16 July 2012 By Tariq Alhomayed With the al-Assad regime yesterday announcing the
death of its intelligence chief, who is the fourth
person to have been killed by the explosion at the
national security headquarters in Damascus, the
magnitude of the blow that the regime of the tyrant
received has become increasingly clear. This is why
the regime has begun to deal with this incident in a
diluted manner, apportioning the news to the Syrian
people in order to mitigate the horror of this blow
which it has yet to recover from. This is increasingly evident as a result of the
progress in the field being achieved by the Free
Syrian Army [FSA], particularly its capture of border
checkpoints along the Syrian – Iraqi and Syrian
–Turkish borders, not to mention its control of some
areas of Damascus, Aleppo and elsewhere. Therefore it
is clear today that al-Assad himself, as well as his
regime, are experiencing a state of extreme
bewilderment, and this is something that also applies
to al-Assad's allies. For despite Russia and China
utilizing their veto for the third time at the UN
Security Council, Russia's envoy to Paris issued a
statement saying that al-Assad is ready to stop down,
but in a "civilized manner". However he soon returned
to correct this statement, despite the fact that the
Russian ambassador did acknowledge that with the
developments taking place on the ground in Syria, it
would be difficult to imagine al-Assad surviving, not
to mention the severe escalation in the pace of
defections from al-Assad's forces. All of this demonstrates that al-Assad today is
isolated at home and wounded, particularly as he has
been subject to difficult and humiliating blows, not
just in front of the international community and the
Syrian people, but also in front of his small inner
circle and in the eyes of his own forces. Indeed, al-Assad,
just like Gaddafi, has seen the FSA tearing down and
defacing his image, trampling on it with their feet,
so the question that must be asked here is: how will
the wounded al-Assad act now? Will he flee? Will he
continue to remain silent? Or will he resort to even
more insanity, carrying out even worse crimes against
the Syrian people? Of course, anything is possible,
but it would be a disastrous mistake to wait and see
what al-Assad will do, particularly as the death toll
in Syria is on the rise in an alarming manner as a
result of the actions of al-Assad's forces. Therefore,
following the prompt failure of the UN Security
Council as a result of Moscow and Beijing standing
behind this criminal regime, what we must do today –
as Mr. Walid Jumblatt said – is increase our support
to the FSA to an unprecedented levels, in terms of
arms, equipment and intelligence. This is in order to
turn the last page on the era of the tyrant of
Damascus. It is clear today that al-Assad is reeling, and his
ouster is inevitable, and may take place suddenly,
however what is certain is that this will have been
very costly for the Syrian people. This is something
that we have been saying since the situation in Syria
moved towards armed confrontation, which was due to
the actions of the al-Assad regime, not the
revolution, as some have claimed. Al-Assad is the one
who went too far by utilizing the security solution,
and he is responsible for the deaths of nearly 17,000
Syrians until today. Therefore, delaying the coup de
grace against al-Assad will cost everybody; the Syrian
people, neighboring states, and the region as a whole.
Therefore we must increase our support for the FSA
now, with regards to providing arms and intelligence,
for the issue is not one of escalation, but rather
turning the page on an evil and criminal regime whose
time is up. This regime is already over, and delaying
its elimination will only mean even more suffering and
danger to everybody, without exception.
Tariq Alhomayed is the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq
Al-Awsat, the youngest person to be appointed that
position. He holds a BA degree in Media studies from
King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, and has also
completed his Introductory courses towards a Master's
degree from George Washington University in Washington
D.C. He is based in London. Comments 💬 التعليقات |