Lakhdar Brahimi’s not-so-new Syria project

Ever since Lakhdar Brahimi was appointed United Nations and Arab envoy tasked with the Syrian revolution dossier, he has continued to irritate Syrians with his actions and remarks. Not the latest of his blunders is expressing his “pleasure” at meeting the criminal killer, al-Assad. Even before that there were many more remarks in which he distorted the reality of the revolution and tried to paint a picture of events in Syria that did not match reality. His entering Syria by land, arriving from Beirut, should show all who have eyes — assuming he is possessed of sight — that Damascus is out of control. The city’s airport — its most vital lifeline — is no longer safe nor fit for use by the regime. This, however, changed none of his logic or his thinking. His most recent visit is much like his first one. He declared that he did not come bearing an initiative and was not promoting a Russian-American agreement, as if her were too big to be an agent for neither the West nor the East. Since the Syria dossier was placed in his charge, however, Lakhdar has had one and only one project for Syria that he reiterates now and again. Lakhdar’s project can be summarised in three points. These are: 1.      Stopping the flow of arms into Syria. This, of course, refers to illegitimate arming, i.e. stopping the flow of arms to the Free Syrian Army [FSA]. As for the regime, being the legitimate ruler of the country in Lakhdar’s eyes, its old and new arms contracts with the Russians as well as the uncapped support of the Iranians do not fall under this heading. This is the crucial point, as he can use it to impose any settlement he sees fit. The Syrian people is noticeably strong-willed: wounds and massacres only increase its determination. The only solution, then, to bring this people to its knees and drag it into an imposed settlement, is to dry up the flow of arms at the source, even though the FSA’s comes in dribs and drabs, as opposed to the constant Russian stream supplying the regime. 2.      The formation of a cabinet akin to an expanded national reconciliation government that holds all camps. The most important one of these camps, in Lakhdar’s view, is the remnants of the current regime, to ensure that Syria remains under this gang’s rule and is never cleansed of them, and that these people stay on in the next government, serving the function of safety valve for al-Assad and his aides. 3.      Al-Assad continuation in power, even if only on paper, until the end of his term. This means that the people recognises him as the legitimate president and safeguards from legal pursuit after the end of the revolution. To exert yet more pressure on the Syrian people, he does not tire of warning of potential repercussions of this revolution in neighbouring states and the region as a whole. The most important of these neighbouring states being—obviously—the children of Israel’s state, thus giving the West an incentive to support this project. As far as the Syrian people are concerned, Lakhdar’s project [much like Lakhdar himself] are entirely unacceptable, a waste of time and a useless shedding of blood. They have expressed their rejection of his project and their hatred for him in many demonstrations, carrying signs mocking him and his project. The reason behind this is that Lakhdar does not value Syrian blood. The week he spent in Syria was a week of crimson massacres, some of which have carved an indelible mark in history, such as the bakery massacre in Halfaya and al-Qahtaniyah farm in al-Raqqa. Lakhdar’s problem is he does not understand the nature of this revolutionary generation and has not studies the free Syrian people’s genome because he grew up on an inheritance of the subjugation to generals, and the exclusion and stifling of the public. He does not know why the Syrian people fights and why its blood is spilt.  We were certain that Lakhdar Brahimi’s mission has been doomed to failure from the start, the same as Kofi Annan’s was. The difference is that Kofi Anan [the infidel in Arab eyes] reached a point at which he resigned his position when he realised the bankruptcy of the United Nations plans for Syria to prevent himself from becoming the block on which the Syrian people’s neck is struck off. Lakhdar, on the other hand, appears to be willing to go on indefinitely! If Arab pressure is not exerted on Lakhdar, he will remain in his farcical role as UN-Arab envoy and continue to provoke the Syrian people. Therefore we demand that the Syrian Coalition and the Arab world desist from dealing with this envoy to strip his legitimacy away from him. If not, he will continue in his mission and it will only end with al-Assad fleeing abroad or the FSA entering his residence. --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.