The importance of today's Friends of Syria conference in Istanbul is that this is taking place at a stage when almost all the lies and delusions that have been promoted about the Syrian revolution have been exposed; whether we are talking about those lies defending the tyrannical al-Assad in order to allow him to buy more time [to crush the revolution], the lie that the Syrian revolution is not real, or the lies based on an ignorance of Syria.

The lie that the Syrian opposition is fragmented has been exposed. In reality, if the opposition were united from the beginning then this would have been cause for suspicion, for how could the [Syrian] opposition be unified when it is the product of the worst and most oppressive Arab regime in the region. Anybody who knows or has visited Syria is well aware what the al-Assad regime – both that of the father and that of the son – has done to the Syrian people over the past decades. The same applies to the lie that Al Qaeda has infiltrated Syria, as well as the lies regarding the presence of terrorists, Salafists and others. The "reform" lie, which was being promoted by the tyrannical regime, has also been exposed, as has the civil war lie, which has been repeated since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution more than one year ago. The same applies to the lie about the sectarian nature of the Syrian revolution, as it has become clear that it was the al-Assad regime that sought to sanctify this lie in order to justify its crimes and intimidate Syria's minorities. In contrast to what was said, Damascus and Aleppo were suppressed by the tyrant's arms. The lie about a security solution, promoted by the pro-regime Shabiha militia – including Hassan Nasrallah – has also been exposed.

The lies did not stop here, the lie of doubting the Free Syrian Army [FSA] has been exposed, as have the lies about the extent of the defections from al-Assad regime forces, for we are now seeing large numbers of defections, including senior officers, taking place on a daily basis. Indeed US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey said that the Syrian opposition has begun to unite and take steps to push the international community to support them, even with arms, which is contrary to what was previously being said. In addition to this, the Arab solution lie has also failed, for despite every effort being exerted, and Arab decisions being taken, nothing significant was achieved in Syria. Whilst the western lie that Arab cover was a necessity [for any intervention in Syria], has also failed, for despite everything that the Arabs have done, the West, and particularly the US, continue to make flimsy excuses, including a series of lies that have been exposed and some of which we have revealed here. Certainly the lie of al-Assad accepting Kofi Annan's proposal – which enjoys Arab and international support – has been exposed, even in the eyes of one of the biggest promoters of al-Assad's lies, namely Russia. This means that there is no hope for a diplomatic solutions – along the lines of what happened in Yemen – to the Syrian crisis.

From here it becomes clear that the Istanbul summit is taking place after the al-Assad regime has exhausted all its lies and tricks to buy time, and which have now become exposed to everybody. Therefore the advantage – and dilemma – of the Istanbul conference is that it has no room to grant the tyrant of Damascus more time and opportunities, particularly as the death toll in Syria is approaching the 10,000 mark, whilst one million Syrian require urgent humanitarian assistance, and nearly 17,000 Syrians have fled the country and sought refuge in Turkey, not to mention the weakening of Syria's position in Lebanon and Jordan. Therefore, now is the time for buffer zones to be imposed in Syria and for the FSA to be provided with arms, for doing otherwise would mean granting the tyrant of Damascus a new opportunity to kill more innocent Syrians.

This is what the Friends of Syria conference in Istanbul today must be aware of!

Tariq Alhomayed is the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, the youngest person to be appointed that position. He holds a BA degree in Media studies from King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, and has also completed his Introductory courses towards a Master's degree from George Washington University in Washington D.C. He is based in London.

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