Extracted from an exclusive interview to Frank Barat for , courtesy
What is really at stake in what라이브 바카라 unravelling in Syria at the moment, and what does it mean for the broader region?
Well, Syria is descending into suicide. It라이브 바카라 a horror story and getting worse and worse. There라이브 바카라 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 – which is already forming – 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 – a brutal horrifying regime – 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 there라이브 바카라 a quote by an Israeli official essentially expressing their joy at watching Arabs slaughter each other.
For the United States, that라이브 바카라 fine, they don’t want an outcome either. If the US and Israel wanted to assist the rebels – which they do not – they can do it, even without military intervention. For example, if Israel were to mobilise forces on the Golan Heights (of course, it라이브 바카라 the Syrian Golan heights, but by now the world more or less tolerates or accepts Israel라이브 바카라 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 there라이브 바카라 no hint even of that. They’re 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 “Villa in the Jungle”. 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 “Villa in the jungle” 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 doesn’t seem too dissatisfied with it either. The rest is shadowboxing.
What about talk of a US strike then, do you think it라이브 바카라 going to happen?
A bombing?
Yes
Well, it라이브 바카라 kind of an interesting debate in the United States. The Ultra-Right, the Right wing extremists who are kind of off the international spectrum, they’re opposing it, though not for reasons I like. They’re opposing it because “Why should we dedicate ourselves to solving other people라이브 바카라 problems and waste our own resources?” They’re literally asking “Who라이브 바카라 going to defend us when we’re attacked, because we’re devoting ourselves to helping people overseas?” That라이브 바카라 the Ultra-Right. If you look at the ‘moderate’ 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 “moderating effect”. 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 we’re withdrawing our forces then we’re no longer able to moderate the situation and make it better.
That라이브 바카라 the standard view from the intellectual right over to the mainstream, the liberal democrats and so on. So there라이브 바카라 a lot of talk about “Should we exercise our ‘Responsibility to Protect’?” Well, just take a look at the US record on ‘Responsibility to Protect’. The fact that these words can even be spoken reveals something quite extraordinary about the US – and, in fact, Western – moral and intellectual culture.
This is quite apart from the fact that it라이브 바카라 a gross violation of international law. Obama라이브 바카라 latest line is that he didn’t establish a “red line” but the world did through its conventions on chemical warfare. Well, actually, the world does have a treaty, which Israel didn’t sign and which the US has totally neglected, for example when it supported Saddam Hussein라이브 바카라 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.
There라이브 바카라 also no such thing as “Responsibility to Protect”, that라이브 바카라 a fraud perpetrated in Western intellectual culture. There is a notion, in fact two notions: there라이브 바카라 one passed by the UN General Assembly, which does talk about “Responsibility to Protect,” 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 “military intervention by regional organisations in the region of their authority without Security Council authorisation”.
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. That라이브 바카라 what라이브 바카라 called “Responsibility to Protect” in Western discourse. If it weren’t so tragic it would be farcical.