Syria's Agony

The response to the agony in Syria was muted and conflicted. Early on the Arab League condemned the actions of the Alawite regime, holding Syria's President Bashar al-Assad responsible for committing atrocities against his own people. But while Saudi Arabia and Qatar in particular deplored the Syrian regime's attacks, nor did they appear to wish to intervene militarily, which they might have done. Saudi Arabia did step in and send its forces into Bahrain to help Bahrainian troops apprehend a potential Shiite insurrection.

Turkey, for all its fulminating and raging about the Syrian regime, its support of the Rebel Free Army and the combined political opposition, along with its establishment of refugee camps for fleeing Syrians, has done precious little to aid in the resolution of what has become a vicious civil war, with attacks and atrocities attributed to both sides. As a member of NATO, Turkey convinced that body that it felt under siege, that it feared an invasion or military attack by Syria, convincing NATO to deploy Patriot anti-missile batteries on its soil.

Turkey has at its disposal other means by which it could express its outrage over Syria's atrocities. It could appeal directly to the Islamic Republic of Iran to stop supporting its ally Syria, withdrawing its Republican Guards from aiding Syria, and recalling Hezbollah from its active participation in putting down the insurrection. But, even while Turkey angrily admonishes al-Assad, it treats with Iran as though that country is a helpless bystander, not a major inciter of the very carnage Turkey deplores.

Meanwhile, Syria's neighbours, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and Israel fear for the consequences should Syria's president decide to use his stored chemical weapons; whether targeting the rebel militias, or using them to punish his detractors, neighbours with whom he does not enjoy the best of relations. And Iran is pressing Syria to get on with transporting the advanced weaponry and missiles it had supplied to Syria, to the possession of Hezbollah in Lebanon.

NATO felt it would do best to refrain from involvement, having been burned more than enough in Libya; all its member-countries with the possible exception of France felt likewise. The United States struggled with its first reaction to respond with weapons for the rebels to aid them in their wish to unseat the regime, but their intelligence informed them that the rebels were happily fighting alongside Islamists and groups affiliated with al-Qaeda.

Just as occurred with the Libyan conflict, weapons provided to the rebels, along with others ransacked from Libyan military arms caches, wound up in the hands of terrorist groups, aiding them in their conflict in Mali and Algeria. The vision of an earlier very similar event, when the U.S. helped Pakistan train and equip Afghan and foreign Arab mujahadeen to battle the Soviet military in their Afghanistan occupation, yet another reminder. The Taliban and al-Qaeda resulted from that effort.

"We are concerned that arming the opposition is resulting in the Assad regime stepping up its military assault on dissidents and could lead to sectarian conflict or civil war, and increase the scope for terrorist activity in the region"; a statement contained in reading notes accompanying Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Baird, in a trip to the Middle East a year ago. Roughly the very same time that such cautionary notes were being expressed by the United States.

And in their expectations, despite their having refrained from supplying arms, restricting their sympathy and aid to the diplomatic front, seeing that all all have borne fruit. "We should encourage the opposition to limit itself to peaceful non-violent protests to retain the moral high ground and the support of international public opinion", went on those reading notes. Clearly expressed from the naive perspective of a Western mind.

Bearing no resemblance whatever to the pathology contained in the social/cultural/tribal contract of a Middle Eastern psychology. Where the intersection between tribal and sectarian violence is part of the heritage of established cultural interaction, of hatred and conflict. And because of which countless people are victimized, deaths mount, and millions become homeless in their desperate flight from those war zones.