The Last Stronghold
The bombardment of Damascus is commencing apace. Helicopter gunships, artillery, troops ordered they must take back any territory that opposition militias gained in their major assault on the capital. As a symbol of the Free Syrian Army's capacity to seriously wound the regime and its ability to bypass the most stringent security measures the government is capable of defending itself with against the unthinkable potential of an incursion, the Free Syrian Army made their point.Just how successfully was evidenced in the explosive assassination of four of President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle, the four members of his elite defence establishment. Immediately recruiting a replacement Minister of Defence made for interesting optics, but the wound is deep and oozes warning for the very near future of total collapse of the regime. The body politic is bleeding desertion.
Rebels are in command of very key areas, and the psychological impact of their successes has bolstered their determination in a spirit of communal jubilation, while it most surely must be seen as a sobering alert to the finality of a regime that refuses to surrender its bankrupt command knowing there is no return to what has been, only a future of profound regrets.
Regrets perhaps that they were not more immediately brutal enough, though it staggers the mind to think how much more bestial the regime could have been in its detention, torture and murder of young boys, much less its determined shelling of villages, calling in the shabbiya to exact tribute in countless deaths on behalf of their regime sponsors.
Ensuring that in the not-too-distant future, the Alawites loyal to his regime can anticipate that they too will be dealt with summarily in very much the same fashion that their representatives dealt with regime supporters. The killing spree has been ignited, it has been taken up with unrestrained gusto of long-repressed hatred, and it will menace the security of society itself in Syria.
The elite fourth division headed by Maher al-Assad is performing its utmost to exact as much damage as possible to those areas of Damascus that harbour those whom the regime suspects of having betrayed them. Aleppo and other cities have been targeted with the full impact of well-trained and -armed government forces whose officers know what lays in wait for them when they are finally routed.
The rebels have indeed achieved "a turning point in Syria's history", representing "the beginning of the end". A desperate President al-Assad is rumoured by one Western diplomat on confidentiality to have called in General Robert Mood, head of the UN peace monitor team, with a promise that he would implement the United Nations peace plan on the strength of the West's success in having rebels halt their attacks.
Is that likely? Not likely; neither that the rebels would be persuaded by any source to surrender their aspirations now that they have come so enticingly close to success in finalizing the shut-down of the regime, nor that any Western entity would commit itself at this juncture to a venture it knows would be useless, since it has been attempted previously to no avail, at a time that was not nearly as delicate.
As for President Bashar al-Assad, he has reputedly been offered a 'safe exit' by Nabil Elaraby, the Arab League's secretary general, for himself and his family. The Arab League has also promised $100-million in support for Syrian refugees who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.
For his part, President al-Assad stands alongside his remaining generals whom he has ordered to "continue the armed forces' pursuit of terrorists". As for safe passage and sanctuary, his choice: Riyadh or Tehran?
Labels: Arab League, Chaos, Political Realities Middle East, Syria, Terrorism
posted by Pieface @ Monday, July 23, 2012
<< Home