Extracted from an exclusive interview to Frank Barat for , courtesy
What is really at stake in what바카라s unravelling in Syria at the moment, and what does it mean for the broader region?
Well, Syria is descending into suicide. It바카라s a horror story and getting worse and worse. There바카라s no bright spot on the horizon. What will probably happen, if this continues, is that Syria will be partitioned into probably three regions; a Kurdish region 바카라 which is already forming 바카라 that could pull out and join in some fashion the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, maybe with some kind of deal with Turkey.
The rest of the country will be divided between a region dominated by the Assad regime 바카라 a brutal horrifying regime 바카라 and another section dominated by the various militias, which range from the extremely malicious and violent to the secular and democratic. Meanwhile, Israel is looking by and enjoying the spectacle. If you look at the New York Times this morning there바카라s a quote by an Israeli official essentially expressing their joy at watching Arabs slaughter each other.
For the United States, that바카라s fine, they don바카라t want an outcome either. If the US and Israel wanted to assist the rebels 바카라 which they do not 바카라 they can do it, even without military intervention. For example, if Israel were to mobilise forces on the Golan Heights (of course, it바카라s the Syrian Golan heights, but by now the world more or less tolerates or accepts Israel바카라s illegal occupation,) If they would just do that, It would compel Assad to move forces to the South which would relieve pressure against the rebels. But there바카라s no hint even of that. They바카라re also not giving humanitarian aid to the huge number of suffering refugees, not doing all kinds of simple things that they could do.
All of which suggests that both Israel and the United States prefer exactly what is happening today, just as reported in that NYT story this morning. Meanwhile, Israel can celebrate, and its status as what they call a 바카라Villa in the Jungle바카라. There was an interesting article by the editor of Haaretz, Aluf Benn, who wrote about how Israelis are going to the beach and enjoying themselves, and congratulating themselves as being a 바카라Villa in the jungle바카라 while the wild beasts out there tear each other to shreds. And, of course, Israel under this picture is doing nothing except defending itself. They like that picture and the US doesn바카라t seem too dissatisfied with it either. The rest is shadowboxing.
What about talk of a US strike then, do you think it바카라s going to happen?
A bombing?
Yes
Well, it바카라s kind of an interesting debate in the United States. The Ultra-Right, the Right wing extremists who are kind of off the international spectrum, they바카라re opposing it, though not for reasons I like. They바카라re opposing it because 바카라Why should we dedicate ourselves to solving other people바카라s problems and waste our own resources?바카라 They바카라re literally asking 바카라Who바카라s going to defend us when we바카라re attacked, because we바카라re devoting ourselves to helping people overseas?바카라 That바카라s the Ultra-Right. If you look at the 바카라moderate바카라 Right, people like, say, David Brooks of the New York Times, considered an intellectual commentator on the right. His view is that the US effort to withdraw its forces from the region is not having a 바카라moderating effect바카라. According to Brooks, when US forces are in the region, that has a moderating effect; it improves the situation, as you can see in Iraq, for example. But if we바카라re withdrawing our forces then we바카라re no longer able to moderate the situation and make it better.
That바카라s the standard view from the intellectual right over to the mainstream, the liberal democrats and so on. So there바카라s a lot of talk about 바카라Should we exercise our 바카라Responsibility to Protect바카라?바카라 Well, just take a look at the US record on 바카라Responsibility to Protect바카라. The fact that these words can even be spoken reveals something quite extraordinary about the US 바카라 and, in fact, Western 바카라 moral and intellectual culture.
This is quite apart from the fact that it바카라s a gross violation of international law. Obama바카라s latest line is that he didn바카라t establish a 바카라red line바카라 but the world did through its conventions on chemical warfare. Well, actually, the world does have a treaty, which Israel didn바카라t sign and which the US has totally neglected, for example when it supported Saddam Hussein바카라s really horrifying use of chemical weapons. Today, this is used to denounce Saddam Hussein, overlooking the fact that it was not only tolerated but basically supported by the Reagan administration. And, of course, the convention has no enforcement mechanisms.
There바카라s also no such thing as 바카라Responsibility to Protect바카라, that바카라s a fraud perpetrated in Western intellectual culture. There is a notion, in fact two notions: there바카라s one passed by the UN General Assembly, which does talk about 바카라Responsibility to Protect,바카라 but it offers no authorisation for any kind of intervention except under conditions of the United Nations charter. There is another version, which is adopted only by the West, the US and its allies, which is unilateral and says R2P permits 바카라military intervention by regional organisations in the region of their authority without Security Council authorisation바카라.
Well, translating that into English, this means that it provides authorisation for the US and NATO to use violence wherever they choose without Security Council authorisation. That바카라s what바카라s called 바카라Responsibility to Protect바카라 in Western discourse. If it weren바카라t so tragic it would be farcical.