Because that in Syria is a permanent war
The in-depth analysis by Roberto Santoro
Pope Francis' appeal to lay down their arms in Syria comes after ten years of devastating war, over which the great powers have an enormous responsibility. This humanitarian catastrophe now counts almost 400,000 dead, millions of refugees, 12,000 children killed or injured, thousands of people kidnapped and disappeared into thin air. Syria today is a failed state, economically and socially destroyed. The value of the Syrian pound in the last year has fallen by 78%. Food prices are skyrocketing. According to UNICEF, 90% of Syrian children are in need of humanitarian assistance, while tens of thousands of people are still prisoners. Unfortunately on the horizon there is no sign of that "good will" hoped for by the Holy Father to put an end to the tragedy. The "international community" is once again a meaningless expression.
By now most observers agree that in Syria, and beyond, the Arab Springs dreamed of by President Obama has turned into a bloody winter. In Syria, the internal feuds between the Assad regime and the rebels joined the insurgency, and the subsequent, but only apparent defeat, of the Islamic State, in the more general context of the great game between the powers. Since the beginning of the war, President Assad has chosen the path of the most brutal repression. The Iranian-backed and Russian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militiamen allowed the regime to remain in power and regain control over most of Syria in a bloodbath. Control in a manner of speaking, because the country is actually under the heel of Moscow and Tehran, on the one hand, of Turkey on the other, which in some areas of the country has imposed its own currency. The jihadist cells have not disappeared, on the contrary, after the defeat in 2019 they remain settled in the desert and in the areas controlled by the rebels and by Turkey.
Bashar al-Assad, who in these days the news reports positive about Covid together with the First Lady, is together with his godparents the main responsible for the Syrian tragedy. Someone in Syria will have to pay a price for the victims of the torture and chemical weapons attacks that took place in 2013 in Ghouta. The European courts have repeatedly investigated and sentenced the regime's security services for crimes against humanity, but the FDS forces are also accused of having blood on their hands.
Since the end of October 2019 in Syria there has been a Constitutional Committee composed of representatives of the regime, the opposition and civil society that should prepare the reforms capable of rebuilding the country, but to date no concrete progress has been made to put an end to violence. The so-called Astana Process sees Iran, Russia and Turkey intent on looking after their own affairs, at most denouncing "foreign interference" and taking it out on Israel. They know they have an easy game with the "international community" when it comes to bringing up Jerusalem to divert attention from their responsibilities. There will always be some UN commission ready to condemn Israel for the Golan …
The fifth conference on the future of Syria, hosted by the European Union, is scheduled for 29 and 30 March. Also in this case, beyond a few sporadic reprimands by Mr. Pesc, Europe has washed its hands of the massacres in Syria. The EU is a politically cowardly economic power, unable to act and with weak diplomacy towards regimes. The United States in recent years seems to have given up on having a primary role in the Middle East. From this point of view we will see what sense will have the air raids ordered by President Biden at the end of February on eastern Syria, on the border with Iraq, against the pro-Iranian militias. The containment operations of Islamic regimes, a "response" to "attacks on American and coalition personnel in Iraq and continuing threats to these personnel," as the Pentagon has defined them, should always be encouraged. They are a message to those who pursue evil plans: field invasions will not be tolerated. But are these US military actions part of a precise strategy or are they just symbolic, a way to flex your muscles?
Syria is one of the theaters of that "permanent war" that has broken out for decades within the Islamic world, and declared by fundamentalist Islam against Israel and the Western powers, but how the US intends to fight to defend its own security and international security, not it's clear.
Nobody is innocent in Syria. What is certain is that no "political solution" will be possible as long as the Assads remain in power.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/perche-quella-in-siria-e-una-guerra-permanente/ on Mon, 15 Mar 2021 09:27:14 +0000.