As I argued in the case of Libya once
NATO entered the fray: whoever wins the people will lose
by Tariq Ali
Opposing Assad should not lead to backing a Western intervention and an
imposed regime on the Libyan model with a quick-fix election as a PR
fig-leaf. . . .
But, as in Egypt, once the euphoria of the uprising and its success in
getting rid of a hated despot evaporates, politics emerge. What is the
strongest political force in Syrian politics today? Who would be the
largest party in parliament when free elections take place? Probably the
Muslim Brothers . . .
A NATO intervention would install a semi-puppet government. As I argued in
the case of Libya once NATO entered the fray: whoever wins the people will
lose. It would be the same in Syria. On this I am in total accord with the
statement of the Syrian Local
Coordinating Committees published on 29 August 2011.
What will happen if the present situation continues? An ugly stalemate. The
model that comes to mind is Algeria after the military, backed strongly by
France and its Western allies, intervened to stop the second round of an
election in which the FIS were going to win. This resulted in an attritional
civil war with mass atrocities carried out by both sides while the masses
retreated to an embittered passivity. . . .
Tariq Ali is a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio, contributes articles and
journalism to magazines and newspapers including The Guardian and the London
Review of Books, and is the author of The Duel: Pakistan on the Flightpath
of American Power. He can be reached at tariq.ali3@btinternet.com.
[US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the administration was
suggesting names and organisations that should feature prominently in any
new rebel leadership--Ruth Sherlock and Richard Spencer, "US withdraws
support for Syria's opposition leadership," telegraph.co.uk,
November 1, 2012
[Russia is throwing in the towel on Syria after an almost two-year long
blaze of Cold War-era rhetoric. It dug in tenaciously at the United Nations
Security Council holding its veto card to block a Western intervention in
Syria but has been outmaneuvered on the ground and is being presented with a
fait accompli that the regime it supported in Damascus is fast becoming a
thing of the past.--M K Bhadrakumar, "Russia
changes tack on Syria," atimes.com, December 15, 2012]
[ . . . the terrain is already prepared for a profitable "reconstruction" of
Syria once a pliable, pro-Western turbo-capitalism government is
installed.--Pepe Escobar, "For whom
the Syrian bell tolls," atimes.com, December 22, 2012]
[As Nicola Nasser notes, the Israeli raid "coincided with hard to refute
indications that the 'regime change' in Syria by force, both by foreign
military intervention and by internal armed rebellion, has failed, driving
the Syrian opposition in exile to opt unwillingly for 'negotiations' with
the ruling regime."--Ben Schreiner, "Israel
Enters Syria: Targeting the Iranian Threat to 'Stability'," counterpunch.org,
February 7, 2013]
[The event featured Ayman Tabbaa, Chairman of the Syrian Economic Forum (SEF); Dr. Samer
Abboud, Assistant Professor of History and International Studies at Arcadia University;
and Faysal Itani, Fellow at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic
Council. CIPE Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Abdulwahab Alkebsi
moderated the discussion.--Stephen Rosenlund, "The Role of the Private Sector in Syria's Future,"
cipe.org, April 23, 2013]
[Make no mistake; Pipelineistan - once again tied up with bypassing both Russia and Iran
- explains a great deal about why Syria is being destroyed.--Pepe Escobar, "Assad talks, Russia
walks," atimes.com, May 20, 2013]
Obama's momentous decision on military intervention in Syria, which could
well launch a new Cold War, is a desperate diversionary move when his administration is
caught up deep in the cesspool over the Snowden controversy.--M K Bhadrakumar, "Obama's Monica
moment," atimes.com, June 14, 2013]