2013 Was A Year Of Storms: Bashar Al-Assad Showed Himself To Be No More Than The Leader Of A Gang
03 January 2013
By Mshari Al-Zaydi
Deemed unlucky in Western cultures, the thirteenth
year of the new millennium is now drawing to a close.
Away from superstitions about numbers, 2013 was a
tough and costly for everyone. However, at the same
time it was useful in shattering the delusions and
dreams of the Arab Spring's false promises.
In this year the masks fell, politicians' eloquent
perorations evaporated and slogans fell flat in the
face of harsh new realities.
In just one year the Muslim Brotherhood, the leading
Islamist organization, lost all that it had
accumulated over the past 80 years. I can imagine the
Brotherhood's founder Hassan Al-Banna observing in his
afterlife how his disciples wasted the project whose
seeds he painstakingly sowed, planted and tended.
Hezbollah threw off the last fig leaf, uncovering its
sectarian agenda and exposing an identity that is
completely alien to the Arabs.
The administration of Barack Obama proved ignorant,
reluctant and driven by a mixture of obstinacy and
weakness. Arabs lost hope in the White House, not the
US as a country—that has been nothing but a burden to
Arab countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, on all
political fronts, from its recklessness in Egypt,
cowardliness in Syria, to humiliating rapprochement
with Iran.
Saudi Arabia and those who share its vision made up
their minds, depending on their abilities, and
demonstrated their absolute determination.
The Egyptian military also carried the banner of
steadfastness in the face of the chaos created by
Islamists and half-baked activists. Gen. Abdel-Fattah
El-Sisi, his companions, the elite civilian figures in
Egypt and more prominently the Egyptian people
themselves are determined to overcome the vortex of
the Brotherhood.
As for Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad, he showed
himself to be no more than the leader of a gang.
At the end of last year I wrote that with 2012 being
more agitated and turbulent than the one that preceded
it, 2013 would have major surprising events. I wrote
that 2013 would be a year of storms.
Well, we have made it through the bottleneck this
year. The Arab world has not settled yet, but it has
gone through a critical phase in its history.
A Saudi journalist and expert on Islamic movements
and Islamic fundamentalism as well as Saudi affairs.
Mshari is Asharq Al-Awsat's opinion page Editor, where
he also contributes a weekly column. Has worked for
the local Saudi press occupying several posts at Al -Madina
newspaper amongst others. He has been a guest on
numerous news and current affairs programs as an
expert on Islamic.
Add Comments