Syria: US Fantasy and Syrian Reality

 

"U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a stern warning Tuesday to Syria’s government, saying that new help will be given to opposition forces should President Bashar Assad’s regime decide to back out of upcoming negotiations aimed at ending Syria’s two-year war. Kerry said he has every expectation that both sides in the conflict, which has left more than 70,000 dead, will participate in an international conference to negotiate a peaceful transition in Syria. The conference, which Kerry said likely will be held in early June, is noteworthy because it will be endorsed by both the U.S. and Russia, which are on opposite sides of the Syrian conflict."  washpost

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"Time said it had talked by Skype with the fighter in the video, whom it identified as Khalid al-Hamad. Hamad claimed he was driven to the gruesome acts by footage on the dead soldier's cellphone, showing him "humiliating" a naked woman and her two daughters. The US news weekly said Hamad described participating in other acts of mutilating regime forces, including militiamen known as shabiha. "I have another video clip... In the clip I am sawing another shabiha with a saw. The saw we use to cut trees. I sawed him in small pieces and large ones," Time quoted him as saying. The magazine said Hamad, a Sunni like much of the opposition fighting against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, expressed hatred of members of the leader's Alawite sect. "Hopefully we will slaughter all of them," he told the magazine. "They were the ones who killed our children in Baba Amr and raped our women," he said, referring to a neighbourhood of the central city of Homs. The video, in which Hamad leans over a uniformed body, cuts out organs and then holds one up to his mouth, has prompted an outcry around the world."  Daily Star

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1 - It is official US policy to depose Bashar Assad.  It is announced that the purpose of the Kerry conference on Syria is to arrange Assad's departure and surrender of power.  Assad knows what wil happen to him and his after he does that.  The examples in Tunisia, Egypt and Iraq are unavoidable demonstrations.  It is clear that the US had a similar fate in mind for the king of Bahrein.  It is also clear that the citizenry of the US will not accept direct US military intervention in Syria and that the French and British have not the means for that.  Therefore, one should ask what the incentives are for Assad to negotiate his own doom.  Answer - None

2- "Hopefully we will slaughter all of them," he told the magazine.  This fellow is typical of the most effective fighters against the Assad government and the existence of the "impious" state of Syria.  The Alawis, the Shia, and the Christians all know that the fall of Assad's government would be followed by a civil war among the winners and that this man's pals are the most likely to triumph.  Why?  Answer - They ARE "the meanest mothers in the valley."  In that knowledge the coalition supporting Assad will fight to the end.  pl

http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-14/217077-syria-rebel-defends-gruesome-video-as-revenge-report.ashx#axzz2TMtMqrO5

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/kerry-expects-syrian-officials-to-attend-talks-for-peaceful-transition-in-syria/2013/05/14/b93f9f7e-bc8e-11e2-b537-ab47f0325f7c_story.html

 

Comments

[kxd]

what of the Kurds, Colonel?

[Fred]

" "Hopefully we will slaughter all of them," he told the magazine. This fellow is typical of the most effective fighters against the Assad government and the existence of the "impious" state of Syria. "

Why are we on the side of these savages? What national interest will these people provide once they take power and 'cleanse' Syria of all the ancient Christian communities, amongst others?

[505thPIR]

For many of the same morally bankrupt reason's we supported the genocidal Guatamalan dictator during the end of the last century, to name but one example...problem is, outsourcing dirty work in the I-Phone age is no longer something that can effectively done in the shaddows.

[kao_hsien_chih]

In Guatemala, we actually had a "good" reason, at least given the unfortunate politics of the times: the dispossessed and the poor of the country could provide potentially dangerous recruits for the Soviets, in an area not too far from US itself, and, let's not forget, the story began in late 1940s and 50s, when Cold War was just starting. (I am not qualified and don't want to be in the position to offer justifications for these either way, other than to point out the whole venture made some sense, at least at the beginning.)

With regards to Syria, the whole doesn't make any sense at all. The only justification is that Assad is someone we don't like and that he ran a fairly unpleasant authoritarian regime (but hardly the worst one in the region). Why do we even bother getting involved in this mess?

[maryam]

I found that gruesome act particularly disconcerting coming from a self-proclaimed Muslim because at least to me, it does not make sense in Islamic history.

