.
UN top-diplomat Kofi Annan accused Western countries of undermining his peace effort on Syria. President Putin doesn’t mince his words criticising SoS Clinton for cold-war rhetoric against Russia and China. Putin will wholeheartedly oppose any form of regime change through airstrike democracy by the West. Finally, Hillary Clinton during her Tokyo visit threatens the Assad regime with a “catastrophic assault.”

The Devil We Knew by Itamar Rabinovich, chief negotiator peace accord between Syria and Israel.

(NY Times) Nov. 18, 2011 – During the first 25 years of its existence, until Hafez al-Assad came to power in 1970, the Syrian republic was a weak unstable state, an arena in which regional and international rivalries were played out. The first Assad reversed this state of affairs by turning Syria into a comparatively stable and powerful state, a player in regional and international politics.

This was part of the unwritten pact between the regime and Syria’s urban population. Stability, prestige and a leading role in Arab nationalist “resistance” (to the United States and Israel) made up for the regime’s authoritarianism and corruption, and the hegemony of the minority Alawite sect.

The outbreak of the revolt against the regime last March marked the end of this unwritten contract, and pushed Syria back to its pre-1970 state. It is once again an arena of regional and international rivalries, reflecting the changes that are transforming the region’s politics.

 « click for book review

The Syrian revolt is, of course, primarily a struggle between the regime — now led by Assad’s son Bashar — and its domestic foes over the nature and character of the Syrian state. But it is equally significant as a war by proxy between Iran and its rivals.

Turkey is worried by the repercussions of instability and potential chaos in Syria for its own stability, particularly in the Kurdish context. It also feels uncomfortable with the role played by Iran so close to its southern border. [PKK militants are still infiltrating Turkey from Iraq. On the other hand, Turkey is a key investor in Kurdish part of Iraq and profiting from the vast oil resources in the Kirkuk area. Iraq warns Turkey over Kurdistan pipeline deal.]

The other effort is Saudi Arabia’s. Several developments have combined to alter the kingdom’s role from a reluctant wielder of discreet influence to that of a manifest, more aggressive regional power: Egypt’s current weakness; American reticence; and the threats presented by the Arab Spring. The Saudis intervened forcefully in Bahrain, are active in Yemen and are shoring up King Abdullah in Jordan.

KRG: Champagne and crude in the other Iraq

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

0 0 votes
Article Rating