would mandate western intervention and regime change in Syria. This Syrian belligerence or what may be interpreted as violation of Turkish sovereignty and territorial integrity, could be utilised as a pretext for NATO military offensive. Surprisingly enough an al-Qaida affiliated jihadist group al-Nusra, has been pressed into subversive action by the US to create an atmosphere of terror in some strife-torn Syrian cities as it happened in the suicide bombing attack in the city of Aleppo. NATO earlier indulged in a similar dirty business by backing the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, yet another al-Qaida off-shoot.

True, as on the battle field, so too in the field of diplomacy America is losing. But old cold-war psychosis seems to be emerging on the Syrian front as Russia has ‘obtained the creation of a Syrian Ministry of National Reconciliation; supervised and protected the meeting in Damascus of national opposition parties; organised contacts between the US and Syrian general staff and prepared the deployment of a peace force’. Meanwhile, Washington has massed troops on the Jordan border with the stated objective of keeping chemical weapons out of the ‘wrong hands’. But for the first time after the demise of Soviet Union, Russia seems to be flexing its muscle in the Middle East. The Collective Security Organisation (CSTO) that unites Russia with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhastan, Kirghizstan and Tajikistan has pledged the UN to avail the peace-keeping service of 50000 troops, if the situation so demands in conflict zones.

The Syrian Communist Party is very much against the US-sponsored ‘rebellion’. Though they are committed to defend the Homeland and interests of the Syrian people, their ground presence is insignificant. But one thing is certain that the last outpost of secularism in the Arab world will vanish if the Damascus government falls, the possibility of which has been delayed for the time being because of Russian interests in Syria. Though China is against any kind of foreign intervention in Syria, they won’t do anything other than raising their voice in the UN in case of a full-scale war.

Peace is unlikely to return in the Middle East in the foreseeable future. With the recent barbarity in Gaza by Israel, the situation has been further complicated.

Meanwhile, the people in the Middle East have missed the opportunities created by Arab Spring. The process of democratic transformation of the region which began with the revolution of Tunisia in late 2010, has been lost in the middle. In truth they need another Arab Spring to challenge the imbalances in the economic and social models. Unemployment continues to account for the biggest problem in all Arab countries and this agony undoubtedly will persist. As most governments including the ‘changed regimes’ have moved into the market economy policies, the social inequality and violations of economic and social rights have increased, especially regarding the right to education and to work. It cannot be otherwise as most Arab countries think they cannot live without wars. So security and arms sectors still consume a significant portion of the budgets making a sad situation for the majority of Arab citizens.

Frontier
Vol. 45, No. 21, Dec 2-8, 2012

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