Syria: The beginning of the end

With everybody from the US and Britain to France and the EU calling on Bashar al-Assad to step down from power and for the Syrian file to be decided by the UN Security Council, the Syrian revolution may have come to the most important turning point in its journey of bloodshed, destruction, and struggle, as we are now facing the beginning of the end of the al-Assad regime.

What we are seeing is a completely realistic [turn of events], and some people – politicians, media figures, and intellectuals – may see this as a cause for reassurance and as an ideal scenario.  However what many seem to have forgotten is that it is wrong to analyze or review the Syrian situation based upon logic, for rather we must analyse this according to the mentality of the al-Assad regime.  This is a regime that did not – as some claim – reach this stage as a result of a plot thought up by a foreign mastermind, for al-Assad has been granted a number of opportunities that were not granted to other Arab regimes, but rather this is a result of a number of shocking mistakes made by the regime, since al-Assad first came to power, until the bloody and terrifying escalation against the unarmed Syrians [protesting against the regime].  The al-Assad regime continues to believe that it was clever, breaking promises, throwing itself into the arms of Iran, and inciting sectarianism, not just in Syria but across the region.  The mistakes made by the al-Assad regime exceed even those of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, for Syria’s Baathists were always in the service of the ruling elite, and were never a true partner or guarantor [of power].

Therefore the al-Assad regime’s mistakes have not ended by any means, for this is a regime that is governed by vanity and misreading of the situation, and believes that the only solution will come through bloodshed and destruction.  Therefore we must closely monitor the details of the game being played in our region, and which I view as an attempt to alleviate the pressure being imposed on the Syrian regime.  Yesterday, we witnessed the Eliat attack targeting an Israeli bus, prior to this the leader of Bahrain’s [Shiite] Wefaq party has been threatening escalation for years, characterized by the seeking of backing both at home and abroad.  Even worse than this was [Iraqi Prime Minister] Nouri al-Maliki issuing a statement saying that Israel will benefit the most from the Arab Spring, for this is the height of irony!  Can you imagine a man who previously claimed that some Arab regimes do not want to see democracy in Iraq, and that Baghdad will be a torchbearer for democratic change in the region issuing a statement such as this?  This is the same man who defended the Shiite groups in Bahrain, and launched an attack – along with his government and party affiliates – against the Gulf States, in defence of Bahrain’s Shiites!

From here we return – now that we have shown that we are not dreamers or overly-emotional – to reiterate that it is up to the Arabs today to take action – via the Arab League – to withdraw their ambassadors from Syria, and freeze the [Arab League] membership of the al-Assad regime.  The time is right to do this now, not because the West has taken action, but because the ground is ready [for this], particularly after other Arab states previously recalled their ambassadors from Damascus, not to mention the intensification of the Arab condemnation of the Bashar al-Assad regime.  This could be seen following the historic address made by Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz towards Syria, which represented a turning point for the Syrian revolution, as it precipitated the Western action [against Syria], not vice versa, as some are falsely claiming.

The Arab escalation against the al-Assad regime – should this happen – would mean that the Arabs have learned their lesson well, and will not repeat yesterday’s mistake when they avoided confronting the mistakes made by Saddam Hussein in the early stages.  This also means that the Arabs have become aware of the importance of protecting the unarmed people of Syria, in addition to representing an opportunity to rid the region of one of the most suppressive and destructive regime, and weaken Iran’s grip on the region.  Therefore we say: move, because the train is leaving the station.