The U.S. has recently designated the Al-Nusra Front as a terrorist organization. This has caused a Syrian backlash as expressed by public statements made by Syrian opposition leaders and pro-opposition activists on Facebook and Twitter. For Al-Nusra to be placed on the terror list, it seems, is an act that provokes Islamic feelings and wounds the national narcissism of a segment of Syrians. But the truth is that this reaction not only resembles some of the worst traits one may find in the ruling Baath Party, but also some of the worst things about our social and cultural makeup that favors all and any kinds of anti-Western solidarity, regardless of the how vacuous this solidarity really is, with a disregard for how much there is actual need for the West. Let us first say that it would be a pure fantasy to expect U.S. assistance when one of the primary recipients of it would be an entity that is intimately linked to al-Qaeda. This is not to mention assuming that the Americans and the Europeans would ever be on the same side as al-Qaeda. Yet the other fantasy that is equally ludicrous would see the United States, or indeed any country, offer assistance without having any requests in return, all while ignoring its public opinion and its demands. Regrettably, buying into these two fantasies reveals that there are certain fantastical delusions that the Syrian opposition has not been spared from being drawn into. Concerning the cursed “American intervention", as most recently embodied in Barack Obama's recognition of the Syrian opposition, and the recognition of the latter by more than 120 states, this has dictated political unity on the majority in the opposition, in tandem with the attempt to unify its military factions. There can be no denial that this approach, which began in earnest shortly after Obama's reelection, carries pure advantages for the cause of the Syrian revolution and the Syrian people. True, this support does not amount to what is morally required, or to the practical needs of the revolution, but pushing in this direction does not unavoidably require clinging to the Nusra Front. This becomes even more valid since the issue affects the Syrian national unity itself, for which the Front in question and similar groups are nothing more than an additional corrosive element. We must come clean and candidly when it comes to the near future, as well as the distant one, while the Assad regime is reeling: The Syrians, over two years, have shown legendary courage that has little or no parallels, challenging mass-murdering regime in what can be truly considered to be a source of pride for them and the generations that will come after. Yet they did not show, to the same extent, what would be reassuring about their social harmony, and what would show that they will find a peaceful solution for their many contradictions. In addition to the various violations recorded here and there, which the enemies of the revolution and the lackeys of the regime have indeed exaggerated, and the starkly sectarian color of the majority of their military factions, attempts to reassure the minorities, particularly the Alawis and the Kurds, were not sufficiently audible. The fact of the matter is that a task such as this requires, in addition to the well-thought frameworks that Al-Nusra and its ilk would be expelled from, making appeals and inducements to the minorities on a diligent and daily basis that never tires. This has so far remained much less discernible than the self-celebrating tone of apology and denial, which gives lip service to “Syrian national unity" and the “civilized history" and other folklores about Saleh al-Ali and established brotherhood. It is no secret that, while the talk about chemical weapons is on every lip and tongue, the fact is that making minorities feel that they have no options, any options, whatsoever, is the shortest path towards widespread destruction that one would not even wish upon his enemies. We also know that a regime like the Assad regime is capable of anything, after it tried hard to amplify the fears of the Alawi community, and summoned groups like Al-Nusra and its ilk among the organizations that profess mass destruction. This argument is being made to emphasize a major objective failure in reality, the reality of all the Arab Levant and not just Syria – and a failure that nothing can offset except a combination of critiquing and asking for foreign shielding help. And this latter point, however marred by the exaggeration, propaganda and the invoking of the fear about minorities, remains the best protection for those minorities, and would be better than leaving us, we “the brothers", to fight one another. Ultimately then, the Western desire to exclude al-Qaeda is advantageous to the Syrians, whether in terms of their social fabric, or their revolution and its image. To be sure, clinging on to Al-Nusra is bad enough, both in its reality and its symbolism!
