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(A Map of Syria)
There are no two ways about it, this time we simply must get it right, least our children and grandchildren pay the price. Now is not the time for shotgun diplomacy or testosterone induced rants of national pride or the superiority of our cause. American troops are fighting hard in Afghanistan (with the deadly summer season right around the corner) and Iraq is still not ‘buttoned up’. The last thing we (America) needs is another ‘open-ended’ involvement in the Middle East. IMHO The sooner we can, peacefully get our troops out of this hotbed, the better.
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The crux of the Syrian conflict is that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (Son of father and previous Syrian President for Life Hafez al-Assad) is a bloodthirsty tyrant. Ok, that was editorial… I’ll cop to that… OK I remember reading about Hafez as a boy (yes, I read about the Middle East back @ PHS) he was a man that could be talked to, reasoned with. Maybe not with his people, but Henry Kissinger seemed to be able to reach Hafez al-Assad.
To be completely honest to my perspective on this situation I am going to share a little back-story. Hafez al-Assad “transform(ed) a Middle East backwater into an introverted regional power that endured as the center of unbending Arab hostility toward Israel”[1]
His people did not love Hafez. He was ‘The Butcher of Hama’ for his eradication of thousands of residents of Hama in February 1982 (just five years after we graduated). For the other side of the coin? Hafez was stopping an Islamic Fundamentalist insurgency (it was Islamic Fundementalists that attacked on 9/11). Least that is what his news agencies reported and what it looked like from the outside.
Here are thoughts, of Hafez, from Henry Kissinger;
"His tactic was to open with a statement of the most extreme position to test what the traffic would bear," Mr. Kissinger wrote in "Years of Upheaval," the volume of his memoirs published in 1982. "He might then allow himself to be driven back to the attainable, fighting a dogged rearguard action that made clear that concessions could be exacted only at a heavy price and that discouraged excessive expectations of them. (His negotiating style was in this respect not so different from the Israelis', much as both of them would hate the comparison.)"[2]
He could be negotiated with, reasoned with, talked to and progress could be made. If only that were true of his son, Bashar al-Assad we (America and the International Community) would not be boxed into the corner we are today.
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I do not envy President Obama, today. If Romney had been elected, I would not envy a President Romney one bit less. This is a bramble bush wrapped in barbed wire, nothing less. Just by trying to help you are going to get hurt. We wouldn’t be America if we didn’t help a people oppressed by their leader. Though, on a personal note it would be nice to live in a world where America didn’t have to be spending trillions of dollars every year for military ‘assistance’ to one people or another. So long as we are in debt, Republicans will keep gutting programs for the least advantaged while cutting taxes for the wealthy… and buying lottery tickets every week. It is a vicious cycle, I know.
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(Flag of the National Ba Athist Party Syria)
Now, I was going to bring you a chart of the different ‘factions’ fighting in Syrian currently. Well, that just wasn’t going to get done today (5/4/13). So I am going to do my best to outline the major players, in Syria, so that you can get a better understanding of who is behind what. The first party were going to talk about, and one currently in power in Syria, is the Ba Athist party (Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party). The Ba 'Athist this party is “is an Arab nationalist ideology that promotes the development and creation of an Arab nation through the leadership of a vanguard party over a progressive revolutionary state. The ideology is officially based on the theories of Zaki al-Arsuzi (according to the pro-Syrian Ba'ath movement), Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar.” [3]
Now, just so you have a really clear picture of the political environment currently in Syrian, here is a listing to the ‘Authorized’ political parties; Political parties and organizations
- National Progressive Front:
- Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party (governing party)
- Arab Socialist Movement
- Arab Socialist Union Party of Syria
- Syrian Communist Party (Khalid Bakdash faction)
- Syrian Communist Party (Yusuf Faisal faction)
- Social Democratic Unionists
- Socialist Unionists
- Democratic Socialist Unionist Party
- Arabic Democratic Unionist Party
- National Vow Movement
- Other Licenced parties (As 19 June 2012 ): [1]
- National Democratic Solidarity Party (Al Tadamon National Democratic Party)
- Syrian Democratic Party (Al Tadamon Arab Democratic Party)
- National Development Party
- Al-Ansar Party
- Democratic Al-Taliyeh Party (Al Talia'a Democratic Party)
- Al-Shabab Reform Party (National Youth for Justice and Development)
- Syrian Al-Shabab Reform Party (Syrian National Youth Party)
- Syrian Reform and Justice Party
- Syria Home (Souriya Al-Watan)
(Courtsey Wikipedia)
Yeah, right. As many parties as colors in the rainbow. But doesn’t this signal something? Doesn’t this signal a underlying problem with governance in Syria and the Syrian people? Happily, look at America, we have a two-party system. There are tertiary and and anciliary parties. We have; the tea party, the Libertarian party, the Green party and we also have the Independent party. Out of these, say, six partiesThe Independent party is the only one that made any real inroads in government governance at the federal level. Now compare those two major parties and one secondary party, and you still only have three.
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This clearly shows a very divided people in Syria. Now ,literally. for the past hundred years very intelligent men have been able to turn this divided people into an advantage for them politically. However, my money’s on the fact that time is coming into a quick end. And nation so bitterly divided and fragmented can be easily controlled via money and strong arm tactics. Now you understand the past hundred years of the nation of Syria.
