SYRIA: Irresistible force meets immovable object

EDITORIAL: Daily Times

What is being seen as a clash between historic opponents, Syria on the one side and the US and its western allies on the other, is being fought out at the UN amphitheatre with Russia and China seriously in Syria’s corner. After last October, the second attempt in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Saturday failed once again to pass a resolution against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, asking him to abandon power as Russia and China saw through the vaguely amended resolution and vetoed it for being an unbalanced solution. Despite facing the anger and displeasure of the west for their decision, Russia and China’s step is to resist a so-called humanitarian intervention of the western powers in Syria under the UN mandate of Right to Protect (R2P), which they abused to force a change of regime in Libya last year. The African oil-rich country has been pushed into a factional civil war among rebel militias struggling with each other to occupy the throne since its so-called liberation. Given this experience, Russia and China it seems have deciphered the now-almost-evident US plan of Middle East domination by refusing to approve of the Arab-western backed resolution against Syria. Being the only staunch opponent in the region of the appeasement policy of important Arab countries including Egypt, Jordan and even the Palestinian late leader Yasser Arafat towards Israel, Syria has been a thorn in the side of imperialist interests. The Syrian crisis, if settled in their favour, might be followed by a similar intrigue against Iran, completing the expansionist plans of the west in the Middle East.

The Syrian authorities have been facing an armed resistance from their opponents for the last 11 months and have hit back, using force to crush the rebellion against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Despite his efforts, the opposition, allegedly supported by the West, has refused all reconciliation offers. Their tactic reflects a similar desire for action in Syria supported by air and sea strikes of the NATO forces as in Libya. Now that Russia and China have woken up to the sinister designs hidden behind the camouflage of R2P, the UNSC and the world need to revisit the concept so as not to allow its well intentioned thrust to be hitched to old-style imperialist military interventions a la Libya.