Highly symbolic, it is not a random act; it harks back to the early days in the life of the Prophet and the community of believers around him: in their efforts to establish themselves against the Meccan disbelievers, they won the first battle of Badr during which many famous Meccan fighters were killed; at the next battle of Uhud the Muslims lost and the lore talks of the infamous Hind bint Utbah, who had lost several valiant brothers in Badr, cutting the liver of the Prophet's uncle Hamza, the Lion of Allah (Assad-Allah), and eating it in an act of ecstatic revenge. The event is historically debated, it remains nonetheless engraved in the collective islamic memory as an act of revenge of massive proportions. Hind is possibly the most hated figure of early Islam, it is hard to see how people have become comfortable identifying with her and allowing her victim-by default- the exalted status of Hamza ( the lion= Assad !).

Things do not make sense symbolically, are we dealing with fraud or with a cultural dislocation of seismic proportions? There is something very disturbing here aside from the obvious images.

[turcopolier]

maryam

I see you live near Detroit. you need to emerge from the shelter of libraries and benevolent Muslim communities to contemplate Islam in all it varieties, not just yours. pl

[Amir]

Maryam asks the right question. This could NEVER be an endogenous act of violence. I guess their advisors in the "Maghreb" were not quit culturally in tune and in their effort to intimidate their adversaries made a huge PR blunder in a local cultural context while exposing their exogenous connections.

[Alba Etie]

Col Lang
From what I have read , Qatar is a fairly modern state , why are they supporting al Nusra and the Hamads in Syria and elsewhere? If this is really about 'containing Iran" to me it just seems to support the Persian narrative that the West ,the Saudis, and the other 'allies " are corrupt and despicable . I have a neighbor here in Central Texas - retired from DC with some history in the MENA , and she asserts that Assad the Younger was trying to make a deal with Bush/Cheney . Further Assad the Younger was open to reforming the Syrian economy & opening up its civil society for more comity and pluralism. The neighbor also believes that the Bush Cheney Vulcans rebuffed Assad the Younger because the neocons viewed Syria as their next country to invade and 'makeover " in their Clean Break plan.Could we still make a deal with Assad - I really do not see Russia or the PRC giving up Assad. Wonder what Obama & Erdogan will be discussing regarding Syria - they have a joint presser today . IMO BHO will be telling Erdogan that we will not be going to Syria .

[turcopolier]

AE

Saudi Arabia ans Qatar are the only two states in which Wahhabism is the official "brand" of Islam. Modern physical infrastructure, especially if maintained by foreign workers, is not incompatible with medievalist opinions. pl

[turcopolier]

Amir

Yes, this is a question that all pious Muslims should ask themselves. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that because some group of Muslims interprets scripture and hadith differently than you and arrives at a different 'ijma they must be influenced by forces external to Islam or some plot by non-Muslims. That kind of thing is just paranoid delusion and all too common in the Islamic World. pl

[Alba Etie]

Col Lang,
I am doing my best to "keep up " with the "many rooms' - are wahhabist & salafist pretty much the same ? I also recall you saying that the Algerian security forces were correct in wanting to kill
all of the Islamist Radicals that took over the Gas Plant . I am to understand that Qatar & Saudi Arabia support the Al Qaida in the Magrheb & al Nusra in Syria ? And al Zaquari (?) the Joranian born terrorist that caused so much grief in Iraq was also a wahhabist ?

[turcopolier]

AE

Salafism is a tendency in in some Islamic groups to seek a return to the early practice of the Islamic community in the years not long after Muhammad's reception of the revelation on which Islam is based. The community of that time lived a simpler life than what developed later when the Muslims had come to rule parts of the Roman World and all of the Persian Empire. when that happened the religion and way of life absorbed many streams of thought from Hellenistic philosophy, etc. The Salafists see these as impurities and want them purged just as any number of Christian groups have wanted similar things. Salafis are not necessarily violent jihadis. Wahhabism is a particular sectarian "brand" of Sunni Islam that is based on The Hanbali school of Sunni law. This is a very austere form of the religion that is rigidly based in scripture and which does not allow of saints, fancy tombs, toleration of other views, and Sufi mystics. Wahhabis believe that there is almighty God in the heavens and there is man on earth and that man has no function here but to obey their view of God's law. Just about all the present crop of violent jihadis are connected in sympathy and belief to wahhabism. Wahhabis are, of course, salafis although their understand of the early practice of the community may well be different from that of other Muslims. So, wahhabis are by nature salafis, but not all salafis are wahhabis. pl

