The revolution in Syria is in its third year, with thousands massacred, starved, gassed and millions displaced. All red lines have been crossed. President Obama mentioned that his red line was the use of chemical weapons but this was clearly crossed in Ghoutha without any reaction from the US, apart from the usual call for an investigation and the need for political reconciliation. There seems to be confusion concerning US policy towards Syria, as on the surface the US seems to be speaking of the humanitarian crisis and the need for political dialogue as represented through Geneva 1 and 2, but behind these cosmetic gestures, real politick kicks in, with the US fully aware of the consequences that face her if the revolution in Syria succeeds and as a result has turned a blind eye to the crimes being committed there.
Since 2011, the post colonial structures in the Middle East have been challenged, as the academic Hamid Dabashi states that the Arab Spring was a defiance of the post colonial order, which resulted in the overthrow of dictators across the region that raised concern in Western capitals; the post colonial structures that had served them so well for decades now were crumbling around them and there was a need to rectify the situation before it was too late. We saw in Egypt, that President Morsi within a year of his election was removed by the Egyptian military, which had been given the green light by the US, with John Kerry on record saying that the military was ‘restoring democracy’ and what has followed has been shocking with hundreds killed, thousands locked up all in the name of ‘restoring democracy’ with the support of gulf monarchies that have pumped in billions of dollars to prop up the Sisi regime, while the US has conveniently turned a blind eye to the crimes occurring in Egypt. This has been done to salvage the post colonial order so that US strategic interests can be preserved. Likewise in Syria, a pivot in the region, with the fall of Syria having wide security implications for Israel, the US has made obvious its relationship with Iran, the pariah state which was on the axis of evil and has given her the green light to send in her henchmen and death squads, from Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Pakistan to crush the revolution, with massacre after massacre being committed, but with no human rights cry from the US. The Syrian regime on the verge of collapse in 2013 now has been able to strength itself with the introduction of these henchmen and death squads that have taken on the resistance across Syria. Along with these, the Syrian regime has used ISIS for its survival, with ISIS having no other purpose in Syria other than crushing the revolution like the other proxies active there. Defectors from the Syrian regime have clearly spoken of how there have been oil and gas sales between the Syrian regime and ISIS, and the former head of Iraqi Intelligence Major General Hussain Ali Kamal confirmed meetings between Syrian officials and the ISSI leaders in Syria and Iraq. Therefore it is understood to most in Syria that ISIS is part of the wider covert war taking place inside Syria which is going on under the watchful eyes of the US, hoping for the Syrian revolution to be crushed and for the Syrian pivot to stabilize once again. As the US is fully aware of the ground reality in Syria, with its hard to find moderate rebels which it can work with to play off the other rebels, with the rebels having clear goals of establishing a Caliphate, which would inevitably jeopardize US strategic interests in the region.
With all these proxy wars, and massacres going on in Syria, this week witnessed the visit of the Pakistani Senate Chairman Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari to Syria on a three day visit. During his visit he said ISIS is damaging the image of Islam and he added, “As a member of the United Nations, Pakistan believes in all nations’ right to independent decision making and rejects foreign interference in sovereign countries”. It is unfortunate that in this visit Mr Bokhari did not condemn the crimes of the Syrian regime and massacres committed by Hezbolllah death squads and expose the role ISIS is playing in safeguarding the regime, with is not only killing and executing rebel fighters but also performing executions of foreigners. Mr Bokhari has played into the hands of the Syrian regime, by legitimizing the regime through this visit, with an official delegation visiting Syria from one of the most important countries in the Muslim world, a major political blunder, which raises the question as to whose initiative this visit was organized on? Does not such a visit taint the image of Pakistan? It serves no interest of Pakistan to be associated with a despotic regime that has killed thousands over the last three years and has no legitimacy in the eyes of the people of Syria.