Rebels Responsible for Syrian Massacre

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright June 7, 2012
All Rights Reserved.                                         

             Painting the Mideast revolutions with one broad brush, the Obama administration sees the Syrian civil war as part of the Arab Spring, a rebellion against brutal dictators, ending the reins of Tunisia’s Zine el Abidine Ben Ali Jan. 16, 2011, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak Feb. 11, 2011 and Libya’s Moammar Gaddafi August 24, 2011.  When revolutionary fever hit Damascus March 16, 2011, it appeared connected with other liberation movements.  Like other sovereign states, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dealt with unlawful violence by calling in the military.  Calling the May 27 massacre execution- style of some 108 civilians, including women and children, “abominable” and “monstrous,” Assad denied Syrian military involvement.   Since the rebellion began Jan. 16, 2011, the U.N. estimates some 9.000 civilians and rebels have been killed in clashes with the Syrian army.

            Under pressure from the Arab League, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon asked former Secretary General Kofi Annan to coordinate peace efforts Feb. 23, 2012.  Annan’s six-point peace plan offered March 24 called on an immediate ceasefire between Syrian and rebel forces.  While Assad agreed to Annan’s peace plan, he didn’t agree to allow terrorists, hoodlums and thugs to drive him from power.  U.N. and U.S. officials have been too quick to condemn Assad without considering the fallout from displacing Assad’s Shiite Alawite regime.  Annan’s plan called for a legitimate recognition to aspirations of the Syrian people, not recognizing that the revolt was based largely on Sunni groups seeking to replace Assad’s Alawite minority rule.  Jumping on the bandwagon, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sided with the rebels without knowing their origins or motives.

            No one likes to see civilians massacred at the hands of rebels or government forces.  Bucking the U.N. and U.S., Syrian allies, Russia and China, have taken a more balanced approach, attempting first to give the Assad government the benefit of the doubt.  U.S. and U.N. officials have used the Syrian revolt to legitimize rebels of questionable origins and motives.  U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous blamed the Syrian army’s heavy artillery barrage for the May 27 massacre, despite recent post-mortem autopsies showing execution-style killings.  Annan warned about the specter of all-out civil war, admitting that civil war, not the Assad government, started the conflict.  Whether a majority of Sunnis inside Syria seek regime change, the U.N. and U.S. must show more discipline and balance before tossing Assad under the bus.  No really knows what type of regime would emerge.

            Saudi Arabia, a strong U.S. ally in the region, accused Assad of sabotaging the Annan peace plan, despite not admitting that extremist-Wahhabi-Sunni elements make up the bulk of al-Qaeda responsible for Sept. 11 and terror attacks around the globe.  Russia and China understand what happens when you give legitimacy to radicals:  It creates anarchy.  Instead of romancing revolution, it’s time for the U.N. and U.S. to stop meddling in Syrian affairs, unless they’re prepared to make the sacrifice of blood and treasure to take over the country.  Despite sentencing Mubarak to life in prison Aug. 2 by a Cairo court, Egyptian protesters lashed out violently in Tahrir Square, the site of the Egyptian revolution.  After over a year of military rule, Egyptians face a day of reckoning June 21 when they vote freely for the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi or former Mubarak Prime Minister Ahmed Shfiq.

            When free-and-fair elections voted Hamas in Gaza Jan. 26, 2006, it handed the Gaza government to a State Department-labeled terror group.  Now Egypt faces a similar dilemma with the likely victory for Morsi June. 21.  State Department officials are scrambling to deal with the fallout if the Muslim Brotherhood takes over the Mideast’s most populous country.  Whatever assurances the MB gives the U.S., it won’t stop them from implementing strict Islamic law across Egypt.  It’s beyond ironic that the pro-Democracy protesters that ousted Mubarak sought a secular government, now very much in doubt.  Jumping back to Syria, no one knows the origins or motives of the rebels behind the Syrian revolt, especially the execution-style killings in Houla, now blamed on the Syrian military or militia.  Neither Annan nor Clinton know who perpetrated the blood bath.

            Calling the Houla killings “ugly and abominable,” Assad’s Damascus regime denied any involvement.  Houla’s savage murders seem more reminiscent of al-Qaeda or other radical Islamic groups seeking to pin the murders on Assad’s regime.  While Hillary calls for a “political transition” or regime change, the verdict’s not in on what’s better for the region. “This crisis is not an internal crisis.  It is an external war carried out by internal elements,” said Assad speaking to parliament.  “If we work together, I confirm that the end to this situation is near,” refusing to hand Syria over to unknown rebels.  U.S. and U.N. officials need to get on the same page as Russia and China that aren’t ready to toss Assad under the bus.  Despite rebel support from Wahhabi-dominated Sunni Gulf States, the U.S. and U.N. must get the big picture before turning another Arab state over to more extremist groups.