{"id":65614,"date":"2015-10-26T12:00:12","date_gmt":"2015-10-26T12:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=65614"},"modified":"2015-10-26T02:52:09","modified_gmt":"2015-10-26T02:52:09","slug":"faulty-analysis-and-conclusions-on-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2015\/10\/faulty-analysis-and-conclusions-on-syria\/","title":{"rendered":"Faulty Analysis and Conclusions on Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently Counterpunch published an article Obama\u2019s Legacy: An Abyss Gazing Backwards<\/a> by Muhammad Idrees Ahmad. It exemplifies the faulty analysis and conclusions of those advocating direct U.S. intervention in Syria, from far right wing neoconservatives to liberals and even some self-styled Marxists.<\/p>\n

Because of the dangerous consequences of these assumptions and conclusions, it is important that they be critically examined. We can use the above mentioned article as an example.<\/p>\n

The same article with different title<\/a> was published one week earlier in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) paper \u201cThe National\u201d. The title was \u201cObama\u2019s legacy is tarnished as Putin fills the vacuum in Syria\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Syrian \u201cvacuum\u201d is a popular myth promoted by those who want the U.S. to become more aggressive in Syria. In reality the U.S. has very actively aided and abetted the violent opposition in Syria from the start. The Defense Information Agency report from August 2012 confirms <\/a>that weapons were flowing to the Syrian armed opposition after the overthrow of the Libyan government in Fall 2011. The claim that the U.S. was only supplying communications equipment and other non-lethal supplies in 2012 and 2013 was for public consumption and \u2018plausible deniability\u2019. In reality the U.S. was supplying great quantities of weapons. The \u2018dark side\u2019 included a huge budget for CIA operations<\/a> including training and arming the Syrian armed opposition. Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and UAE were spending billions annually in support of mercenaries and fanatics trying to overthrow the secular Damascus government. Contrary to what Ahmad says, the US-backed rebels were largely a fiction. Apart from the Islamic State in the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), the most effective fighting force was the official Al Qaeda franchise, Jabhat al Nusra. Out of the public view, to the extent it existed, FSA was working closely with Nusra<\/a>\/Al Qaeda.<\/p>\n

In a confusing use of terms, Ahmad contrasts \u201ccounter-terrorism\u201d with \u201ccounter-insurgency\u201d. What he means by \u201ccounter-insurgency\u201d is regime change via direct intervention or invasion. What he means by \u201ccounter-terrorism\u201d is regime change via coup or proxy army.<\/p>\n

Pakistan-born Muhammad Idrees Ahmad suggests that Obama is spineless because he has opted for \u201ccounter-terrorism\u201d (proxy armies, drone strikes, etc) instead of \u201ccounter-insurgency\u201d (direct U.S. Attacks). This is short-sighted and ahistorical. There is no public desire for another US invasion of another country. This is partly because the Iraq invasion and disaster is still fresh in the public mind. It also follows a pattern from the past: after the defeat of the US invasion of Vietnam, the US reverted to using a proxy army (the Contras) against Nicaragua in the early 1980\u2019s.<\/p>\n

But warmongers in the media, such as Ahmad, are not the public. More often than not, they reflect the views of their sponsors. It\u2019s no surprise that Ahmad\u2019s article was first published by UAE\u2019s \u201cThe National\u201d. The United Arab Emirates is closely allied with Saudi Arabia and vigorously promotes conflict with Iran. A recent expose <\/a>on the UAE Ambassador to Washington shows the level of corruption in Washington, how easy it is to win influence throwing money around, and the core policy of the United Arab Emirates. This policy is aligned with Israel and opposed to Iran, Syria, Russia. The celebrity ambassador, Yousef al Otaiba, is vigorously campaigning for the U.S. to intervene or attack Syria directly. The subtitle of the article succinctly describes the UAE Ambassador:<\/p>\n