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(A Map of Syria)
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For me, this is the mistake we made going into Iraq in the first place, we didn’t not understand the political environment we were injecting ourselves into. Let us at least, this time, go and with eyes wide open. In future articles I’m going to do my best to break down the most influential of the parties you see above, I will share that with you this next week. The Baathist party has been controlling Syria, and its people, since 1963. Prior to the 1960s bigotry will Syria rotated through 3 to 4 parties, which I will not really get into in these articles. It suffice to say that in the early 60s the back-office took control of the Syrian government and the Syrian people and they have had an iron like grip on this country and its people since.
There is a very old paradigm at play here, My Dear Readers, the Russians openly spoke of it… A fragmented people must be controlled by the heel of the boot. The only way you can make a people stop fighting each other is give them something to be more afraid of than their neighbor. Something I hope they never learn here in America. This tactic has been extremely successful for the Baathists in Syria for three generations. Honestly, if it were not for the Internet unlimited, and limited news sources, bloggers like myself, and a 20 4/7 365 new cycle. I’m not sure any of us would be talking or reading about the problem in Syria today.
It is coming clearly into focus, as of Friday, that the son of Hafez has made the ultimate mistake of not altering his tactics according to the times. Since the weekday new cycle stopped, and the weekend new cycle started; Pres. Obama has stated clearly American troops will not intervene in Syria, Israel has made select airstrikes on troops and ammunition leaving Syria for Hamas controlled Palestine.
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(Photo Courtesy of Foriegn Affairs.com)
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Let’s chew on that for just a moment. I have not turned on Fox news since Friday… But I’ll bet you a dollar to a nickel doughnut they are saying things to the effect of "President Obama has Israel doing his dirty work" or "Pres. Obama’s weakness is depending on Israel to do his job for him". Hogwash. Israel has made it clear, since probably 1980, anytime they see troops or munitions moving into the controlled areas they will destroy them. This is nothing new. This really isn’t news, but coming on the heels of serious civil war and that the arms were coming from Hamas Syria to Hamas’s Palestine that was all the Israeli government needed. Personally, I applaud Israel’s action.
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Earlier I referred to Syria as a bramble bush wrapped in bar wire. My Dear Readers, America's bound to get cut dealing with Syria. The only real question, My Dear Readers, is how bad America will get hurt. I hate to say this, I really do! .IMHO the least amount we can do to protect the Syrian people from their dictator is what to do. The threat of this conflict spreading out side their borders is greatly limited. Iraq is the largest bordering state to Syria to its east. Iraq is the most stable it’s been in a generation. We still have a strong presence in Iraq. The CIA is still very active in Iraq.
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Directly below Syria we have the great nation of Jordan. Sure it is not without its problems, but right now Jordan is quiet. The chances of the Ba 'Ahtist moving south into Jordan and flaming the fires of discontent there are slim-to-none. Below Syria to the southwest we have Israel. I think Friday’s action by Israel proves we have no real concern the Syrian conflict moving south to Israel.
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(Map courtsey BBC Showing Today's Flash With Isreal)
I feel for the people of Syria deeply, as we all should. Do I feel for the people of Syria to the tune of $1 trillion? Hell no! In the real estate game this would be called a money pit. There is no way America wants to get ankle or knee deep in this bloodbath. I stand behind Pres. Obama in exercising caution. Let’s face the fact we will never fully know what happened in Syria in the past two weeks. There will be many conflicting reports, coming from many many sources. The loudest voice, I fear, will be the darkest tale. My Dear Readers a chill runs up my spine when I sit here and try and imagine what these people are going through. But a chill also runs up my spine when I think of the 19 million Americans with less food this summer. 19 million Americans will be one step closer to starvation in the greatest nation on this planet. I am one of them.
Priorities, people! (In my best Dennis Hopper voice)
Thank you so much for coming by today. I hope you enjoyed this article today. I very much enjoyed bringing it to you. Look back later this week for more on the parties of Syria (like a root canal). And I look forward to seeing you here later this week.
UPDATE: As of 8PM Pacific time.
"Hundreds of Syrians have fled coastal areas where activists accuse government forces of carrying out massacres in a campaign of sectarian cleansing.
Footage of mutilated and burned bodies, allegedly from the town of Baniyas, have been posted online.
Activists said at least 77 people - 20 from the same family - were killed, a day after 72 died in nearby al-Bayda."
Thanks to BBC news web site.
The genocide continues in the coastal towns and cities. I will keep you informed. Thanks for coming by.
{ Be VERY careful 'Googling' the 'Free Syrian Army'... PLEASE! Reason; I have strong antivirus protection, a hardware firewall and a software firewall and run 256 bit encrypted browsers to view any sites. As well, I create a 'Virtual Machine' ANYTIME I start searching for news and information outside mainstream media. You MUST be so vigilant, too. There is a supposed 'Free Syrian Army' web site. I clicked on the link and within one second my alarms were going off like mad. Thankfully my CMOS machine speaker did not "Beep"... CMOS viruses can brick a tablet or computer faster than you can say "Oh, shit!" Stick to CNN, MSNBC (for open minded individuals). There is a really god source I LOVE to use: http://www.bbc.com/news/}
ENJOY!
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