[505thPIR]

Khc...a "good reason" to commit genocide?!! Burning people alive in their huts can be rationalized as necessary? Kill em so the Soviets won't get em. Think

[505thPIR]

As I understand it..Shia are capeable of "thinking outside of the box" and can therefore become partners or at least negotiated with along the lines of reason. Wahhabis cannot think out their seamless garmet of a world view. Therefore an alliance with them at any level only functions so long as it is perceived by them to be a useful tool towards the realization of their prescription for human existence. There is no reason or weighing of things for mutual benefit, only for their construct. One that is not Wahhabist can never be a friend of a Wahhabist. Only a tool and then it is convert or die. It would seem that in terms of long-term strategy, it would be wise to cultivate a relationship with anyone in the ME but the Wahhabists. What is the in depth justification given by Britain, France and US for the current execution of foreign policy in the ME? Surely they know of arguments to the contrary espoused on SST and elsewhere?

[Medicine Man]

Very informative. Thank you, Col.

[maryam]

Thanks Col. Lang,

I would love to have more time to be in the shelter of libraries and the benevolent communities of Michigan but that is not what I do. I rather think that my reflections on the Archetypes do not have a place in this forum.

I can tell you having worked recently in Qatar for a couple of years at one of the several American Universities and French learning Institutions in Education City ( Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, Texas A&M, Virginia commonwealth University, Cornell, Pasteur Institute,EHEC etc.. where women students are greater than 50% of the percentage of Qatari students)that Qatar and Saudi Arabia have very different brands of Wahhabism, and the Qataris look down on the Saudis as uncivilized people as far as their practices and their society are concerned, although a lot of the same tribes and clans are dispersed between the 2 countries. The Emir of Qatar and his immediate entourage are supporting education, travel, women's education and employment and financial reform but there is a tug of war within the various old clans as far as the pace and the nature of modernization is concerned and a delicate balance is being sought at all times. Qatar's exported Wahhabism is a political and not a religious brand and that is well understood within the country itself. I would not say the same about Saudi Arabia that has started the trend of Wahhabism export more than a couple of decades ago.

I do not disagree about the tendency towards conspiracy theories in the ME.

[turcopolier]

maryam

"I rather think that my reflections on the Archetypes do not have a place in this forum." Sorry we are not up to your standards. pl

[kao_hsien-chih]

It is still a "better" reason (I did not say it is a more "moral" reason--there is a difference.) in the sense that it made some logical sense given the circumstances of the time. The point is that the interventionists today have even less of a reason than they, other than their sense of self-righteousness.

[Alba Etie]

Col Lang
Thank you for helping us understand these nuances of Islam. Then to follow on -the House of Saud & the Qatar equivalent are both wahhabi - therefore both of these governments world view is shared with Khalid al Hamid ?

[Alba Etie]

Maryam
Do you know if the Qatari government is supporting al Nursa in Syria ? And if the Qatari government is supporting al Nursa why ? And could you please explain the difference between political Wahabbism in Qatar , and traditional religious Wahabbism in Saudi Arabia ? Thanks .

[Babak Makkinejad]

I think that among Shia Hind is considered an evil person; right up there with Judas and Abu Jahl.

I think among many Sunni sources, she is even considered to have been a Companion of the Prophet.

[Babak Makkinejad]

There is no "modern state" among Muslim polities.

Qatar, like Kuwait and UAE, is a family-run oil well with a flag.

[Babak Makkinejad]

A Wahabi in all seriousness and earnestness will tell you that Quran requires no interpretation for its understanding.

When you point out to him that verse of the Quran which states "...the Blind won't enter Paradise..." he will start swearing at you and calling you names and pronouncing anathema on you.

The more energetic ones will try to physically harm you.

[Babak Makkinejad]

Hind is not an Archetype in the sense of Jung; and I doubt you can say the same thing about Hamza.

I think one must agree that Abu Jahl ranks much higher in enmity to the Prophet and Islam than Hind.

[Babak Makkinejad]

Yes, just plain nuts.