Addressing The Situation
The Arab League is furious. Not an unusual situation. They have cause to be furious for one reason or another. At least they no longer must endure the contemptible harangues that Col. Moammar Gadhafi was accustomed to treating them all to. But no, Israel's intransigence aside, there is now Syria to consider. And reconsider. And consider again, since the various ultimata that have been laid upon Syria have been singularly ineffective.Although solidarity is a slippery slope in the Arab League, the resolve to have matters appear to be well looked after, is imperative for honour's sake, if nothing else. Generally, the Arab League brooks no outside interference in their internal matters. Sudan's President al-Bashir, indicted for genocide by the International Criminal court was warmly welcomed to represent his country's interest at these meetings; he is an insider, the ICC is not.
But the Arab League is feeling quite irritated of late. It succumbed to the temptation to allow the UN and NATO to intervene in Libya, and a few of their members even went so far as to join the international no-fly-zone activities. The disappearance of the irascible and unpredictable Gadhafi will be missed by no one there. The 22-member bloc had 'invited' Syria to Cairo to sign an agreement to allow observers into the country.
Should Syrian President Bashar al-Assad spurn this generous opportunity to reinvent himself and his regime for welcome back into the fold, biting sanctions will be imposed upon him and his regime; crippling economic boycotts. "If that is to happen, it will be very unfortunate because the damage will be to all sides", commented Syria's economy minister. Quite in line with the regime's usual threats of all hell to pay if Syria goes under.
Violence continues to erupt in the country; 50 more people have latterly died, inclusive of 11 security force members, and 7 military pilots, killed in an ambush led by the Free Syrian Army, deserters from the regular military. The country is in the throes of very uncivil warfare. The Arab League is prepared to invite intervention from the United Nations.
And the Free Syrian Army chief, based in Turkey, has now yet again, called for foreign air strikes on "strategic targets" to help speed up the process of unseating the regime. "We are not in favour of the entry of foreign troops, as was the case in Iraq, but we want the international community to give us logistical support.
"We also want international protection, the establishment of a no-fly zone, a buffer zone and strikes on certain strategic targets considered as crucial by the regime." This, from an Arab population that scorned the activities of the United States and its allies in attacking and occupying Arab countries. The West warring against Islamic countries.
Question: Why is the 22-member Arab League impotent to address the situation themselves? They spend immense fortunes on buying all the latest-model, technologically-advanced warplanes and other instruments of war, why cannot their standing armies intervene to bring a halt to what they insist must be stopped?
Labels: Arab League, Chaos, Conflict, Syria
posted by Pieface @ Friday, November 25, 2011
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