The mediais at it once again. They have put on the cloak of jury and judge. Syria is on the dock and they have declared Assad guilty without so much as a shred of evidence. This was only to be expected because Obama had warned the Syrians that the use of chemical weapons would be the “red line” for the US to intervene militarily and depose Assad.
Any intervention is fraught with other risks. The Middle East would erupt into a theatre for powers on both sides of the Syrian divide to step in and weigh their strength and influence. As always, civilian populations would suffer hugely and endlessly. Russia and China are not going to stand by idly and watch the USA, UK, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar unleash mayhem in Syria. Global instability will follow.
Just two days before the so-called massacre with chemical weapons allegedly took place, an official weapons inspection team of the UN had arrived with the approval of the Syrian government. Their remit was to probe charges of chemical weapons utilization in the Syrian war. Assad is not so reckless as to let loose banned chemical weapons to coincide with a UN chemical weapons inspection team’s visit to Syria. Besides, the region that was supposedly attacked by the military is totally under Assad’s control (having wrested it back in confrontations not too long ago) and he would have no reason to attack the people in such a senseless way. Assad is now on a winning wicket. His army has inflicted a series of defeats on the “rebels.” Quite naturally, thoe who want to topple him are feeling frantic.
On an earlier occasion, an Independent Commission of Inquiry of the UN concluded that that the nerve agent ‘sarin’ (a chemical agent) was used by the rebels and not the government forces. It left the hawks in the Pentagon red-faced and the fuel for revenge still remains ready to be ignited. So, there is suspicion that the US will stop at nothing to mount an attack and blame it on the government. Except that this time around also they may not find an alibi to bail them out. History attests to the Pentagon willing to go all lengths to construct the pretexts for war. A ploy can always be staged and US military can also be brazen and not fret about getting trapped in a war crimes tribunal, at least for now. So, they would not even bother about offering serious rationale for their intervention.
The US and its NATO allies have drawn their conclusions and have called for a Security Council session and for the UN team currently in Syria to straight away probe the facts. The Washington Post rushed advice Obama with war drums: ‘US retaliation against the Syrian military forces responsible by adopting a plan to protect civilians in southern Syria with a no-fly zone!’ Echoes from Iraq! Echoes from Libya!
The Syrian Foreign Ministry has called the charges of the use of chemical weapons fabricated: “The cooperation between Damascus and the UN inspection team “didn’t please the terrorists and the countries supporting them, which is why they came up with new false allegations that the Armed Forces used toxic gas in Damascus countryside.” They stated: “Our Armed Forces have never used chemical weapons and all fabricated concoctions in this respect aim to disorient international observers and defocus their efforts in achieving the set goals.”
In a Press TV report[i], Respect Party MP for Bradford West, George Galloway has stated: “If there’s been any use of nerve gas, it’s the rebels that used it…If there has been use of chemical weapons; it was Al Qaeda who used the chemical weapons”. He suspects Israel gave them the chemical weapons”, Galloway MP added. By more than what was a blunder in evil propaganda, media reports claimed that had it that Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV and Reuters news agency published the news of massacre in East Ghouta, Damascus “one day” before the massacre happened!
According to the reports tens of videos were uploaded before foreign-backed terrorists announced and accused the Syrian government of conducting chemical attacks on its own people. Those evidences show the terrorists massacred people, including women and children, then recorded and uploaded the scenes to deceive the world’s public opinion, but they did so hurriedly and gave themselves up.
Every time the Syrian rebels suffer a setback, the US manufactures more reasons for an intervention. According to reports from the Pentagon, they are unenthusiastic about a direct US military intervention. In their assessment, the rebels would not further US interests even if Assad were overthrown. A US commander concluded: “The use of US military force can change the military balance, but it cannot resolve the underlying and historic ethnic, religious and tribal issues that are fuelling this conflict.”
Even that argument stands uncovered in the light of ground facts. With the Syrian populace becoming indifferent and unsupportive of the sectarian violence, Assad is gaining in strength. People also see the conflict as one designed by the US and its imperialistic devises to destabilize Syria and lodge an amenable and compliant ruler in the place of a stubborn and proud Assad who refuses to give way budge to the whims and fancies of the empire.
It may be too much to expect a reversal of US and NATO meddling in Syria. For as long as they stick their nose into Syria, not much by way of peace building looks possible. The US and Europe are too blood thirsty to see reason. The rest of the international community is either too preoccupied with its own survival issues, or just plain scared to confront the imperialistic forces. The few countries that can speak up ought to serve as rallying points in a collective which lets the imperialists know that enough is enough.
Meanwhile, Syria should be left to find its own solutions to the questions of democracy and justice that it faces.
*Ranjan Solomon is Executive Director, Badayl-Alternatives,an international consulting agency which supports Civil Society actors worldwide that work for justice-based transformative processes. He is active with Palestine solidarity and justice networks.