Syrian Future: No Role For the Corrupt Dictatorship

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by Ghassan Karam

Dictatorship is illegitimate by definition since it represents taking power by force and it maintains it through oppression, fear and brutality. That is one reason that most dictatorships, Arab ones in particular have felt the need to pretend that they are legitimate by setting up sham elections. As if anyone really believed that 99.9% support abuse and cruelty.

The Arab Spring has not given the Arab world a single dynamic democracy yet but it has given voice to the Arab masses who have decided to stand up and demand their right to be heard. Governance in the Arab world will never be the same again. Finally a movement has been born to tell dictators that the long journey to democracy and personal freedom, the journey to human dignity will not be stopped.

Bashar Assad of Syria exemplifies the tyranny of Arab dictatorships. His father rose to power through a coup and ruled the country under emergency law for 30 years. When Hafez Assad died his son Bashar, an ophthalmologist, inherited a country and continued the exploitation and the one man rule of governance.

Many Syrians were encouraged by the relative success of the Arab masses in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen and so initiated small roving peaceful demonstrations. Dictators do not seek the approval of those that they govern; instead they maintain control by the use of brutal secret service supporters/gangs that inflict random violence. The response of the Bashar Assad regime was initially subdued because he had feared that a sharp escalation would bring about a response from the world community similar to that in Libya.  As time passed the Syrian forces became more forceful but stopped shy of leveling civilian quarters in major cities with tanks and artillery. The West had warned that such attacks will not be tolerated but will be met with a stern response.

This is when Russia decided to step in and protect its only client in the Arab world. Russia sent armaments and assured the Syrian regime that Russia and China will veto any attempt by the Security Council to pass any measures similar to what had happened in Libya. The regime then tested the will of the international community by waging a strong military attack on a neighbourhood in Hama. No meaningful Western response was forthcoming.  Russia and China delivered on their promise to keep the UN Security Council in check. This emboldened the Syrian regime to try its strong military tactics again in Homs.  Again the West failed to act. Since then the Syrian government, shielded by Russia and China and helped by Iran has been acting with impunity.

One Arab League initiative, which was passed through the UN Security Council, appointed Kofi Annan to find a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis. This was not opposed by either Russia or China and so Mr. Annan is trying to apply the same rules to the victims as well as the victimizers. It appears that this effort will be abandoned since so far  the level  of violence by the Syrian forces has not diminished, actually it has led to the most grotesque massacre in this conflict so far; Al Houla Massacre.

So where we and what are next in this conflict? The current government is illegitimate, it is a dictatorship that has failed to evolve and reform for over forty years, it has sought and obtained Iranian help in putting down the insurrection, it has used Russian and Chinese political protection to increase the frequency and ferocity of its military attacks against its own civilian population. It has taken advantage of the well meaning efforts by Mr. Annan in order to increase the level of violence and it has called on its Lebanese minions to expand the Syrian conflict into Lebanon so as to make the Syrian government’s warning that without Bashar regional instability will ensue a reality.

This is a regime that has never had any legitimacy, a regime that does not value personal freedom, a regime that survives by oppression and brutality a regime that is best described as a regime of human depravity. This regime must be held accountable for all its human right abuses over the past 14 months of this uprising as well as all its previous excesses against Hama, Kurds and all its political opponents. To argue that this regime must be negotiated with only because it has large guns is an insult to reason and rationality. Furthermore the efforts to justify a continuation of this regime on the ground that its level of brutality is not as grotesque as it is in some other dictatorships are ludicrous and actually contemptuous. And last but not least, as the world evolves and as cosmopolitanism spreads the circle of ethics widens from the self to the family then the tribe the state and eventually the world. That would then call for a universal right to protect against slavery, exploitation and flagrant violation of the most basic principles of human rights. The Syrian people are entitled to freedom of expression and self determination in an open and free election without having to fear the ghosts of the Assad secret services and their egregious acts.

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56 responses to “Syrian Future: No Role For the Corrupt Dictatorship”

  1. dateam Avatar

    What Arab spring? Yemen elections with ONE candidate who was salehs vp…..Libya where militias are control their own areas…Egypt where it’s obvious army and mubaraks crew still have power…the fact they allowed mubaraks ex pm to run is a slap in the face….bahrains protests go unnoticed?? And Syria which is an absolute mess?? The voices of the people have not and are not being heard rather they are being used to change hands…Tunisia is the only one that can be said was true all the way…and when they are heard as in the case of the Palestinian elections that all agreed were fair they didn’t like who the people chose so they made 1.5million people suffer for it…..

