The Syrian regime considers the fact of expelling the terrorists from the city of Aleppo the most prominent stage of the conflict in the country, pointing to the “great victory” achieved in this city. President Assad even described what happened as “the moment of writing history”, and likened the liberation of the city to the major events in the world, like the fall of the Soviet Union and the two world wars, saying, “Time turns into history when major events in the world transform it”.
The truth is that any victory against terrorist organizations is in fact a victory for humanity and civilization and religious values. These organizations have caused catastrophic disasters in the Syrian and Iraqi cities. But for objectivity and conscience and humanitarian principles, we also say that the Syrian regime is not innocent of Syrian blood. It is this regime that sacrificed its people, and implicitly acknowledged its use of internationally banned weapons against this ancient safe people, and it is still committing serious violations for what it sees in the interest of an ancient country this regime took part in making it actually absent from the world map.
And because I am not a proponent of crying over spilled milk, I think the time has come to deal wisely and rationally with the crisis of this Arab people we all let down. The Arabs and the whole world betrayed Syria and the Syrians, and more than half of the Syrian people have been among the displaced persons and refugees worldwide.
What happened in Syria so far gives us important lessons to build a specific vision about the foreseeable future of the crisis. We are first facing a catastrophic failure and a complete absence of European diplomacy in dealing with this crisis, which erupted in a country Europe has for long considered to be at the heart of its strategic interests in the Middle East. The disaster is that Europe not only failed in this file, but also failed to formulate a foreign policy, whether uniform or mixed, in isolation from the United States!!
Another dimension of the recent developments in Syria, is that the defeat of terrorism in any place, as I said, is a profit for all of humanity. But let us all recognize that the liberation of Aleppo enhances the position of the Syrian regime, which was unjust to its people in this brutal conflict. But Assad’s gains in Aleppo are counterbalanced by a loss in another city that is no less important.
It should be pointed out that the Syrian army’s victory in Aleppo is not a complete victory across the country. It was paralleled with a significant defeat suffered by the Syrian army forces and the militias supporting them in the eastern countryside of Homs, specifically in Palmyra, which the Syrian forces had regained in last March with a strong Russian support too. But the Syrian army gave up control of this ancient city and retreated back to defensive lines, so the militants of the terrorist organization “Daesh” managed to control it completely. Not only did the militants control Palmyra, but they expanded on another axis aimed at “Four” Airport, which is considered the most prominent air base in the center of Syria. So “Daesh” has become about seven kilometers from the airport.
Clearly, Aleppo, the victim, has to wait in the cold winter, until the new US president Donald Trump takes office on the twentieth of January next year. The current US administration is gathering up its papers, and prepares to leave, and will not venture to agree on the fundamental steps in a crisis it has stood idly by for four years, and we all know that President Trump adopts a different policy from his predecessor’s in the Syrian file, specifically in regard to countering terrorism and stopping the flow of weapons to terrorist groups. This may make a shift in the prevailing balance of power on the ground. And if we take into consideration the high probability of the winning of François Fillon in the presidential elections in France, we will find that there are other significant shifts on the political horizon, as Fillon vowed to restore the relations with the Syrian regime, and to line up along with the policies of Putin and Trump
The proposals and solutions on the table in the Western and Russian circles are mostly centered on the implementation of the establishment of safe zones in the areas not controlled by the Syrian regime, so that these areas become under the protection of the coalition forces led by the United States, which is considered as a prelude to a de facto federation.. This opens the door to a possible continuation of the war for many years to come. President Trump has confirmed that his administration will work on the creation of safe zones in Syria to protect civilians from the bombing of the regime forces and its allies, which resulted in the deaths of more than 500 thousand civilians since the beginning of the conflict in Syria in 2011.
The establishment of safe areas is a plan that has been on the table since 2011, and it has already been rejected by the Obama administration under the pretext of the great difficulties facing the establishment of these safe areas. Returning to this plan at the era of Trump’s administration means the loss of four years with all the bloodshed and the millions of people that have been displaced and the towns destroyed and ruined during this period. But what is interesting in the talk of Trump about all these areas is that he intends, according to published remarks of him, to create them at the expense of the countries that support the opposition in Syria. He did not explain or identify those countries, and that means that these countries are facing a real problem because the approval to carry the financial burden is only a formal recognition of involvement in supporting terrorism, which might be exploited later in the prosecution of the leaders of these countries before the international Criminal Court.
The Syrian crisis is full with catastrophes during the foreseeable future. So, will the international community wake up and support the values of humanity even once? Is everyone paying attention to the impact of what is happening in Aleppo and other cities on the terrorist phenomenon?!!
The Arab diplomacy is asleep, and the UAE is making every effort to search for a political solution, and strongly supports the humanitarian relief efforts for the benefit of the brotherly Syrian people. But one hand cannot clap alone, and all the Arabs, or the Arab countries that have remained at least, have to be aware of the seriousness of the scenario and the plots and plans for the division and fragmentation of the Arab region!!
