Earlier this month, I traveled with seven other westerners to Syria where we joined with thirty plus activists, journalists and politicians from Asia, Africa and South America to observe the Syria Presidential election. \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bashar. Assad won 88% of the vote.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Though some people in opposition areas boycotted the election, and others could not get to a polling station, 73% of the entire population of Syria eligible to vote did vote.\u00a0 The 73% turnout was more significant than the votes for Assad. \u00a0 I had heard a detailed report back from the electoral commission, and spent voting day touring voting sites, so I wasn\u2019t entirely surprised by this outcome.<\/p>\n
Looking at the election as a referendum on the current government, the result was an expression of unity across Syrian\u00a0society, the unity of a people who came forward to support the sovereignty and independence of their country. \u00a0\u00a0 When Bashar Assad was declared the winner of the Syrian election, people celebrated in the streets late into the night. in central Damascus, and other cities around Syria. \u00a0 Even in Homs, people danced all night in celebration.\u00a0 The slogan of the President was ‘Unity’ and that is what the people wanted to hear.<\/p>\n
There were those who gushed in their affection and support of the President.\u00a0 And I have at least one recorded on video.\u00a0 However there were many more people who are tired of war and suffering and hoping to begin rebuilding under a government that could support their basic needs.\u00a0 And there were those who were ready to cut their losses and return to a life that wasn\u2019t so bad.\u00a0 Whatever softness there was in the connection between the very well thought out process and the villagers who loosely followed it, there is no doubt that the majority of Syrians want Assad to continue to\u00a0govern.\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry dismissed the Syrian election as a fraud several days before it took place, and many Western countries, including the US, Canada and members of\u00a0 the EU joined Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Monarchies in denying Syrian expat voters the opportunity to participate in the election at a local Embassy.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Western press largely dismissed the election, though a massive outpouring of Syrian voters in Lebanon surprised everyone including, we later learned, the Syrian Election\u00a0Board.<\/p>\n However, it seems clear, as the current events in Iraq unfold, that somebody took the results of the Syrian election along with the successes of the Syrian Arab Army in liberating the towns along the Lebanese border, and throughout most of the populated areas of the country (except for Aleppo) quite seriously.\u00a0\u00a0 Suddenly, a week after the election, the most militant, brutal fighting force in Syria moved much of its forces to Iraq where, with the support of a well organize Sunni defection, they brazenly swarmed across the north west area of the country taking over one city after another.\u00a0\u00a0 Iraq is seriously shaken.\u00a0\u00a0 It has already been through a terrible bloodbath within this decade and the healing has not seriously begun.\u00a0 Now a new sectarian war has appeared to be on the\u00a0horizon.<\/p>\n ISIS (The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), a violent, fanatical organization of religious extremists,\u00a0supposedly a breakaway from al-Qaeda, is not new to Iraq.\u00a0 It was born there during the US occupation.\u00a0 The man who currently leads ISIS spent several years in the US prison camp at Bucca.\u00a0 After spending another year in an Iraqi prison, he was released, and shortly after that he took charge of ISIS.\u00a0\u00a0 Wealthy Saudis have consistently\u00a0 funded ISIS, while Turkey has facilitated delivery of arms and other supplies to ISIS across their border.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ISIS has been dismantling the factories in Aleppo, transporting them across the Turkish border and then setting them up for business there.\u00a0\u00a0 This could not be done without the tolerance of the Turkish government.\u00a0 Members of ISIS were trained by US Special Ops forces in Jordan last year.\u00a0\u00a0 When ISIS took over the oil well at Raqqa in Syria, the EU dropped its sanctions against Syrian oil production so that they could provide parts to repair the old broken down wells so ISIS could start pumping the\u00a0oil, which I assume European countries are now buying.<\/p>\n During the last year Syria had, with the help of Iran and Hebollah, begun to beat back the insurgency and recover the territories lost to war.\u00a0\u00a0 It is true that thousands of Syrian refugees are in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, but many times more are in refugee camps in the government held areas of Syria where they are supplied with food and shelter, and basic medical care,\u00a0 and schools for the children.\u00a0\u00a0 The Syrian Arab Army is mostly Sunni.\u00a0 It reflects the population demographics of the country as does the government bureaucracy. \u00a0\u00a0 Iraq does not have the resources, the political integrity or the stable social structures to fight a war like this.\u00a0\u00a0 It is already fractured in all directions.\u00a0\u00a0 There are no resources left for refugees in\u00a0Iraq.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A sectarian war is a real possibility.<\/p>\n Iraqi President al Maliki has requested the United States to provide assistance.\u00a0 US President Obama has sent a few Special Ops forces and promised more.\u00a0\u00a0 There is a lot of talk about\u00a0 whether the US should put \u2018boots on the ground\u2019; whether the US should use air strikes against ISIS in Iraq.\u00a0\u00a0 While the American people stood fast against bombing or sending troops to Syria, they are wavering on Iraq.\u00a0\u00a0 Once there are boots on the ground in Iraq, there will be boots crossing the border into Syria.\u00a0\u00a0 If drones strike Iraq, they will soon be striking Syria.\u00a0\u00a0 It will be open season on Iraq and\u00a0Syria.<\/p>\n There is talk of dividing the country.\u00a0 I\u2019m hearing the \u201cWe broke it – now we own it\u201d line again.\u00a0\u00a0 This is a serious distortion of reality.\u00a0 We aren\u2019t talking about accidentally knocking a pot off the shelf in a department store.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t \u2018break Iraq\u2019.\u00a0 We deliberately invaded the country and smashed it. \u00a0\u00a0 We had another 7 or 8 years after that to try to \u2018fix it\u2019, but instead we presided over the destruction of what remained of the society.\u00a0 We should not be given control over any process that might affect the integrity of Iraq or Syria.\u00a0\u00a0 Who\u00a0 governs these countries is not our business and we have no right to choose for them.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Creating mayhem with fanatical militias capable of obscene acts of violence is not the way to \u2018free\u2019 people.\u00a0\u00a0 Dividing people and power according to ethnic and religious affiliations destroys the fabric of ancient societies and benefits only foreign overlords who find it easier to control a weak and unempowered\u00a0society.<\/p>\n No matter how bad it looks for Iraq, we must not forget that it is most likely that US officals at some level, at least the CIA, had something to do with the redeployment of ISIS to Iraq.\u00a0\u00a0 Therefore the last thing they need is \u2018help\u2019 from us.\u00a0\u00a0 Let us send them our prayers.\u00a0 Let us send food and medical aid for refugees.\u00a0 Let us respect their elections be they ever so fragile and flawed.\u00a0\u00a0 Let us respect their sovereignty and their right ot solve their own problems.\u00a0 AND, let us pressure our government to stay out of the fray and to demand that our allies cease to support and facilitate blood thirsty fanatical militant forces in this\u00a0region.<\/p>\n Let the Iraqis and the Syrians have a chance to restore their countries and their lives.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We don\u2019t own them.\u00a0 We haven\u2019t earned even the privilege to call ourselves their friends.\u00a0\u00a0 Let us give them the freedom to make their own choices and solve their own problems. Cede to them their right to self determination.\u00a0\u00a0 That is what we really owe\u00a0them.<\/p>\n