  2. dateam Avatar

    What Arab spring? Yemen elections with ONE candidate who was salehs vp…..Libya where militias are control their own areas…Egypt where it’s obvious army and mubaraks crew still have power…the fact they allowed mubaraks ex pm to run is a slap in the face….bahrains protests go unnoticed?? And Syria which is an absolute mess?? The voices of the people have not and are not being heard rather they are being used to change hands…Tunisia is the only one that can be said was true all the way…and when they are heard as in the case of the Palestinian elections that all agreed were fair they didn’t like who the people chose so they made 1.5million people suffer for it…..

    1. dateam,
                 Is it possible to replace a dictatorship with another after an uprising? Yes, but I would hope that this will not happen. No matter who becomes president in Egypt, it would be highly unlikely to have the same person rule for 30 years and set up a dynasty. Libya will be hard pressed to find another brutal dictator similar to Qaddafi even if it wanted to and Syria’s Assad will join his brethern, the Arab dictators soon enough. Unfortunately the opposition has not made any gains in Bahrain and very few gains in Yemen..
                Democracy is much more than the vote but yet we have to learn to accept the outcome of a fai and honest election. 

      1. dateam Avatar

        the thing that amzes me in the arab world especially in this day and age with advancements and populations being more educated especially western educated is that in the arab world the same mentality exists of the feudal power grabbing and dynasty rule…further as arabs we still unfortunately have no true identity and we are still ruled by the west in terms of we seek approval for simply being….take lebanon for example….we are ruled by the same people from 30-40 years ago in terms of the political parties…all these guys from the civil war days and their inner circles seem to all be going through a classic case of mid life crisis and want to relive their youth…where is the next generation? when will it evolve? how will it evolve and by the time it can come to be what if anything can it offer ? where are they? are they held back by the current? why do they hold them back and why is our next generation allowing it to happen? my point is that if the next generation is truly fed up then surely their is enough in us to start forming our own political parties not based on sectarianism but on common economic and security interests for the counttry…it starts in the universities however even in these instititions the mentalities of the past still exist??? you cant have dialogue with another party if you are not willing to try and understand the other side…i mean how do you change a 60 year olds mentality? it cant be changed its too entrenched…..for example classic case of hzb weapons…the other side needs to understand that for 30 years that part of the country was neglected and left to fend for itself….do you blame them for fear of going back? while one side was fighting an israeli occupation the other side was fighting a syrian occupation and  and a civil war??? they need to sit down and start bringing people in that are not affiliated with the past and talk plain and simple and lay out their fears and hopes…instead of the bravado that they use now…..one side needs to offer a solution to allay fears to the other side and the other party needs to offer that party something solid that the state will never allow what happened in the past to happen again…..if one party wants the other to hand the weapons into the state then that party needs to show how it can defend them and offer them security not to just one party but to all…namely through the army however our army is still iill equiped unfortunately and to this day we have not seen anything placed on the table that the army will and how it will be strengthened….look at naher elbared its a classic case…..regarding egypt and rest of arab world the west obviously has its interests and is still pulling the strings…..obviously in egypt its a sham….i mean mubarak got life for the protest killings and was not charged with anything else while his whole government including his sons were all aquitted?? what hope does that give the people? yemen had an election with one candidate……dictators will always exist in the middle east because the west allows it and may not anymore the people do…..but i have to ask your honest opinion on the syria issue…….if assad turned around tommorrow and told the usa and saudia arabia that he will cut his ties with iran and hezb  do you think they will let him stay in power? i think they would and they will workout a way out of it…..just like they have done in yemen and egypt by keeping the same people there

        1. dateam,
                     Your above post brings up excellent issues, the most fundamental ones. I believe that many of these issues are generational and so our hope is that the youth will have a different way of political identification, one that is not based on religious affiliation.Frankly, I do not think that there are enough with that vision to cause a major change, not yet. As for your last question about Bashar, I would hope that cutting relations with Iran would not be sufficient for the US to change its position. That might be sufficient for KSA but I doubt it. The conflict has become too bloody and the hatred of the regime too deep .

  3. Fauzia45 Avatar
    Fauzia45

    The only role dictators play is one of danger  ,instability and fear!!They are not only a danger to their citizens since they have unlimited power that ignores and denies simple basic rights ,public opinion and freedom but are a danger to their neighbors as we have seen!They deal with their neighbors the same way they deal with their citizens!They want to silence their voices and suppress their freedom!We see this also in the way they deal with other countries!!!

  4. Fauzia45 Avatar
    Fauzia45

    The only role dictators play is one of danger  ,instability and fear!!They are not only a danger to their citizens since they have unlimited power that ignores and denies simple basic rights ,public opinion and freedom but are a danger to their neighbors as we have seen!They deal with their neighbors the same way they deal with their citizens!They want to silence their voices and suppress their freedom!We see this also in the way they deal with other countries!!!

