The Devil You Know...

The Devil You Know…

            Since March 2011 there has been unrest in Syria that some are now calling a civil war. As the conflict continues on the Western and Arab media has been consistently producing emotionally charged headlines about the events taking place, with a strong tilt towards ‘humanitarian’ intervention. Just last week John McCain called for the use of airstrikes in Syria in a similar fashion to the intervention in Libya. Taking these reports at face value and intervening in Syria would be a colossal mistake which would serve only to empower those who are our most ardent enemies.

            Many advocates of intervention in Syria invoke what they see as the success of the intervention in Libya as a justification for the use of force in Syria. Since the so called success of the Libyan operation the militia groups that have been propelled to power by NATO airstrikes have been illegally detaining, murdering, and torturing primarily black Libyans with impunity.  Doctors without Borders has been forced to shut down operation in the city of Misrata due to being asked regularly to treat prisoners who were being tortured in order for the new authorities to continue their interrogation. Should these events come as a surprise to us?  Only if you had taken the constant media reports which led us to believe that the opposition to Gaddafi was only interested in forming a liberal democracy at face value. The fact that Cyrenaica , the heartland of the revolt in eastern Libya, sent more suicide bombers per capita to join Al-Qaeda in Iraq than any other region in the world should have been cause for skepticism. This history is getting ready to repeat itself in Syria if the Assad regime falls.

            The opposition to Assad as it stands today comprises many of the same Salafist ideologies that made up the opposition in Libya. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the head of Al-Qaeda since the death of Bin Laden, has called for Muslims to join the Syrian rebellion against the secular Assad regime. This call has coincided with suicide bombings in Allepo that have left hundreds dead and an increase in IED attacks by a factor of 134% from December 2011 to January 2012. The non-ruling ethnic minorities on Syria, of which Christians and Kurds make up the largest blocs, have tacitly supported the regime. These minorities know that if Assad falls, the same brutal fate will await them as the fate that met Iraq’s Christian minority after the fall of Baghdad. Aiding in another radical Salafist takeover of a Middle Eastern country would not only be against our own interests, but would result in the torture and execution those who did not fight with the rebels.

            Given this situation, what could the United States and other Arab nations aligned with them have to gain from the fall of Assad? The answer is quite simply Iran. Both the United States and the Arab nations wish to see a weakened Iran, each for their own reasons. Assad comes from the Allawite sect of Shia Islam and is an ally of the Shia Ayatollahs that rule in Iran. The United States has been working for several years to undermine the Iranian regime in order to impede their development of nuclear capabilities. Removing the primary ally of Iran in this region would further this goal. The Arab nations, led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are fearful of a dominant Iran. These nations have been the most vociferous in their support for the Syrian rebels, even though just last year Saudi Arabia sent tanks into Bahrain to help them suppress their own demonstrations. Let us not forget that wealthy individuals in Saudi Arabic and other Gulf nations like Qatar are the chief funding sources for Al-Qaeda.

            Looking at the evidence as a whole, it becomes clear that the rebellion in Syria has been thoroughly coopted by extremist elements. Al-Qaeda has expressed explicit support for them and attacks bearing their trademarks have skyrocketed ever since. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are among the chief supporters of the rebels, two nations with a history of crushing rebellions of their own as well as financing Al-Qaeda. As the drumbeat towards war carries on, it would be prudent to remember the lessons of arming the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan and the support we gave for the rebels who are now torturing innocents in Libya. US involvement in this conflict will only serve to prolong the conflict and cause more suffering. It is in the long term interests of the US to stay out of Syria and not fan the flames of Salafism across the Middle East.

"Analysis of Al Qa’ida Foreign Fighters in Iraq." Palantir. Palantir, 27 FEB 2009. Web. 7 Mar 2012. <http://palantir.com/government/analysis-blog/sinjar>.

Amnesty International "www.Amnesty.org." Amnesty International. Amnesty, 12 f. Web. 7 Mar 2012. <http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/libya-out-control-militias-commit-widespread-abuses-year-uprising-2012-02--0>.

Doctors without Borders, . "Libya: Detainees Tortured and Denied Medical Care." Doctors without Borders. N.p., 2012. Web. 7 Mar 2012. <http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/press/release.cfm?id=5744>.

Harrison, Frances. "Christians Besieged in Iraq." BBC. 13 Mar. 2008. Web. 7 Mar. 2012. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7295145.stm>.