06 August 2012 By Tariq Alhomayed The late US President Theodore Roosevelt often used
to repeat a famous African proverb: "Speak softly, and
carry a big stick". The "stick" was in order to show
that he was able to turn his words into action, if
needed, and this seems to be what President Barack
Obama wants to convey to Bashar al-Assad through a
photograph recently distributed to some members of the
media, including our journalists. The day before yesterday, the White House
distributed a picture showing President Obama in his
Oval Office holding a large baseball bat during a
telephone conversation between him and the Prime
Minister of Turkey. It was said that during this
conversation the two leaders agreed to speed up the
transition process in Syria, which means of course the
departure of the tyrant of Damascus, so was Obama's
"stick" a message to al-Assad? In all certainty, yes. The picture was not spontaneous; it was not taken
on location during Obama's vacation, but rather in the
oval office. In politics, as is well-known,
politicians use every intimation, or gesture, to send
messages, and the photograph is one of the most
emphatic means, especially if the intention is also to
send a message to the public. However, the more
important question is: Does al-Assad care about
Obama's stick? I doubt it, especially as al-Assad did not care,
for 17 months, when Obama was "speaking softly", so
why would he care today about a picture of him holding
a stick? Dictators like al-Assad do not care about
pictures of the stick; rather they care about the
impact of being hit by it. This is what we saw in the
cases of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi, yet al-Assad
has yet to experience any more than a bee sting, let
alone a stick, from Obama's Washington, and so the
other urgent question here is: Does Obama intend to do
something now to al-Assad? Again, I doubt it. Everyone
who consults with Washington has become convinced that
the current administration does not intend to do
anything against the al-Assad regime before the US
presidential elections in three months' time. We do
not know if Prime Minister Erdogan, depending on what
is happening on the ground in Syria, has managed to
convince President Obama of the need to act now
against al-Assad, and perhaps everything is possible,
but it is certain that Obama has been speaking softly
for quite some time, and he who kills women and
children does not understand this language. Of course, Obama is not required today to send his
planes and armies to fight al-Assad, even the Syrian
rebels are not calling for that, all that is required
is to provide the necessary weaponry to the Free
Syrian Army to deal with al-Assad's aircraft that are
targeting civilians, and to confront the tanks that
are wreaking havoc in districts and cities. These
weapons would accelerate the disintegration of al-Assad's
criminal forces. What is also required from President
Obama today, through NATO and a coalition of countries
willing, is to provide safe areas on Syria's borders
with Turkey and Jordan, which will ensure the collapse
of al-Assad's remaining troops. What is required from the US administration is
actions, not words, and if the picture of Obama
holding a baseball bat has reminded us of the famous
saying repeated by Roosevelt; "speak softly, and carry
a big stick", then President Obama's policy towards
Syria also reminds us of another famous saying in
America, namely: "They talk the talk but they don't
walk the walk". 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 |