    1. Fauzia,
                 That is why dictatorships should not be given a role in negotiating reform. Allowing a dictator to participate in shaping the future is tantamount to rewarding terror and abuse of power. What we must be negotiating is a peaceful transition.

      1. dateam Avatar

        ghassan why now do you make these comments now? why have we been negotiating with dictators all this time….lets have a look saudia arabia,qatar,yemen,libya,egypt,tunisia,algeria,bahrain,  iraq and of course syria…why do we negotiate now with saudia arabia,qatar,bahrain? are they not dictators? in bahrain are they not peaceful protests where the saudi army came in and crushed them? what makes assad different to any of these?

        1. dateam,
                     I have argued for years that the most backward and illegitimate government in the world is that of KSA and that the Arab Reawakening will never be complete until it changes the GCC and Oman. But there is a difference between these and the current Syrian situation. !6 months ago the Syrians were acting as if they did not object to the dictatorship. That gave it indirect legitimacy but now the Syrian people started asking for their intrinsic rights and the regime and the depraved regime responded by changing Syria into killing fields. In this case you cannot close your eyes and pretend that nothing is going on, we all have a moral obligation to call things as we see them . Evil should never triumph. I have no doubt that Saudi Arabia will have its turn in adopting democracy and rebelling against the House of Saud but it does not look as if that day is near. Yet we should always recognize the Saudi regime for what it is ,an absolute monarchy, an anchronism.

  5. Prophettttt Avatar
    Prophettttt

    Ghassan,
    I have no disagreement with you on the description of the Syrian dictatorship and its brutality,nor do I have any disagreement of the Syrian regime not having any future, but I have to disagree with you on the description of the Syrian uprising and the future it promises to the Syrian people.
    During the initial weeks of the syrian revolution, I  anticipated and stated on this very forum that the Syrian regime will be much harder to topple,and that the Syrian regime would fight much harder than that of Egypt or even Libya,and that it would be much more brutal in its defense of its dictatorship.What I had  not anticipated is that the Syrian revolution would be hijacked by suicide bombers and foreign extremists , engaging in violence similar to that of the regime in its brutality.Both the regime and the opposition are engaged in brutal killing of civilian people,Both sides are engaged in bombing and destruction of Syrian cities.
    Emotions aside,One has to be objective and realistic when discussing this war going on in Syrian. It is no longer a public revolution or an uprising, but rather an opposition-mostly spear headed by extremists,and religious zealots- being financed and supported by other dictators,who are depriving their own people of what they falsely claim to support;freedom and democracy.Even western countries have no credibility when they claim to support freedom and democracy for Syrian people.
    What  started as a very legitimate revolution, has turned out to be a military conflict,where by the civilians who started this uprising has gone home,and the suicide bombers have taken over the streets. This conflict has reached a stalemate where ,the regime can not crush the opposition, nor can the opposition bring down the regime militarily.
    The sad reality is that car bombers,and suicide bombers will never bring freedom and democracy to the Syrian people, nor would the Assad regime ever  reform and become democratic. Syria is  heading toward a very long cycle of violence ,in which the Syrian people are the only looser because when  its over, there won’t be much left,and definitely  the winners-if any- of this conflict will not bring freedom or democracy.
    The Syrian opposition has to turn this uprising back to a civilian uprising ,and bring  the civilian people back to the streets in the millions.The regime will continue to be brutal, but It can not bring tanks and artillery against unarmed civilians, but it is -and has proven so- easier to put tanks against extremists shooting and bombing civilians. Funny that Assad had the guts to brags about fighting terrorism in his address to his Parliament  last week, but He could not have uttered this word when His  security  was shooting at unarmed civilians in the early stages of this uprising.
    I don’t know what the solution is, but I do know that a different,and a more workable approach has to be initiated.

    1. dateam Avatar

      well said

    2. Prophettttt,
                     I have deliberately avoided the question of what the Syrian insurgency might bring forth as a system. My essential point is that Dictatorships should never be negotiated with, protected or accepted in any shape because they are illegitimate.
                    Syrians, just like any people in the world have the right to get rid of their tormentors.The uprising is also entitled to seek help from any source just like the regime is getting aid from its few friends. Actually if one is to speak about intervention then Russian and Iranian intervention is much greater and much more influential than the aid that Saudi Arabia and the emirates are giving to the insurgency. Anyway that is a totally different topic.
                   First things first. The priority is to topple the dictatorial regime. Once that is done then it would be difficult to argue that another regime that is as brutal will arise. Why not trust the Syrian people? Mr. Ghallion does not come across as a blood thirsty individual. On the contrary he is a rather sophisticated and very well educated individual who has a good understanding of social justice, modernity and democracy. Why dismiss the Ghallions of the Syrian revolution and concentrate on some salafi fundamentalists? Ultimately it is up to the Syrian people to chose who is to rule and what kind of a rule they want. If they chose an ultraconservative rule then that will be  their choice and is to be preferable to a less conservative dictatorship that can only govern throufgh abuse, intimidation and brutality.

