Defending Assad For $37: A Race Against Time For The Criminal of Damascus
22 June 2015By Tariq Alhomayed
Following setbacks for the Criminal of Damascus Bashar Al-Assad, most recently
Syrian rebels taking control of a strategic military base close to Dera'a, the
Syrian government has announced a monthly bonus of 37 US dollars (10,000 Syrian
Pounds) and one hot meal a day for soldiers fighting on the front lines.
This is something that is taking place at a time when Assad's forces have been
driven back and have lost important territory over the past two months in a
number of locations across the country; while Syria's armed opposition on the
ground has also begun to increase the pace of its operations against Assad
forces in other areas. Despite a desperate Assad increasingly relying on Iraqi,
Afghani and Iranian mercenary forces in the fight and the official statements
from Iran backing Assad's rule, his forces are continuing to lose ground. At the
same time, we have heard Western officials, and particularly following the
latest G7 summit in Germany, expressing optimism regarding the prospects of a
political deal. One Reuters report even quoted some officials as saying that
there is now a ''window of opportunity'' for a political deal that would see Assad
step down to give way to a new coalition government in the country. The Reuters
report quoted an unnamed official as saying that Assad appears to be
''increasingly on the defense after setbacks for his army.'' While another G7
source, in the same report, said: ''This could be the opportunity to get a
political deal,'' adding that ''we need Russia for this.''
That is all well and good, but is Russia willing to make concessions and accept
Assad stepping down? What about Iran? The reality of the situation today is that
anything could happen, but what is happening on the ground, and the victories of
Syria's armed opposition, will make up the difference in the end, particularly
if the price of defending Assad is thirty seven dollars a month.
So, the situation on the ground, and successive victories by Syria's armed
opposition against Assad forces, will be the deciding factor and push the West
to take action and prepare for the post-Assad period. We must not forget that
the international community is keeping a very close eye on what is happening in
Syria via the US-led international coalition which, just days ago, carried out
airstrikes against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) targets in Aleppo.
This is the first time that US-led airstrikes have directly aided rival rebel
groups in Syria, including the Al-Qaeda loyalist Al-Nusra Front, according to
the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
So it is the advances of Syria's armed opposition, along with Assad's successive
losses and retreat, that could lead to real change, rather than the political
deals and negotiations that have been talked about and backed by the West over
the past four years and which only served to exacerbate and complicate the
Syrian crisis. Everybody now is racing to keep pace with the developments on the
ground and prepare for the post-Assad period after a long period of neglect and
disregard. So, we see some people increasing their attacks on Assad, while
others are remaining silent, or issuing meaningless statements. Everybody now is
in a race against time, and particularly Assad.
Tariq Alhomayed is the former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat. Mr. Alhomyed
has been a guest analyst and commentator on numerous news and current affair
programs, and during his distinguished career has held numerous positions at
Asharq Al-Awsat, amongst other newspapers. Notably, he was the first journalist
to interview Osama Bin Ladin's mother. Mr. Alhomayed holds a bachelor's degree
in media studies from King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. He is based in
London.
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