From the headline: “Don’t Break up Syria: WW I-Style Imperial Divide & Rule is a Failure.”
This implies the force of outside powers in the Levant: Turkey, GCC states, France, UK and USA. Seems to me that has been the problem, at least aggravated the horror of killings and suffering of a great number of refugees. Neither the SNC nor the Assad deputees are legitimate representatives of the Syrian people in the Geneva-2 talks. Similar to Lebanon, a boiling pot of intrigue and outside powers working contrary to the interest of the people. Since the fall of the communist dictatorships in the Soviet Union (SU) and Yugoslavia, people seek independence based on etnic and ‘national’ culture. See all the satellite states of the former SU. This proces is irreversible and spreads across the globe throughout Europe, Africa and even the USA.
In Europe the ‘dictatorship’ of Brussels has seen its apogee and will need to leave decisions to national states. Brussels lacks legitimacy of the people and is not an example of democracy. Separatist movements in Scotland, Spain, Ukraine and Belgium. In Africa, tension between ethnic groups, religion and the identity of tribes leads to deadly conflicts. Libya, Mali, CAR, Cameroon and Nigeria. In the United States you have a decades old clash of culture which leads to a stalemate in Congress. Globalization and the power of the digital information age gives rise to an identity crisis where people tend to fall back on their own “tribe.” The federal government has failed to divest power and has a natural tendency to centralize power. The distance is too great between citizens and where decisions are made. The political cloud of corporations, business and financial, leads to alienation of members in Congress to the people who voted them into a position of power which they abuse. Democracy is undermined as government should lead in the interest of the people they represent. The growth in inequality of wealth and the economic recession with great numbers of unemployed and the rise of the poor will lead to self-destruction of the nation. Today’s revolutions and the Arab uprising was induced by an economic recession, higher food and fuel prices and a lack of democratic principles: freedom and representation.
Fot the Middle East, IMO there is an urgent need to abolish boundaries set by the Sykes-Picot Agreement. Under an UN led referendum, people must choose and decide the fate of their nation. Likely solution will be a break-up of Iraq in three separate states of Shiites, Sunni and Kurds. Yes, the Kurds will get their independent state which will cross the border of Iran, Syria and Turkey. The Anbar province will acquire the eastern part of Syria. That leaves a heavily populated western Syria which, as an interim solution, should be offered a government similar to the agreement of parties made in Lebanon. The Alawite region of Turkey should be offered by referendum to be united with the Syrian Alawites in the Latakia province. The State of Palestine must be taken into account with all its refugees across borders in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Should be an interesting Conference of all Nations, redrawing the map of the Middle East. A session on how to cooperate and abandon the urge for supremacy over another people, religion or culture.