      1. Prophettttt Avatar
        Prophettttt

        Ghassan,
        Ghalioun, who was initially  seen as an academic with a heart, is now seen by most in the bitter independent opposition circles as a man out of touch and with very little leadership capabilities.He renewed his presidency  of SNC for four time. He is no different than most Arab leaders in the sense of loving power and positions. Watching few of his TV interviews, I get the impression that He speaks much  faster than his brain processes  information and ideas.It could be his eagerness  to lead, or his disappointment that the regime didn’t collapse as fast ad He had anticipated.
        Giving Mr. Ghalioun the  benefit of the doubt,that He is as qualified as you might think, what dictate events on the ground is those who are carrying guns,and sending extremists to blow up themselves in the streets of Syrian cities. Not to change the topic, but the events  taking place in Tripoli during the last two weeks proves the point that few guys with guns will dictate to all educated people of Tripoli what the state of of the city should or can be . 
        I also get the impression that you prefer to see a house destroyed before there is any plan to build. We can’t be naive and idealistic about the future of Syria. Fundamentalists are being imported into Syria ,and they are being supported and funded by oil money.We can close our eyes,and pretend that a fair election will bring civilian leadership who believes in secularism and freedom as much as we want, but the reality is that we see the recipe ,and we can predict the meal.Hatred for the brutal regime of the Assads should not blind us to the point of wishing its toppling and replacing it with devils.A different approach ,and a workable solution are in the best interest of Syrian people. Assad and his regime have no future,and He knows it, but we should be more concerned with the future of Syria and its people.No one ,in his right mind wants to see another Taliban state in Syria.

        1. Prophetttt,
                         A careful reading of your post and what I have written shows that we are in agreement that there is no future for the Bashar regime. That is my primary point. I hope that the new rulers will be wise enough to seek the consent of the governed. If not then we will witness another uprising.

      2. Prophettttt Avatar
        Prophettttt

        Ghassan,
        Ghalioun, who was initially  seen as an academic with a heart, is now seen by most in the bitter independent opposition circles as a man out of touch and with very little leadership capabilities.He renewed his presidency  of SNC for four time. He is no different than most Arab leaders in the sense of loving power and positions. Watching few of his TV interviews, I get the impression that He speaks much  faster than his brain processes  information and ideas.It could be his eagerness  to lead, or his disappointment that the regime didn’t collapse as fast ad He had anticipated.
        Giving Mr. Ghalioun the  benefit of the doubt,that He is as qualified as you might think, what dictate events on the ground is those who are carrying guns,and sending extremists to blow up themselves in the streets of Syrian cities. Not to change the topic, but the events  taking place in Tripoli during the last two weeks proves the point that few guys with guns will dictate to all educated people of Tripoli what the state of of the city should or can be . 
        I also get the impression that you prefer to see a house destroyed before there is any plan to build. We can’t be naive and idealistic about the future of Syria. Fundamentalists are being imported into Syria ,and they are being supported and funded by oil money.We can close our eyes,and pretend that a fair election will bring civilian leadership who believes in secularism and freedom as much as we want, but the reality is that we see the recipe ,and we can predict the meal.Hatred for the brutal regime of the Assads should not blind us to the point of wishing its toppling and replacing it with devils.A different approach ,and a workable solution are in the best interest of Syrian people. Assad and his regime have no future,and He knows it, but we should be more concerned with the future of Syria and its people.No one ,in his right mind wants to see another Taliban state in Syria.

        1. Prophetttt,
                         A careful reading of your post and what I have written shows that we are in agreement that there is no future for the Bashar regime. That is my primary point. I hope that the new rulers will be wise enough to seek the consent of the governed. If not then we will witness another uprising.

