Enab Baladi Issue # 99– Sun, Jan. 12, 2014 – Editorial

The Syrian opposition increasingly flounders ahead of the convention of the upcoming Geneva II Conference as the last elections recently run in the Syrian Coalition resulted in the resignation of 40 of its members due to discords over the headship of the Coalition and the attendance of Geneva II. As for the “bitter” disagreements which followed in both Istanbul, among the Coalition’s members, and Paris among Friends of Syria group all came down to nothing since the decisions of the Coalition were overruled by its own members and leader, who have become a puppet manipulated by foreign policies, whether the Saudi-Qatari disputes, or by the super-powers instructions. The US made it clear for the Syrian Coalition this time that it must get ready for the talks, for it is almost too late.

How could it be not so while Uncle Sam has always pioneered in issuing fateful orders for the dissolution of some structures in Syria and the formation of others; or how could it be not so while Russia is still playing its cards right, presenting Al Assad as the one alternative to, and sole savior from extremism in the region. Russia has relatedly played the cards of “Terrorism” and “ISIS” on Syria to maintain the control of Al Assad, the “gladiator” who managed to save his country from terrorism and extremism for so long, until the “Syrian Crisis” broke out and turned the safe state, Syria, into a safe haven for terrorists and extremists.

That is when the real game started. All humanitarian aids have been cut off until the war on the ISIS was declared; and the “Islamic State” withdrew from its strongholds in Northern Syria not withstanding who is responsible for the emergence of the Islamic State in Syria, or who sponsored its presence.

The cards will be shuffled again in Geneva II, nevertheless the cards will remain stacked against the Syrian people who are caught between two fires: Al Assad atrocities, and the exploitations of who are seeking balkanizations of Syria to build their own states, even if over Syrian skulls.