Mediterranean in Flames
By Mowahid Hussain Shah
Most discussions surrounding the imminent US military strike on Syria have been dominated by the specter of Bashar al-Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons. But that does not capture the full picture. And it has not been enough for the Obama administration to garner bipartisan support from the US Congress. According to the Los Angeles Times of September 3, “President Obama’s strategy for winning congressional support for military strikes on Syria relies on two most powerful impulses: to challenge Iran and to protect Israel.” It is this line of argument that is winning Obama support even from his staunch Republican rivals. Senator McCain is now a zealous advocate for a US military attack on Syria, despite the fact that he encountered blistering opposition from his Arizona constituents. In fact, according to recent public opinion polls, only 29 percent of the American public supports an attack on Syria. But Republican opposition is being won over through assurances that an assault on Syria would be sustained and be much more robust and expanded than has been publicly revealed, going beyond the targeting of chemical weapon sites to striking broader military assets and even degrading Syrian infrastructure. So, 12 years after 9/11, the Mediterranean is now in flames.
All the countries bordering Syria will be affected, including Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, and Iraq, along with the eastern Mediterranean
region, which includes
Cyprus with which Syria has historic
bonds.
The humanitarian toll of the
Syrian civil war has been nothing
less than catastrophic: 100,000
killed, 2 million outside refugees,
and several million internally displaced.
Three key factors have contributed
to the gathering storm: a
supine Arab Establishment, pro-Israeli
hawks, and domestic tyranny
of the Syrian ruling clique. These
are intertwined with multiple
agendas. Including, of course,
the hidden agenda of degrading
the power of yet another nation
state in the Mideast region. It also
diverts attention from the horrendous
happenings in Egypt.
Once again, it is abetted, in
effect, by the Arab Establishment
through the Arab League. Since
the slaying of King Faisal, Muslim
governing elites have been shy in
touching big themes or devoting
their energies and thinking on issues
that matter.
Unsurprisingly, the OIC is
standing by powerless. So, too, is
the United Nations, because of its
inherent systemic flaw in which 5
big powers hold permanent veto
power in the UN Security Council.
The attack on Syria shall certainly,
in the short term, squeeze
Iran and hamper Hezbollah. But
it shall not cease the unrest in the
Mideast.
Like Saddam, the callow Assad
has allowed his nation to be
entrapped in a quagmire. The ancient
ruse of divide and conquer
continues, helped along by the
fanning of raging internecine sectarian-
cum-ethnic flames.
Syria, despite its small size, has
always been pivotal. It has been
the hub of Christianity and where
all the great Abrahamic faiths came
together. It is in Damascus that St
Paul – the architect of Christianity – preached. Pope Francis is adamantly opposing military action against Syria. The flames lit in Syria shall not stay in Syria. Bad choices bring bad outcomes. When all is said and done, the Arab awakening cannot be reversed. And the core Palestinian problem cannot be bypassed. The attack on Syria shall not make the world safer.
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