    3. Mahdi Kenaani Avatar
      Mahdi Kenaani

      Well said

  6. Prophettttt Avatar
    Prophettttt

    Ghassan,
    I have no disagreement with you on the description of the Syrian dictatorship and its brutality,nor do I have any disagreement of the Syrian regime not having any future, but I have to disagree with you on the description of the Syrian uprising and the future it promises to the Syrian people.
    During the initial weeks of the syrian revolution, I  anticipated and stated on this very forum that the Syrian regime will be much harder to topple,and that the Syrian regime would fight much harder than that of Egypt or even Libya,and that it would be much more brutal in its defense of its dictatorship.What I had  not anticipated is that the Syrian revolution would be hijacked by suicide bombers and foreign extremists , engaging in violence similar to that of the regime in its brutality.Both the regime and the opposition are engaged in brutal killing of civilian people,Both sides are engaged in bombing and destruction of Syrian cities.
    Emotions aside,One has to be objective and realistic when discussing this war going on in Syrian. It is no longer a public revolution or an uprising, but rather an opposition-mostly spear headed by extremists,and religious zealots- being financed and supported by other dictators,who are depriving their own people of what they falsely claim to support;freedom and democracy.Even western countries have no credibility when they claim to support freedom and democracy for Syrian people.
    What  started as a very legitimate revolution, has turned out to be a military conflict,where by the civilians who started this uprising has gone home,and the suicide bombers have taken over the streets. This conflict has reached a stalemate where ,the regime can not crush the opposition, nor can the opposition bring down the regime militarily.
    The sad reality is that car bombers,and suicide bombers will never bring freedom and democracy to the Syrian people, nor would the Assad regime ever  reform and become democratic. Syria is  heading toward a very long cycle of violence ,in which the Syrian people are the only looser because when  its over, there won’t be much left,and definitely  the winners-if any- of this conflict will not bring freedom or democracy.
    The Syrian opposition has to turn this uprising back to a civilian uprising ,and bring  the civilian people back to the streets in the millions.The regime will continue to be brutal, but It can not bring tanks and artillery against unarmed civilians, but it is -and has proven so- easier to put tanks against extremists shooting and bombing civilians. Funny that Assad had the guts to brags about fighting terrorism in his address to his Parliament  last week, but He could not have uttered this word when His  security  was shooting at unarmed civilians in the early stages of this uprising.
    I don’t know what the solution is, but I do know that a different,and a more workable approach has to be initiated.

    1. dateam Avatar

      well said

    2. Mahdi Kenaani Avatar
      Mahdi Kenaani

      Well said

  7. Prophettttt Avatar
    Prophettttt

    Ghassan,
    I have no disagreement with you on the description of the Syrian dictatorship and its brutality,nor do I have any disagreement of the Syrian regime not having any future, but I have to disagree with you on the description of the Syrian uprising and the future it promises to the Syrian people.
    During the initial weeks of the syrian revolution, I  anticipated and stated on this very forum that the Syrian regime will be much harder to topple,and that the Syrian regime would fight much harder than that of Egypt or even Libya,and that it would be much more brutal in its defense of its dictatorship.What I had  not anticipated is that the Syrian revolution would be hijacked by suicide bombers and foreign extremists , engaging in violence similar that of the regime in its brutality.Both the regime and the opposition are engaged in brutal killing of civilian people,Both sides are engaged in bombing and destruction of Syrian cities.
    Emotions aside,One has to be objective and realistic when discussing this war going on in Syrian. It is no longer a public revolution or an uprising, but rather an opposition-mostly spear headed by extremists,and religious zealots- being financed and supported by other dictators,who are depriving their own people of what they falsely claim to support;freedom and democracy.Even western countries have no credibility when they claim to support freedom and democracy for Syrian people.
    What  started as a very legitimate revolution, has turned out to be a military conflict,where by the civilians who started this uprising has gone home,and the suicide bombers have taken over the streets. This conflict has reached a stalemate where ,the regime can not crush the opposition, nor can the opposition bring down the regime militarily.
    The sad reality is that car bombers,and suicide bombers will never bring freedom and democracy to the Syrian people, nor would the Assad regime ever  reform and become democratic. Syria is  heading toward a very long cycle of violence ,in which the Syrian people are the only looser because when  its over, there won’t be much left,and definitely  the winners-if any- of their conflict will not bring freedom or democracy.
    The Syrian opposition has to turn this uprising back to a civilian uprising ,and bring  the civilian people back to the streets in the millions.The regime will continue to be brutal, but It can not bring tanks and artillery against unarmed civilians, but it is -and has proven so- easier to put tanks against extremists shooting and bombing civilians. Funny that Assad had the guts to brags about fighting terrorism in his address to his Parliament  last week, but He could not have uttered this word when His  security  was shooting at unarmed civilians in the early stages of this uprising.
    I don’t know what the solution is, but I do know that a different,and a more workable approach has to be initiated.

    1. dateam Avatar

      well said

    2. Prophettttt,
                     I have deliberately avoided the question of what the Syrian insurgency might bring forth as a system. My essential point is that Dictatorships should never be negotiated with, protected or accepted in any shape because they are illegitimate.
                    Syrians, just like any people in the world have the right to get rid of their tormentors.The uprising is also entitled to seek help from any source just like the regime is getting aid from its few friends. Actually if one is to speak about intervention then Russian and Iranian intervention is much greater and much more influential than the aid that Saudi Arabia and the emirates are giving to the insurgency. Anyway that is a totally different topic.
                   First things first. The priority is to topple the dictatorial regime. Once that is done then it would be difficult to argue that another regime that is as brutal will arise. Why not trust the Syrian people? Mr. Ghallion does not come across as a blood thirsty individual. On the contrary he is a rather sophisticated and very well educated individual who has a good understanding of social justice, modernity and democracy. Why dismiss the Ghallions of the Syrian revolution and concentrate on some salafi fundamentalists? Ultimately it is up to the Syrian people to chose who is to rule and what kind of a rule they want. If they chose an ultraconservative rule then that will be  their choice and is to be preferable to a less conservative dictatorship that can only govern throufgh abuse, intimidation and brutality.

