America and Iran Join Forces to Preserve Syrian Regime
"It's
no secret that the occupied government in Iraq was born of the illegal
American-Zionist-Persian triumvirate. … Tehran not only to show that
it can coerce Washington into preserving the al-Assad regime based on an
exchange of interests within the triumvirate, but it continues to push for
Iraqi cooperation in creating a Shiite Crescent."
His hands broken by masked government forces, Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat lies in a Damascus hospital bed. It seems that the al-Assad regime couldn't stomach the sharpness of his pen. See one of his cartoons, below, left.
Local media have been
broadcasting information that seems contradictory. The news out of Syria and other
neighboring countries is that Turkey has erected camps to absorb Syrians fleeing
the flames in their country - but that a 27-mile-long barbed wire fence has
been erected and a nine-foot-deep, six-foot-wide trench has been dug by Iraq's
occupied government [the central government in Baghdad] along the Iraqi-Syrian
border. Furthermore - surveillance cameras have been set up along the border,
and the number of troops has been boosted to prevent Syrians from slipping into
Iraq.
In the meantime, Anbar Governor
Qasim
Abid Muhammad Hammadi al-Fahadawi announced that Anbar Province cannot
accommodate refugees without the approval of Iraq's occupied regime. That is to
say nothing of the Syrian troops that have been dispatched to the border to prevent
Syrian citizens from fleeing.
Before addressing these
officially-declared positions, one must take account of the fact that the
American stick is what chooses and defines the ruling government’s fate and
policies according to its own interests. No matter how these may differ,
contradict or match the needs of the region's governments, America puts its own
interests before those of the people of the region - even its allies. It is
America that specifies the political stances of its allies, and it is the
American government that will decide the "zero hour," i.e.: when it
is time to alter or replace a policy, particularly after the experience it
gleaned with the downfall of Egypt's Mubarak regime.
Even if both Turkish and
Iraqi regimes are strategic allies of the United States and the West, it would
appear that the stances of the two governments are quite at odds.
For instance, the position of
Turkey, which according to both Ankara and Damascus enjoys good relations with
the al-Assad government, is at odds with Syria over its attitude toward Syrian
refugees. This is a strategy designed to create a media reaction that will
shake the al-Assad government and reduce its international legitimacy, accomplished
by different means but similar to the strategy that saw Syria withdraw from
Lebanon [following the Harriri
assassination].
In this way, Turkey hopes to
take a greater role in Arab affairs. This is also in keeping with Ankara's other
interest in moving south, particularly with Turkey gaining popularity for its position
on Israel's siege of Gaza and Prime Minister Erdogan's conflict with Israeli
leader Binyamin Netanyahu, which emerged publicly over the Freedom Flotilla.
These things make it clear that one way or another, Turkey seeks the approval
of Arab citizens to achieve its own interests as well as satisfying the demands
of the West in general and America in particular - which is to pressure al-Assad's
regime while not yet toppling it.
On the other
hand, the position of Iraq's occupied regime has also changed suddenly. Until
recently, Syria and Iraq were constantly sniping at one another and official
relations were a tug-of-war. Iraq's American occupiers had supported Bashar al-Assad.
But now the official stance of the U.S. has changed. Does that mean that disobedience
and rebellion have broken out against America and its Western allies - or is
something new going on here?
After
this cartoon was published by celebrated Syrian cartoonist Ali
Farzat, which lampoons Syrian President al-Assad and
Libya's former
despot
Colonel Qaddafi, Farzat was nearly beaten to death by
Syrian
security forces [see photo, upper right].
If the occupied government of
Iraq denies the will of the Iraqi people in making domestic decisions, how can it
take any that are beneficial to the people of a neighboring state? It's no
secret that the occupied government in Iraq was born of the illegal
American-Zionist-Persian triumvirate, the purpose of which is to calm a number
of hot topics like the Palestinian and Lebanese issues. This has been imposed
on [Iraq Prime Minister] Maliki, who has been forced to defy the official Arab
position. Through him, Iran seeks to once again demonstrate its capacity to twist
America's arm on the ground in Iraq, just as it has so successfully done through
Nasrallah in Lebanon. Now Tehran not only seeks to show that it can
coerce Washington into preserving the regime of Bashar al-Assad based in an
exchange of interests within the American-Zionist-Persian triumvirate, but it continues
to push for Iraqi cooperation in creating a Shiite Crescent.
What is not so widely known
is that Iran, in no uncertain terms, has instructed the occupied Iraqi
government to fully support al-Assad’s regime by offering Syria oil and gas at
reduced prices and preventing, as was previously mentioned, Syrian refugees
from crossing the border into Iraq.
The American-Zionist-Persian
triumvirate has concluded that the fall of Assad’s regime is undesirable, regardless
of how strong popular opposition may be. This doesn't spring from love or loyalty
toward Assad or any lack of suitable replacement candidates, but from a desire
to pressure him to fulfill specific services to the evil triumvirate.
The most important of these
is to calm the waters over the Golan Heights and Syria's confrontation with the
Zionist entity, thus transforming it [Israel] into a semi-stable state. The
United States doesn't want to repeat the Iraqi scenario of direct military
intervention, since that would conflict with the slogans of the Obama Administration
with regard to human rights and the new emerging democracies. And neither does
it want the Zionist entity to repeat the Libyan scenario for fear of losing popular
Arab support and courting international condemnation.
Nor will Washington allow a
repeat of the scenario in Yemen. But since al-Assad is capable of letting his
supporters loose onto the streets and public squares, the Americans know in
advance what the results will be: al-Assad will win, but the situation will put
him at the mercy of the American hammer - which will issue painful but not
lethal blows. The erosion of ties between Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian people
will eat away at his regime from within as he commits ever-more indiscretions as
a result of his efforts to maintain his hold on power.
