The conditions of the terrorist groups in Syria, the intensification of conflict among these groups, and the obtaining of dangerous European and American weapons by terrorist are among the issues that have turned the recent developments in Syria into a nightmare for Bashar al-Assad’s opponents.
The situation has become so dire and complicated that former CIA chief Michael Hayden recently said that Assad’s victory is currently the best scenario out of the three other terrible scenarios.
Hayden, who led the CIA from 2006 to 2009 and served as the head of US Homeland Security Department, described Syria’s disintegration as the worst outcome for Syria, which could affect the future of Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.
Syria’s opposition has understood the situation; and reports have emerged over the past few days about plans by the opposition in Syria to join the country’s army to fight al-Qaeda. According to the Independent, the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) is considering joining the army forces in order to fight al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups in Syria.
In fact the FSA was a tool through which the EU and the US tried to defeat the Syrian army by sending weapons and military equipment to it. But the group not only failed in achieving the objective that had been set for it, it was defeated in clashes with groups affiliated with al-Qaeda, which are supported by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Even the advanced military equipment, surface-to-air and anti-tank missiles that had been provided by the US to these groups were seized by terrorist groups in Syria during recent days, which has seriously worried the US and Europe.
The Free Syrian Army has been forced out of many cities by the terrorist groups; and its commander, Salim Idris, fled the country. As such, the only group that Western and American intelligence services would consider as consisting of the opponents of the Syrian government and would describe it as unrelated to al-Qaeda was defeated by the groups affiliated to al-Qaeda.
Right now on Syrian soil, on the one side, there stands the country’s army, which enjoys the vast support of the people and the resistance front in the region, including Hezbollah and Iran, and which even has been joined by a number of opposition forces. On the other side, there are the forces affiliated to al-Qaeda and the Takfiris, who have pinned their hopes mostly on the political and military support by their main backers, namely Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as they are considered outsiders.
In fact, it can be said that, with the waning power of the FSA, a proxy war has been launched in Syria, on the one side of which there is the resistance front – suitably popular among the people of the region – and on the other side, the anti-resistance forces led by Saudi Arabia and Israel.
This war took place more overtly between the Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel in 2006, when the resistance front and its leading forefront, Hezbollah, brought to its kneels the army of the Zionist regime, which was armed to its teeth. Saudi Arabia and Qatar tried to prevent Hezbollah from achieving victory back then as well; but the resistance front proved that those states and regimes that do not enjoy the support of the people cannot defeat a popular front.
Over the past three years, the world has witnessed attempts by Western countries and some regional states, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt and the Zionist regime to overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad.
Some political analyst believe Western countries and their regional allies have failed in their efforts due to several reasons, the first of which is the wrong calculation of the Western intelligence services about the popularity and power of al-Assad.
The second reason is the countries’ failure in convincing their public opinion to wage a war against Syria. They could not use their previous accusations such as ‘Syria’s support for terrorism’ or its ‘connection to al-Qaeda’ or even ‘human rights violations;’ pretexts that would previously help Western countries incite the public opinion to support launching a war.
The third reason is the support of Western countries for al-Qaeda terrorists and resorting to this group to overthrow the Syrian government, which not only turned into a security threat for the US and the EU but also called into question more than one decade of the fight against terrorism, particularly al-Qaeda.
Security and humanitarian conditions in those Syrian areas that are not controlled by the government are dire. Terrorist groups kill people for no reason and use them as human shields in some areas. These terrorists, some of whom do not even speak Arabic, can have no sympathy with the Syrian people. According to reports by Western intelligence services, nearly 6,000 extremists affiliated to al-Qaeda have traveled to Syria from all over the world and each one of them can pose a potential security threat to their original countries upon their return.
Since the beginning of the foreign-backed unrest in Syria, Russian officials had on numerous occasions warned the Western countries against the potential dangers of such measures. Now the terrorist groups have taken control of tens of heavy weapons arsenals, which if not seized back, might end up in European countries.
Remarks made by the former CIA chief about al-Assad’s victory being the best outcome for Syria can be understood in this context. Meanwhile, disclosed intelligence reports from European countries and the European officials’ fear of a strengthened al-Qaeda in Syria can lead to the cessation of EU and US aid for the terrorists in Syria. If the foreign support for the terrorists ceases, the Syrian government can be expected to be able to control the crisis in a short period of time.
Over the past three years, terrorists have been dispatched to Syria en masse; among them are professional criminals and murderers, who cannot be stopped if they come into possession of heavy weaponry.
Indeed, the Western officials, rather than worrying about the wasting of their weapons and capital in Syria, are now more concerned that the knife sharpened against the Syrian government might harm their own children.
A logical solution for the US and European countries is to offer the Syrian government intelligence and logistical aid in order for Damascus to regain complete control over the country and maintain its integrity; after all, Syria’s disintegration would lead to the rise of an anarchist government, with no central command, which can bring chaos to the entire Middle East, Europe and the world as a whole for years to come.
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