      1. Prophettttt Avatar
        Prophettttt

        Ghassan,
        Ghalioun who was initially  seen as an academic with a heart, is now seen by most in the bitter independent opposition circles as a man out of touch and with very little leadership capabilities.He renewed his presidency  of SNC for four time. He is no different than most Arab leaders in the sense of loving power and positions. Waching few of his interviews, I get the impression that He speaks much  faster than his brain processes  information and ideas.It could be his eagerness  to lead, or his disappointment that the regime didn’t collapse as fast ad He had anticipated.
        Giving him Mr. Ghalioun the  benefit of the doubt,that He is as qualified as you might think, what dictate events on the ground is those who are carrying guns,and sending extremists to blow up themselves in the streets of Syrian cities. Not to change the topic, but the events  taking place in Tripoli during the last two weeks proves the point that few guys with guns will dictate to all educated people of Tripoli what the state of of the city should or can be . 
        I also get the impression that you prefer to see a house destroyed before there is any plan to build. 

        1. Prophetttt,
                         A careful reading of your post and what I have written shows that we are in agreement that there is no future for the Bashar regime. That is my primary point. I hope that the new rulers will be wise enough to seek the consent of the governed. If not then we will witness another uprising.

    3. Mahdi Kenaani Avatar
      Mahdi Kenaani

      Well said

  8. libnan1 Avatar
    libnan1

    We should support both the Asaad regime and the so called FSA, maybe in couple of years we can all go to Damascus and eat free Barazi. Let them kill each other like we did, they can’t be smarter than Lebanese or can they !!!

    1. liban1,
               I know that you are being facetious but jsut in case you are not let me stress a major difference between the two situations. In Lebanon it was a civil/sectarian war. It was the name and religious affiliation that determined who is to live and who is to be shot at the various road blocks. In Syria it is different. To be fair, there is a sectarian element, but the real cause for the uprising is the search for dignity. It is a revolt against tyranny and illegitimacy.

      1. libnan1 Avatar
        libnan1

        Ghassan, To set things straight I don’t support either party in Syria and as a friend said “if my finger was Syrian I’ll cut it off”. Lebanese so called civil war was a delusion. It started exactly like what is happening in Syria. From what my relatives tell me Beirut and Lebanon used to peaceful vibrant place in the sixties and early seventies. When the Lebanese army tried to put down the PLO most of the Sunnis went against the army and backed the PLO. How similar is that to the Syrian situation (Sunnis against their army). I hate to say this but anywhere there are Sunnis there is trouble even in the west. 
        There will never be a Sunni regime in Syria, all what is happening is creating a refuge for Alqaeda and all the radicals to come to Syria so can Assad destroy them all and do the whole world a big favor.  

        1. Liban1,
                 Syria isn’t Lebanon except for the sectarian element that might be allowed to become a major one. I hope not. The Syrians are asking for their dignity and freedom of expression. They are sick and tired of big brother watching and spying on all their activities. They are rebelling aginst a dictatorship that governs by force and through fear. That is a far cry from the situation in Lebanon where we chose to act as sheeple and we chose to follow religious leaders… Lebanon needs radical change just as much as any of the other Arab countries but in Lebanon there is no need for a violent revolution because we chose our leaders and we chose to be governed the way that we are. When enough of us do not like the status quo then we can elect a different crew. I hope that we do.

        2. Liban1,
                 Syria isn’t Lebanon except for the sectarian element that might be allowed to become a major one. I hope not. The Syrians are asking for their dignity and freedom of expression. They are sick and tired of big brother watching and spying on all their activities. They are rebelling aginst a dictatorship that governs by force and through fear. That is a far cry from the situation in Lebanon where we chose to act as sheeple and we chose to follow religious leaders… Lebanon needs radical change just as much as any of the other Arab countries but in Lebanon there is no need for a violent revolution because we chose our leaders and we chose to be governed the way that we are. When enough of us do not like the status quo then we can elect a different crew. I hope that we do.

