Why Did the Assad Regime Use Chemical Weapons? A Simple And Direct Answer
03 September 2013
By Michel Kilo
So just why did the Assad regime use chemical weapons?
A simple and direct answer to that question is that
the Assad regime used chemical weapons because
criminality is a core philosophy of this regime, which
has ruled Syria over the past five decades according
to the equation, "Either we rule you or kill you!"
Today, it seems that the Assad regime is no longer
able to rule, and so has moved directly to killing.
This is a view that cannot be denied by anybody who
has kept a close eye on what has been happening in the
country over the past 50 years, and who have seen how
its leadership refuse to reconsider their pro-security
policies. This is an approach that they have continued
to follow even after all their policies have been
shown to be wrong; this has been shown following the
beginning of the Syrian uprising in March 2011. The
Syrian elite have upheld the criminal Assad dynasty
because it is expressive of their own nature, as shown
by the limitless backing they offered Bashar Al-Assad,
rather than rising up against him and standing against
his homicidal approach. They followed their foolish
president without objection or hesitation, and now
they continue to follow him towards the edge of the
abyss, even though they assumed leading positions in
Syria long before he was born and have taken the lead
in handling Syria's problems over the past 50 years.
In addition to this, there is also an indirect answer
related to the current state of affairs regarding the
struggle against the Assad regime. It is this same
regime that three months ago launched its fifth
strategic attack against the Syrian people and the
Free Syrian Army (FSA). The Syrian media applauded
what happened, launching a campaign of lies to claim
that what happened represented a pivotal victory for
the regime that completely transformed the strategic
reality on the ground. This includes claims of the
fall of Al-Qusayr, reports of huge troop deployments
around the heroic city of Homs, enforcement of a
blockade on Jabal Al-Zawiya, and the recapture of Deir
Ezzor and Aleppo with the assistance of Hezbollah.
However, these claims were false, and the regime's
plans ultimately backfired following defeats at Khan
Al-Assal, Ming Airbase and Al-Sahel.
All of this is coupled with the emergence of an
unprecedented phenomenon, namely the flight of Syria's
pro-Assad elite—including the military elite—who had
remained firm and unyielding over the past two years
and more. However, at Khan Al-Assal, Ming and Al-Sahel,
it was military officers who escaped, a new phenomenon
that perhaps foreshadows a possible sudden collapse of
the entire regime.
To confront this possibility, those who undertook the
war against the people proposed the idea of carrying
out a strike that will completely suppress the
protests. For those managing this war, this strike had
to be strong enough to prompt an FSA collapse and
ensure the regime stays in power for a long period of
time, boosting the low morale of its military. This
explained the chemical strike's barbaric nature, with
the number of victims standing at 10,000, according to
some estimates. According to information leaked from
inside the city, the strike exterminated a
considerable part of the city in eastern and western
Ghouta, something that the regime saw as necessary for
the success of any attacks on the FSA. For the regime,
that attack was a necessity in order to regain control
of eastern Ghouta—a province that had remained
steadfastly opposed to the Assad regime for nearly
nine months despite the deliberate systematic campaign
intended to push it towards famine. The regime also
needed to attack Ghouta to "liberate" it from the
opposition, whose presence there was deemed a direct
threat to the regime.
This criminal attack did not cause the collapse of
Ghouta, despite the heavy civilian and FSA
causalities, not to mention the causalities among the
rescue and medical teams the Russians subsequently
accused of being responsible for the attack itself.
The people of Ghouta exhibited amazing cohesion and
extraordinary ability to endure pain and loss, while
the entire world was astonished by the nature of the
suicidal attack that will certainly have dire
consequences for the Assad regime. At the very least,
this chemical attack will force the opposition to
rectify its mistakes that had been benefiting the
regime. It will lead the international community to
reconsider its calculations and confront Assad's
crimes, which have horrified the entire region and
confirmed that it is a danger to the safety and
security of the entire world.
The Ghouta chemical weapons attack will not stop the
collapse of the Assad regime; in fact, it will only
accelerate this. This horrible crime only serves to
push Syria closer to the decisive moment of Assad's
fall and the people's victory. This will be achieved
by the hands of the Syrian people themselves, and they
are moving closer and closer to this goal.
Michel Kilo is a Syrian–Christian writer and human
rights activist, who has been called "one of Syria's
leading opposition thinkers."
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