Defending Assad for $37
25 July 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.
©
EsinIslam.Com
Add Comments