      2. dateam Avatar

        Ghassan, in my opinion the word sectarianism is just a tool to achieve a means…lets have a look at our civil war…the plo made a mess…christian elements fought against them initially then i think everyone did…sunni elements then got involved causing the army to split….then christian elements wanted power….christian elements fought the druze…then arab league decided to send a force in…it ended up being just the syrians who were asked to come in…when they came in who did they initially protect? was it not certain christian elements on the proviso they dont enter their towns and villages? also iraq was backing them…then certain christian elements split with the use of force and on their way killing more christians then anyone else did in the war….then israel invades up to beirut certain christian elements change sides against the syrians…the syrians on one side of the country and israelis on the other side….somewhere in all that the leb army fights the syrians on one side of beirut and on the other the rest opposing and fighting the israelis…president is offered a peace treaty with israel talk of splitting the country that way israel can dump all the palestinians in the south…the president initially accepted then realised no way in hell and hes blown up along with 250 other people because of it by the israelis….israel withdraws from beirut and heads south sucking up the latani river and forming a buffer zone….resistance groups are formed to fight israel….sunnis form mourabitoun,amal is there druze are their whats left of plo is there….hzb is formed….mourabitoun fight amal then amal asks druze to help defeat them….soon after that amal and hezb start fighting each other….in the north christians are killing christians and certain christian elements are just killing anyone they dont like….syrians are doing what they do…..and in all that the syrians got greedy and thought they could have it all and the israelis took what they wanted and just secured it sat back and watched us…syria did what it did in the north and israel in the south…..??? that was a rushed version…my point in that is where is the sectarianism.? the plo made hell for everyone in lebanon..it became messy and sectarianism was used as a tool….to split us..lebanon became an issue of who wants power….in syria it is sectarianism used by outside parties…the peaceful protests have been hijacked and to prove my point there is an article in this paper today about kofi annans new initiative towards the end of it the article states clearly saudia arabia and qatar are funding the sunni insurgency……if lebanons civil war proved anything its that noone is better than anyone because in the end noone won but lebanons enemies…..

        1. dateam,
                     Of course sectarianism is a tool. It is a tool with only one objective: divide the people and prevent a national identity. Unless we can stop thinking of ourselves in sectarian terms then we will never be able to build a modern society. This applies to Lebanon as well as Syria.

    2. liban1,
               I know that you are being facetious but jsut in case you are not let me stress a major difference between the two situations. In Lebanon it was a civil/sectarian war. It was the name and religious affiliation that determined who is to live and who is to be shot at the various road blocks. In Syria it is different. To be fair, there is a sectarian element, but the real cause for the uprising is the search for dignity. It is a revolt against tyranny and illegitimacy.

      1. dateam Avatar

        Ghassan, in my opinion the word sectarianism is just a tool to achieve a means…lets have a look at our civil war…the plo made a mess…christian elements fought against them initially then i think everyone did…sunni elements then got involved causing the army to split….then christian elements wanted power….christian elements fought the druze…then arab league decided to send a force in…it ended up being just the syrians who were asked to come in…when they came in who did they initially protect? was it not certain christian elements on the proviso they dont enter their towns and villages? also iraq was backing them…then certain christian elements split with the use of force and on their way killing more christians then anyone else did in the war….then israel invades up to beirut certain christian elements change sides against the syrians…the syrians on one side of the country and israelis on the other side….somewhere in all that the leb army fights the syrians on one side of beirut and on the other the rest opposing and fighting the israelis…president is offered a peace treaty with israel talk of splitting the country that way israel can dump all the palestinians in the south…the president initially accepted then realised no way in hell and hes blown up along with 250 other people because of it by the israelis….israel withdraws from beirut and heads south sucking up the latani river and forming a buffer zone….resistance groups are formed to fight israel….sunnis form mourabitoun,amal is there druze are their whats left of plo is there….hzb is formed….mourabitoun fight amal then amal asks druze to help defeat them….soon after that amal and hezb start fighting each other….in the north christians are killing christians and certain christian elements are just killing anyone they dont like….syrians are doing what they do…..and in all that the syrians got greedy and thought they could have it all and the israelis took what they wanted and just secured it sat back and watched us…syria did what it did in the north and israel in the south…..??? that was a rushed version…my point in that is where is the sectarianism.? the plo made hell for everyone in lebanon..it became messy and sectarianism was used as a tool….to split us..lebanon became an issue of who wants power….in syria it is sectarianism used by outside parties…the peaceful protests have been hijacked and to prove my point there is an article in this paper today about kofi annans new initiative towards the end of it the article states clearly saudia arabia and qatar are funding the sunni insurgency……if lebanons civil war proved anything its that noone is better than anyone because in the end noone won but lebanons enemies…..

        1. dateam,
                     Of course sectarianism is a tool. It is a tool with only one objective: divide the people and prevent a national identity. Unless we can stop thinking of ourselves in sectarian terms then we will never be able to build a modern society. This applies to Lebanon as well as Syria.

