Egypt, Syria and Iraq face big dilemmas

Egypt is facing a counter-revolution that is against all that came out of the elections which were, we were told, free and fair. The demonstrations are being used by a movement intending to overthrow the Egyptian government and President Mohamed Morsi. The movement is backed by funding from Arab states and Israel which have decided that no political party which is not blessed by Israel and America can govern in Cairo. While the conspirators are from beyond Egypt’s borders, the tools of their counter-revolution are Egyptian citizens led by big-name politicians. At the forefront of these is Mohamed ElBaradei, who won a Nobel Prize for his efforts in helping to destroy Iraq; the other is Amr Moussa, who came last in the presidential election. To these I would add Hamadi Sabah, who I blame for standing with the two closest to implementing American policy and Israeli goals in the Middle East.

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This unholy trinity are members of the so called “National Salvation Front”. This seeks to sabotage and disrupt the wheels of production in the country through its continuous calls for protests and attacks against public and private institutions. Security is being compromised with a negative effect on the country’s winter tourist season. It is a conspiracy implemented by the aforementioned Egyptian politicians in order to sabotage Egypt economically, socially, politically and in terms of security, in order to discredit the government led by elected president Mohamed Morsi. This does not mean that the government has not made mistakes, and that the crowds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters have not done it a disservice. Apart from anything else, President Morsi, like all political leaders, needs to have political professionals to prepare his speeches and public presentations so that proper discourse ensues, not Friday sermons.

Turning to the situation in Syria, look at what is happening. The opposition is no doubt feeling frustrated and confused in light of the statements issued by the head of the National Coalition, Moaz Al-Khatib, and the positions of concerned parties at the conference in Munich. Al-Khatib and his colleagues know the positions of influential states and they work accordingly, with no arms given to the opposition to defend against air raids launched by Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, and no financial aid. They have been left to their fate. The regime, meanwhile, receives financial and moral support from Russia, Iran and other states, and even has mercenaries bearing arms in its favour.

When Israel launched its recent air attack against Syria, the same government army and air force which is so adept at bombing their own people could not and did not respond. Syrian government air raids have not stopped, not for one day, for the past year or more, and the Syrian air defence downed Turkish planes flying near the Syrian border. Now the question is being asked, if Russia rejects any military action against the Assad regime from international forces, then why hasn’t it responded to the Israeli attack in defence of Syria? Why doesn’t Assad gear the fight towards Israel if it is indeed aiding the opposition to overthrow his regime, as he believes? If the Syrian president is afraid that Israel will escalate its air attacks against and cause mass destruction, I must ask, what is there left in Syria to destroy? Over 5 million refugees have been forced to leave their homes, towns and cities because of Syrian government air raids against its own citizens and more than sixty thousand people have been killed.

Israel has said that it is going to establish a buffer zone between the territory it occupies and Syria, up to 20 km deep, if the Assad regime falls. Doesn’t that suggest that Israel and Russia are the best protectors of Assad and his government? Syria’s claim to be a country of resistance against Israel is misleading; it’s only resistance is directed at its own people. How can Bashar Al-Assad face his people if he continues to rule as a direct result of Russian and Israeli support after all the destruction in Syria? The future looks bleak.

Finally, how are things in Iraq? A popular revolution spread around most Iraqi cities demanding the overthrow of the factional Malki government, which refuses to give in to the legitimate demands of the majority of Iraqis. These include the release of detainees and constitutional changes. There is no accountability or justice in the country, let along freedom.

The Arabs are a nation undeserving of the scourges facing us across the region. We are now paying the price for the unjust rulers who have led us into the suffering and injustice we face today.

*The author is a professor of political science at Qatar University

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.