\u201cYousef Al Otaiba is the most charming man in Washington: He’s slick, he’s savvy and he throws one hell of a party. And if he has his way, our Middle East policy is going to get a lot more aggressive.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

What connects Otaiba and Ahmad is the tiny wealthy monarchy known as the United Arab Emirates and promotion of U.S. aggression against Syria.<\/p>\n

Ahmad says \u201cObama betrayed his hand long ago when he failed to match hot rhetoric with even modest action ….[when] Assad brazenly breached his \u2018red line\u2019 by using chemical weapons\u201d . This assertion is standard fare for journalists promoting war. In reality the accusation has been largely disproved. The Human Rights Watch \u201cvector\u201d analysis was dubious from the beginning and then entirely discredited<\/a>. The most thorough investigation<\/a> concludes the weapons were launched from territory held by the armed opposition. American investigative reporters Seymour Hersh, Robert Parry and Gareth Porter, plus former CIA officer Ray McGovern, have all concluded the attacks were likely by the armed opposition trying to trap the U.S. into bombing Syria. Muhammad Idrees Ahmad, like nearly all mainstream journalists promoting the war, ignores the contrary evidence.<\/p>\n

In tandem with \u201cObama is weak\u201d goes \u201cRussia is strong\u201d or \u201cRussia looks strong\u201d or \u201cPutin looks strong because Obama is weak\u201d. The media warmongers are like kids on a school playground, trying to egg on a fight. Except in this case it\u2019s not a bloody nose at stake; it\u2019s the lives of tens of thousands of Syrians and potentially millions in World War 3.<\/p>\n

Ahmad outdoes himself in the charge for war by claiming \u201cRussian actions in Syria are an act of aggression against the country\u2019s beleaguered people.\u201d In contrast with his fantasy, virtually the entire Syrian population are hugely relieved and happy that Russia has started providing air support, modern laser guided weapons and satellite information to help reverse the tide. An American Syrian friend who lives in Latakia recently reported that people in the city were extremely worried in August through mid September with increasing car bombs and jihadi fired missiles coming into the city. They are now starting to feel safe again. The mood has dramatically changed for the better. Another Syrian friend reported that in his home village near Homs, women were ululating in happiness when Russian jet fighters attacked nearby ISIS and Nusra camps.<\/p>\n

Those seeking direct US\/NATO intervention in Syria describe the conflict as \u201cweak Obama vs strong Putin\u201d. They are unhappy and critical because the proxy army has failed to overthrow the Syrian government. They want direct invasion even if it risks world war. It\u2019s a very dangerous and deluded mindset. Above all it profoundly ignores or distorts the wishes of the Syrian people who have consistently and increasingly made clear they do not support the violent opposition. Two years ago a poll commissioned by NATO<\/a> revealed that 70% of the population supports the government.<\/p>\n

The conflict in Syria shows what happens when international law is ignored with impunity. Both the UN Charter and customary international law prohibit one country using force, directly or by proxy army, against another.<\/p>\n

The Syrian conflict shows what happens when the \u201crule of the jungle\u201d prevails. The \u201cabyss\u201d is not Syrians getting support from Russia and starting to prevail over mercenaries and sectarian fanatics. The \u201cabyss\u201d is the death and destruction of the cradle of civilization caused by clear aggression. The Obama legacy significantly depends on whether he resists or caves in to warmongers such as Muhammad Idrees Ahmad and the Ambassador from UAE.<\/p>\n

____________________________<\/p>\n

Rick Sterling is an independent researcher\/writer and co-founder of Syria Solidarity Movement. He can be contacted at rsterling1@gmail.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In tandem with \u201cObama is weak\u201d goes \u201cRussia is strong\u201d or \u201cRussia looks strong\u201d or \u201cPutin looks strong because Obama is weak\u201d. The media warmongers are like kids on a school playground, trying to egg on a fight. Except in this case it\u2019s not a bloody nose at stake; it\u2019s the lives of tens of thousands of Syrians and potentially millions in World War 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-syria-in-context"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65614\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}