  9. libnan1 Avatar
    libnan1

    We should support both the Asaad regime and the so called FSA, maybe in couple of years we can all go to Damascus and eat free Barazi. Let them kill each other like we did, they can’t be smarter than Lebanese or can they !!!

    1. liban1,
               I know that you are being facetious but jsut in case you are not let me stress a major difference between the two situations. In Lebanon it was a civil/sectarian war. It was the name and religious affiliation that determined who is to live and who is to be shot at the various road blocks. In Syria it is different. To be fair, there is a sectarian element, but the real cause for the uprising is the search for dignity. It is a revolt against tyranny and illegitimacy.

      1. libnan1 Avatar
        libnan1

        Ghassan, To set things straight I don’t support either party in Syria and as a friend said “if my finger was Syrian I’ll cut it off”. Lebanese so called civil war was a delusion. It started exactly like what is happening in Syria. From what my relatives tell me Beirut and Lebanon used to peaceful vibrant place in the sixties and early seventies. When the Lebanese army tried to put down the PLO most of the Sunnis went against the army and backed the PLO. How similar is that to the Syrian situation (Sunnis against their army). I hate to say this but anywhere there are Sunnis there is trouble even in the west. 
        There will never be a Sunni regime in Syria, all what is happening is creating a refuge for Alqaeda and all the radicals to come to Syria so can Assad destroy them all and do the whole world a big favor.  

        1. Liban1,
                 Syria isn’t Lebanon except for the sectarian element that might be allowed to become a major one. I hope not. The Syrians are asking for their dignity and freedom of expression. They are sick and tired of big brother watching and spying on all their activities. They are rebelling aginst a dictatorship that governs by force and through fear. That is a far cry from the situation in Lebanon where we chose to act as sheeple and we chose to follow religious leaders… Lebanon needs radical change just as much as any of the other Arab countries but in Lebanon there is no need for a violent revolution because we chose our leaders and we chose to be governed the way that we are. When enough of us do not like the status quo then we can elect a different crew. I hope that we do.

      2. dateam Avatar

        Ghassan, in my opinion the word sectarianism is just a tool to achieve a means…lets have a look at our civil war…the plo made a mess…christian elements fought against them initially then i think everyone did…sunni elements then got involved causing the army to split….then christian elements wanted power….christian elements fought the druze…then arab league decided to send a force in…it ended up being just the syrians who were asked to come in…when they came in who did they initially protect? was it not certain christian elements on the proviso they dont enter their towns and villages? also iraq was backing them…then certain christian elements split with the use of force and on their way killing more christians then anyone else did in the war….then israel invades up to beirut certain christian elements change sides against the syrians…the syrians on one side of the country and israelis on the other side….somewhere in all that the leb army fights the syrians on one side of beirut and on the other the rest opposing and fighting the israelis…president is offered a peace treaty with israel talk of splitting the country that way israel can dump all the palestinians in the south…the president initially accepted then realised no way in hell and hes blown up along with 250 other people because of it by the israelis….israel withdraws from beirut and heads south sucking up the latani river and forming a buffer zone….resistance groups are formed to fight israel….sunnis form mourabitoun,amal is there druze are their whats left of plo is there….hzb is formed….mourabitoun fight amal then amal asks druze to help defeat them….soon after that amal and hezb start fighting each other….in the north christians are killing christians and certain christian elements are just killing anyone they dont like….syrians are doing what they do…..and in all that the syrians got greedy and thought they could have it all and the israelis took what they wanted and just secured it sat back and watched us…syria did what it did in the north and israel in the south…..??? that was a rushed version…my point in that is where is the sectarianism.? the plo made hell for everyone in lebanon..it became messy and sectarianism was used as a tool….to split us..lebanon became an issue of who wants power….in syria it is sectarianism used by outside parties…the peaceful protests have been hijacked and to prove my point there is an article in this paper today about kofi annans new initiative towards the end of it the article states clearly saudia arabia and qatar are funding the sunni insurgency……if lebanons civil war proved anything its that noone is better than anyone because in the end noone won but lebanons enemies…..

        1. dateam,
                     Of course sectarianism is a tool. It is a tool with only one objective: divide the people and prevent a national identity. Unless we can stop thinking of ourselves in sectarian terms then we will never be able to build a modern society. This applies to Lebanon as well as Syria.

  10. Prophettttt Avatar
    Prophettttt

    I share your hopes,Ghassan.As Enstein said:”Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

  11. Prophettttt Avatar
    Prophettttt

    I share your hopes,Ghassan.As Enstein said:”Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

  12. Prophettttt Avatar
    Prophettttt

    I share your hopes,Ghassan.As Enstein said:”Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

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