By Bethan McKernan
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (click here) has said he is prepared to negotiate on "everything" in proposed peace talks with rebels later this month, despite the shakiness of the current ceasefire.
Talks brokered by Syrian ally Russia and rebel supporting Turkey are supposed to take place in Kazakhstan before the end of January, but last week opposition groups said they had frozen the process in light of continued government strikes across the country.
In comments made to French media published on Monday, Mr Assad said that the nationwide truce had been violated by rebels several times. He also defended the army's push to recapture Wadi Barada, a rebel-held valley near Damascus where the main water supply to the capital has been turned off....
I am speaking out of turn since I don't know all the details about the demographics of Syria today as opposed to before the civil war, but, it is my opinion Syria is not governable without the rebel groups.
Most in the West don't understand Syria. To the West there is the idea there is one governing structure that controls a country's sovereignty. That is not, nor ever has it been the case in Syria.
All the Neocons want to say Iran is causing problems in the Middle East because they are backing extremists and terrorist organizations. That is true from a Western perspective, however, that is very, very false from an on the ground view of the Middle East, primarily where the Shia are concerned.
I have to take a call. Sorry.
Okay.
Let me set a scene from USA history. Okay? I think this will bring a far better understanding of Syria.
In the late 1890s and early 1900s there was great immigration of people to the USA. They came with their culture intact in their hearts and a will to live in peace with others out of the strength of their religious faith. Do to that time in USA history the country came to be called "The Melting Pot."
What if there was no melting (assimilation) by all these peoples that came to the USA with hopes of a better life. If you can imagine that then it is completely transposed over Syria.
I am going to go through this one more time. Assad is an Alawite. Alawites are Syrian. They comprise about 11 percent of the Syrian population. They also have a significant population in Turkey and northern Lebanon. One has to pay attention to the GEOGRAPHY of the sovereign ETHNICITY when discussing the Middle East.Now, 11 percent of a population is not the majority, however, the leadership in Syria has been Alawite and that leadership has protected the Alawites in both Syria (along the coast) and in Northern Lebanon.
Now, how can President Assad be president of Syria and claim to also rule and protect the Alawites in Northern Lebanon? Lebanon is a sovereign country. Now, ask oneself how long Lebanon was met with violence that murdered some of it's most open minded, non-violent leaders. A long time. Beirut was always in the news media at one time because of the violence between the WARRING SECTS for control.
Interesting, Beirut which is the capital of Lebanon is very near Damascus, the capital of Syria. However, the area in Lebanon where Alawites are located is north of Beirut.The AGENT for the Alawites in northern Lebanon is Hezbollah. Hezbollah is viewed by the West as a terrorist organization. It is not. Hezbollah is a military arm of the Shia. Hezbollah is not only a military arm of the Shia, it is a political party in Lebanon.
The West, including Great Britain, has a very bad habit of drawing lines and calling LAND within those lines a sovereign country. That is not the way people in the Middle East see sovereignty, especially in Syria.
Sovereignty in the Middle East is guided by God, Allah or however the ethnicity identifies it's higher power. Sorry if that sounds disembodied from god. ie: Palestinians and their nomadic heritage. The Palestinians are not the only nomadic people in the Middle East in history or today.
Now, come forward from about 20 years ago and today Syria appears to be in complete disarray and suffering because it has no ruling power/leader. The civil war in Syria should never have occurred, BUT, then came "W." Let's not forget the 'idea' for democracy in the Middle East spawned the "Arab Spring."
So, today President Assad is coming forward and stating he is ready to negotiate with the rebels. I believe President Assad has an appreciation of HOW Shia leaders secure their people. Let me state that again. I believe President Assad has an appreciation of HOW (the same three letters of WHO) secure their people.
There is no one single leader that can control all the ethnicity in Syrian nor should any ONE try because that would be genocide. There is a way of governing Syria and the rebel groups are intricate to that governance. Al Nusra Front has been around for as long as I can remember, but, they are not a terrorist group, although the West identifies them as such. Al Nusra Front is a governing sovereign.
