Attempts at Syrian regime change

EDITORIAL:Daily Times

Yesterday’s attack on the meeting at the National Security Headquarters in Damascus dealt a severe blow to the Ba’athist regime’s morale. The attack killed important people like the Defence Minister Daoud Rajha, Bashar al Assad’’s brother-in-law Assef Shaukat, and the head of the regime’s crisis cell, General Hassan Trukmani. These three were believed to be the power hub that has been directing the crackdown in Syria. The killing of Assef Shaukat, who was considered the key man behind the suppression of the opposition, was the most celebrated event for the rebels. The attacker, who some say was wearing an explosives jacket, could not be anyone but an insider. The opposition Free Syrian Army and Brigade of Islam both have both claimed responsibility for the attack. Whosoever be the source of the attack, it has brought joy to the opposing forces. The killing of the trio is believed in the opposition’s western backers to be the end of Assad’s tenacity and hold on power, and therefore the moment to deliver the coup de grace. The west, led by the US, hopes that the opposition forces that have entered Damascus four days ago would compel Assad to give in. That may be why, in a rush of anticipation, the western countries decided to move their long delayed UN Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Syria. Predictably, it was vetoed by Russia and China, wary of a repeat of the regime change wrought by western support to rebels fighting against Moammar Gaddafi in Libya under the ‘right to protect’ doctrine. This leaves Kofi Annan’s peace plan that he had put forward in April calling for a political solution rather than overthrowing the regime. However, the emerging pattern in the Libyan and Syrian case suggests something sinister. It seems western-backed pressure is being applied from different sides. The invasion of Damascus, the attack on the military crisis cell’s meeting, the visit of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to China to persuade Beijing to soften its opposition to the west-sponsored regime change project, all appear part of a concerted effort to overthrow the Assad-led Ba’athist regime in Syria. That the rebels are equipped with the latest weaponry has already raised questions about the covert involvement of the west in the Syrian civil war. This seems to confirm the western ploy of ending those Arab regimes that have so for not fallen in line under western control, hence removing barriers to the realisation of a greater Israel.