Plunging Into The Abyss

"We will not ask the terrorist groups, which are killing, kidnapping and destroying infrastructure, for guarantees.  We want Annan to give us these guarantees."  Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem

For their part, the opposition 'activists' claim over 800 Syrians have been killed since President al-Assad accepted Kofi Annan's UN-Arab League proposals.  And Mr. Annan is most exercised over the truce agreement not, to date, having been implemented.  "We must all push for an end to the bloodshed before Syria plunges into the abyss."

Mr. Annan is outraged, speechless with indignation that Bashar al-Assad appears to have distorted the truth, engaged in circumlocution, and outright - dare we say it - lied to him, giving him assurances that he had no intention whatever of making good at.  And why might Mr. Annan be so enraged and outraged that those assurances, freely given, turned out to be lies?

Butchering the regime's protest movement is bad enough, evidently, but lying, lying to Kofi Annan, why that is truly intolerable.  The rebel Free Syrian Army claim they are prepared to continue fighting if Mr. Assad fails to make good on his promise to withdraw troops and tanks from cities like Homs and Hama. 

Of course it might seem rather rude and inconsequential to mention this, but it seems that there are some Sunni militias that are now threatening Christian villages, insisting they must pay protection money to them, otherwise their sons will be abducted and abused.  Little wonder, then, that Syrian Christians would far prefer to remain indebted to the devil they know than the devil they truly fear.

This state of affairs is an incidental item, not to be confused with the larger issue of peace between the belligerents.  "The plan has not been implemented according to the schedule that we laid out ... but it does not mean that it cannot be implemented", Mr. Annan insists; it can still be rescued.

"It is essential that the next 48 hours bring visible signs of immediate and indisputable change in the military posture of the government forces throughout the country", insist Security Council members.  Still, Mr. Annan frets that while in some areas of the country troops are being withdraw, they are simply being re-deployed elsewhere.  This does not reflect his plan.

"We have already withdrawn military units from different Syrian provinces", insisted Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.  Failing spectacularly to impress Free Syrian Army spokesman Col. Kassem Saadeddine who warned his forces would resume attacks on regular forces if they did not withdraw.

"If (the regime) does not stop shelling and not withdraw tanks, we will intensify our military operations and launch attacks."   And from the Gulf Research Centre, news that Arab nations are preparing to begin the release of millions in aid to the rebels.  The rebels; that would be the foreign terrorists of course.

While, urges the Syrian National Council, world powers should consider imposing a UN resolution "with teeth", inclusive of a firm arms embargo and "setting a timeline for taking further steps."