Long about now Israel (A member of The West) is cursing the idea there is not one governing structure and SHIA terrorist groups are not terrorists. Israel sees itself and always has as a sovereign country that has specific borders, even though their ideology demands those boundaries are fluid.
Did I say fluid? I did, didn't I. Hm? So, if Israel sees it's borders as fluid can it be called nomadic no different than Palestinians or simply a more comfortable term known in The West as an expansionist power?
So, back to Syria.
President Assad is intricate to the sovereign protections of Alawites. That has been a fact for decades and involves his family. The Alawites always have their presence on Earth identified as secure through President Assad. He is not going anywhere.
The rebel groups that are SOVEREIGNS in Syria have to be identified. They have to prove to be a sovereign with a benevolent presence among an ethnicity served by them in both security and day to day needs. Those sovereigns exist and are assisted by Imams and Clerics such as the Lebanon Shi'ite Cleric Nasrallah. I don't know why, but, Shi'ite Clerics tend to use a bully pulpit while the Imams and Ayatollahs are more resolved in their demeanor. It is interesting if one pays attention.
At any rate, what Assad has to do is welcome the other sovereign leaders in Syria in a governing council. I don't see any sovereign being replaced by some ideology of The West, so much as recognized for their power and influence among the people. A peace council has to come together in recognition of their common reality and resolved to bring Syria peace and prosperity.
The prosperity part is the tough part. See, the UNDERLYING reason for Syria's civil war began with DROUGHT.
By Elaisha Stokes
The Drought that preceded Syria's civil war was the worst in 900 years. (click here)
...The drought caused 75 percent of Syria's farms to fail and 85 percent of livestock to die between 2006 and 2011, according to the United Nations. The collapse in crop yields forced as many as 1.5 million Syrians to migrate to urban centers, like Homs and Damascus.
The drought had displaced Syrians long before the conflict began," said Francesco Femia, president of the Center for Climate Security. "And what is frightening is that analysts who study the region completely missed it."
More hungry and homeless families in Syria's big cities created stress, said Femia. "There are only so many resources to go around."...
It is my opinion The West completely missed it because of a narcissistic idea men have control of Earth. It ain't so, especially when the country is Syria where many of the people live in poverty.
May 1, 2016
By Pavitra Dwibhashyam
Poverty in civil-war (click here) hit Syria is growing exponentially with a majority of the population now living below the poverty line, a report published by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia says. According to the report, the percentage of people below the poverty line has risen from 28% in 2010 to 83.4% in 2015. Extreme poverty has also increased from 14% in 2010 to more than 50% in 2015.
By the last half of 2015, a reported 13.5 million people were in need of humanitarian aid, of whom 12.1 million needed access to water and sanitation. More than four million of them were based in Aleppo and Damascus....
See, in The West people in poverty don't have power and are undeserving of it. Of course, one's living circumstances has nothing to do with it and the global economic collapse occurred because of the abuse of power of the wealthy, but, who's counting dollars?
So, in recognizing the peace among the sovereigns in Syria, there also has to be recognition the poverty rate in Syria in 2010 was 28 percent.
The USA left Iraq in 2009. The Arab Spring was early 2011 and has nothing to do with water replenishment. It is believed the Syrian civil war began May of 2011. The invasion of Daesh is a more diffuse beginning AND is not a sovereign. Daesh identifies with no particular ethnicity. It's members are global. So, Daesh is a militia and genocidal regime. They have no place at the peace table in Syria.
Today the poverty rate in Syria is over 84 percent in 2015. That poverty is profound and has to be addressed as one of the most important factors in the peace. There needs to be more sophisticated water sources in Syria because the climate crisis is not relenting. The people need water.
The Syrian children have to return to the very essence of the peace table and the future of the country. Syria must see it's children as the growth and future of the country, cherish them, nourish them and educate them to be great people capable of great things in peace.
With that said, I believe the Syrian peace table has great promise and after all the basic five pillars of the Muslim faith do not differ between any ethnic or religious identity. I wish all members of the peace process great success. I sincerely want this to work and the Syrian people finding common ground for mutual respect with a promise of tomorrow.
I would like to think the USA is going to play a vital role in solving the deep seated problems of poverty and water sources for the Syrian people.
