Give Syria a Chance for Peace
Last weekend, I met a woman who along with her family had fled Syria after her house was bombed. She said she does not care who did it, all she wants now is peace.The Obama Administration has embarked to arm so called “moderates” consisting of the insurgents and foreign fighters in Syria. Like in the Cold War, the United States is entering another proxy war. This time, on one side are the United States and her allies and on the other side are Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah. What have been left out of the equation are the people of Syria, nearly 100,000 have been killed and over 1.5 million have been displaced. Arming more people in Syria would not resolve the issue at hand, but would further increase the degree of carnage and destruction. What is most needed in Syria is peace!
While the United States plans to arm the “moderate” factions in Syria through CIA covert operations, her allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are supporting Islamist factions, such as the al Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front, who are determined to turn Syria into another authoritarian state like Saudi Arabia. These states will ultimately be the losers. The experienced foreign fighters will eventually return home and become a serious threat to the authoritarian regimes in the region, particularly, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
This bloodbath must stop! In August 2011, Obama said that “the time has come for President Assad to step aside.” This desire should not be accomplished by a bloody warfare that could eventually involve American forces on the ground like that in Vietnam. The United States could convene a peace conference that provides some incentives for the Assad regime to step aside in favor of a democratic political institution where the Alawis, Shias, Christians, Jews, and other minorities could enjoy equal rights.
Dr. Mehdi Alavi, President
Peace Worldwide Organization
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