Welcome to the New Syria – Reprise

Thursday, 3 October 2013, 11:22 am
Column: Michael Collins

The destruction of Syria, in many forms, is proceeding according to plan and on time. When the Western powers and their pals, the oil oligarchs, target your country, it’s time to run just as fast as you can.

I wrote Welcome to the New Syria on August 27, 2012. Based on known events and outcomes from the UN-NATO military action against Libya, I offered a number of predictions about the governance of the New Syria presuming a victory by Syrian rebels. At that time, the United States, Turkey, the United Kingdom, France and Gulf oligarchies, Qatar in particular, were full of themselves for their destruction of Libya in the name of democracy and progress. Given the Libya template, it seemed obvious the following would occur in Syria.

Unfortunately, four of the six post-Assad predictions have come true even though the Syrian government retains power. The predictions in the article are quoted below with italicized links. The reporting demonstrates that even with the Syrian government in place, the rebels have done an exceptionally efficient job of inflicting horrors on those parts of the nation under their control.

Let’s take a look at what the New Syria will look like if United States government, the Saudis, and others prevail. As you review these outcomes, keep in mind a major event of a few days ago during which Free Syrian Army (FSA) and other rebel groups fused under the lead of Jabhat al-Nusra, designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. Department of State. The FSA and others joining the Islamist Alliance were the good rebels, the groups that are now receiving weapons approved by the Obama administration and Congress.

Items below are from the August 2012 article using post revolution Libya as a model. The links are updates concerning Syria.

Widespread torture is just around the corner. It wasn’t long before the liberated Libya became the latest venue for torture as a means of settling old scores. The winners not only rewrite history, they get to set the rules. In Misrata, torturers were using foreign medical assistance to revive exhausted torture subjects thus allowing more torture. (Welcome to the New Syria, August 27, 2012)

Brutality of Syrian Rebels Posing Dilemma in West, CJ Chivers, New York Times, September 5
Stripped, bound and shot in the head: Horrifying fate of Assad’s soldiers executed on camera by Syrian rebels, Tara Brady, MailOnline, September 5
Video Of Syrian Rebels Killing Soldiers Goes Viral. Why? Susie Madrak, Crooks & Liars, September 8

Revenge killings by the thousands. Thirty thousand citizens of Tawergha, black Libyans, were removed from their town and imprisoned. Some have been murdered. Why? They opposed the anti-Gaddafi movement. They’re not the only ones. (New Syria)

Syrian Rebel Unit Torturing Civilians, Opposition Group Claims, Reuters, April 9
Victory for Syrian Rebels: Be Careful What You Wish For, Russ Wellen, Foreign Policy in Focus, September 3
Syrian Jihadists: We Killed Dozens of Alawites, Elad Benari, Arutz Shiva, September 5
Jihadists torch statues, crosses in Syria churches, AFP, September 27

Goodbye infrastructure. Welcome to your new home. It’s gone. Just take a look at Libya. NATO air strikes even destroyed a massive water supply project vital to Libya’s future. (New Syria)

Study: Half a Million Homes Destroyed in Syria, Ziad Haydar, Al Monitor, May 1
Syrian civil war destroyed farming, infrastructure: UN, FirstPost, January 24
Infrastructure in Syria ‘destroyed’ by civil conflict, HeraldScotland, January 24

Living standards plunge. Before the revolution, Libyans received subsidies for getting married and buying a house. They had free medical care and low priced commodities. All of that assistance is over as the chaos of governance in Libya continues. (New Syria)

Civil war leaves Syrian economy, cities in ruins, Zena Karam, AP, October 9, 2012
Syria Weighs Its Tactics as Pillars of Its Economy Continue to Crumble, Anne Barnard, New York Times, July 13
‘A Slow Death’: How the War Is Destroying Syria’s Economy, Ulrike Putz, SpiegelOnline, August 27

There is talk of sending Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the world court for war crimes as a result of the chemical weapons attack. That’s a rush to judgment given new evidence that points to the rebels as the source of the attack.

A more accurate view of international law shows that the destruction listed above resulted from the outside powers supporting and funding the Syrian rebels, many from foreign countries. That is a Crime Against Peace according to the Nuremberg Principles, the applicable international law.

The people of the United States strongly opposed both military misadventures, Libya and Syria. The leaders didn’t listen until President Obama was forced to go to Congress with his request to attack Syria. Obama and his fellow Republican war hawks faced near certain defeat in Congress but were saved just before votes by the Russian offer to take Syrian chemical weapons.

The White House and Congress need to take responsibility for the destruction that they have caused. That will never happen, but it should.

Even without taking responsibility, the White House and Congress need to remember the messages that were delivered through overwhelming public opinion n September, 2013:
• no attacks on other countries unless they’re an imminent threat to U.S. security;
• end all fantasies of empire and exceptionalism; and
• pay much more attention to the United States and its citizens.

ENDS

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