The military’s bubble has burst

Perhaps the most striking achievement of the Arab revolution, so far, is the resounding collapse in the legitimacy of military regimes in the Arab republics, which have long sung and claimed to rule in the name of the revolution, the people, and the nation. Their primary concerns were the Palestinian cause and the issue of Arab unity.  Of course, the falsehood of these claims became known over time, as the tragedies caused by each military regime became apparent in one country after another. Take Syria, a country which witnessed the first military coup led by Husni al-Za’im. He opened the way for the light of evil, considering what came after him in his country and other countries, whetting the military appetite to repeat his experiment. In Syria, it was believed for a long time that the military was the only institution with credibility in society, and therefore legitimacy, and that the military had the right to speak for everyone, with everyone, on every subject, without shame or hesitation.

Jamal Abdel Nasser believed that he and his group, named the Revolutionary Command Council, had the right to speak on behalf of all Arabs, not only Egypt. Of course, his “military” record in Yemen, Sinai, Syria, the Golan Heights, the West Bank and Jerusalem was disastrous. The best indication of this was at the time his performance led to the bankruptcy of Egypt, the loss of rights and freedoms, and a horrifying increase in suppression.  Iraq also had sad and painful experiences with military rule, most recently with Saddam Hussein.  Although he wasn’t a military man per se, Saddam was careful to address his inferiority complex by constantly wearing a military uniform, and applying his “personal” leadership in all military affairs. He gave himself the unique rank of “Muhib” [the highest honor in the Iraqi Army], setting a precedent of its kind in the traditional military structure.  This explains how his recklessness and foolishness caused the destruction of the Iraqi military machine in two successive wars with Iran, and his occupation of Kuwait after that.

Of course there is “the clown” Muammar Gaddafi, who came to power in a coup against the good King Idris al-Sanusi,  and then proceeded to act like a reckless child, engaging in military “adventures” in Sudan, Egypt, Chad, Niger, Algeria and other countries.  He convinced himself that he had actually engaged in military battles, and decorated his chest with fake military emblems, until his military uniform turned into something resembling an advertisement board. The military mindset had transformed this Libyan youth, who had undertaken the coup d’etat, into a military clown ruling over his entire country with insanity.

In Yemen there was Ali Abdullah Saleh, who waited for his turn until he came to power after the assassination of former President Ibrahim al-Hamdi. His country continued to think that he was a military man who had unified the country, maintained security, fought against terrorism and promoted justice and democracy.  All this whilst in fact his son, “the other military man”, was preparing to take power after him.

In Syria, Hafez al-Assad diligently prepared his son Bassel to succeed after him, and enabled him to gain some acceptance from the army, which was a highly influential institution at the time. Bassel began to practice some of the roles assigned to him to gain popularity and the love of the masses, as a reformer and heir to power, until he died suddenly in a car accident.  His father was then forced to suddenly prepare his second son, Bashar al-Assad. Bashar’s academic and medical training was terminated, and he was entered into consecutive, rapid and intensive military courses. Bashar gained one rank after another, removing his medical robes and dressing in a full military suit. However, this was done without the genuine conviction of the army, and they would not have accepted him unless he secured the continuation of the Alawite sect [in power], rather than the [interests of the] homeland, as shown by the army’s current position in the ongoing Syrian revolution.

The current Arab revolutions have overthrown the legitimacy of military regimes and exposed their hypocrisy, falsehood, domination and suppression. The revolutions have realized that the new legitimacy is the legitimacy of the people themselves, who have earned trust, broken the fear barrier, and restored hope again. These weapons cannot be restrained by the decaying army and military. Military rule was a myth and its bubble has now burst.