The Game In Syria

By Daily Star Editorial
July 09, 2011 12:58 AM
Courtesy Of "The Daily Star"

A game is afoot in Syria, but it’s one that is not as clear-cut as people might think.

The United States, European countries and the Arabs are all involved, but the most striking development arose this week, when the French and American ambassadors to Syria journeyed to the city of Hama to show solidarity with a popular uprising there.

It would be naïve to think that the ambassadors would have made the trek without securing some type of official Syrian government approval beforehand.

European countries and the U.S. have made repeated statements of disapproval and condemnation about the Syrian government’s harsh crackdown on protesters, but for now, there has been a considerable amount of smoke but no fire.

Washington has urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to undertake political reforms, but Assad has been able to claim that he is also a champion of such a reform movement. Judging by the actions of Europe and the U.S. thus far, the Syrian regime is safe.

The problem lies in the outside world’s double standards on the bloodshed that has been rampant in the Arab world over the past six months.

The international community has not, is not, and will not act on the basis of lofty moral principles, but rather on the basis of naked political interests.

People in this part of the world are often deceived by the rhetoric of foreign officials, believing that dramatic new developments might be under way, when in fact the real message is one of “business as usual.”

The U.S. supports a host of regimes throughout the world with records on human rights that would, in another context, would set off alarm bells.

Arab peoples, and their governments, should become too concerned when they hear that they have the support of the outside world, or the non-support of the outside world.

The situation in Libya, for example, should not be taken as a measure of anything significant when it comes to a country like Syria. The departure of Libyan leader Moammar Qadhafi will not leave a dramatic regional political vacuum, while the departure of Assad and his government will have significant repercussions in neighboring countries, whether it’s Iraq, or Lebanon, or elsewhere. So far, Washington is offering tacit support for Assad, despite the news flashes that one might hear from time to time. The U.S. is not in a position to take the risky move of choosing sides, and is aware that Assad’s government, in its own way, offers the kind of “security” that Washington and other foreign capitals are anxious to see.

The most important lesson from this week is that the Arab peoples who are engaging in courageous public protests should focus on the internal requirements of their actions. They should not wage on the outside world to help them, because history has shown that only interests, and nothing else, guide such policies.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on July 09, 2011, on page 7.