Assad Begs For Dialogue: Assad's Terrorism, And His Regime Is Facing An Outright Collapse Today
14 March 2013
By Tariq Alhomayed
We wondered whether Moaz Alkhatib, head of the Syrian
National Coalition, was being shrewd or reckless with
his call for dialogue with the Assad regime. Events
today suggest that he was indeed shrewd, for the Assad
regime has fallen into the trap of calling for a
dialogue that it outright rejected in the past.
Through the words of Walid Moallem in Moscow, Bashar
Al-Assad is now begging for talks, even with the armed
opposition.
So what has changed for Assad to come forward now
begging for dialogue with the opposition? It is clear
that there are many factors, the most important of
which being the advances of the Free Syrian Army (FSA)
on the ground, and its relentless persistence.
Likewise, recent indicators have exposed blatant
Iranian interference in Syria, alongside Hezbollah.
The international community now fears the spread of
terrorism because of Assad's crimes and Iran's
interference, and this has finally prompted the world
to act. It seems that the most important step in this
regard has been, or will be, to allow the flow of
quality weapons to the Syrian rebels, which was
revealed recently by the Washington Post. Even though
the newspaper did not announce who will actually be
behind the supply of these weapons, it does not
require a great deal of intelligence to work it out.
What is more important is that armed reinforcement has
now become a reality, and this will become apparent in
the coming days.
All this represents what I have always described as
the only language Assad understands, namely the
language of force and action, not words. This language
will be consolidated further after the Rome
conference, especially if Washington is serious, with
US Secretary of State John Kerry going on record
saying that he is coming to Rome for decisions on
Syria, not simply to talk. All this is prompting
Bashar Assad now to beg for dialogue with the
opposition, even the armed elements such as the FSA
which he formerly described as terrorists. Now we are
even hearing Sergei Lavrov telling Moallem in Moscow
that the Syrian opposition are wise, while in the past
the entire revolution was being described as a
terrorist movement by both Moscow and Assad.
These developments are not the result of a sense of
guilt on Assad's part, or a sense of responsibility on
the part of the Russians, rather they are the result
of what is happening on the ground and the growing
international momentum towards Syria. The Russians are
aware that the new Obama administration has now been
completed, and there are benefits between Washington
and Moscow that the Russians cannot sacrifice in favor
of Assad, especially as his regime is crumbling. This
is not to mention the embarrassment suffered by Moscow
after Khatib called for dialogue with Assad, who then
manipulated the call as usual but now comes begging
for dialogue after it is too late.
Therefore, the most important thing in Syria today is
to continue arming the FSA, and to begin developing
the features of the post-Assad phase. This is a task
for the Syrian opposition itself and not just the
international community, which in turn must also not
waste any more time and effort in alleged "dialogue"
unless it is coupled with the announcement of Bashar
Assad's departure. Apart from the fact it is time
wasting, it is giving Assad a chance he does not
deserve. The Syrians have suffered enough over the
past two years from Assad's terrorism, and his regime
is facing an outright collapse today.
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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