Hail Region municipality engages residents in city planning    Riyadh to host Saudi-UK expo "GREAT FUTURES" in May    Ukraine war: US secretly sends long-range missiles to help Kyiv    Searching for missing loved ones in Gaza's mass graves    Saudi Arabia welcomes panel's report on UNRWA's performance    IMF opens first regional office in Riyadh Al-Ibrahim: Saudi Arabia confirms commitment to diversifying its economy    Deputy tourism minister: Government fees in hospitality sector down 22% in 2024    EU raids offices of Chinese security equipment maker in subsidy probe    Saudi Shoura Council assistant speaker meets US Congress advisors    Abuthnain: Saudi Arabia achieves 77% reconciliation in labor disputes    King Salman undergoes routine medical checkup in Jeddah    Columbia's anti-war protesters dig in despite mass arrests and disciplinary action    Belgian man whose body produces alcohol in rare condition acquitted of drunk driving    Al Hilal's comeback effort falls short in AFC Champions League semi-finals    Australian police launch manhunt for Home and Away star Orpheus Pledger    Spice Girls reunite at Posh's 50th birthday    Swedish rider Eckermann wins 2024 Show Jumping World Cup in Riyadh    Aspiring fencer Josh Brayden aims for Olympic glory    Revenues touch SR3.7 billion in Saudi cinema sector since 2018    Beijing half marathon: Top three stripped of medals after investigation    JK Rowling in 'arrest me' challenge over hate crime law    Trump's Bible endorsement raises concern in Christian religious circles    Hollywood icon Will Smith shares his profound admiration for Holy Qur'an    We have celebrated Founding Day for three years - but it has been with us for 300    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Sovereignty in Syria
Published in AL HAYAT on 15 - 09 - 2013

Whatever the final result of American-Russian negotiations in Geneva over Syria, and whatever the fate of Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, the way the Syrian regime has dealt with this problem has revealed a series of facts, and will have a series of repercussions and aftereffects.
It seems that after the United States of America and its allies abandoned their plan for a quick military strike against its forces following accusations of it having made use of chemical weapons against its own people, the regime's victory cry in reality conceals the size of the major strategic concessions this regime has forced Syria the nation to offer, for the sake of its own survival.
It is common knowledge that the Syrian regime used to absolutely refuse to discuss joining the international Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and that it had tried to play the game of obscurity about whether or not it possessed such weapons. Thus, it would declare at every occasion that this issue was connected to the conflict with Israel and to the balance of power and deterrence with the latter's nuclear weapons. The regime had even denied possessing such an arsenal after the eruption of the protest movement, when it was accused of resorting to it. It was later confirmed that it did in fact possess a massive arsenal of such weapons, which were used against Syrian civilians in the first confrontation that posed a threat to the regime in the Rif Dimashq governorate, in an attempt to spread terror and panic in the hearts of those Syrians who oppose it, and force them to abandon their demands and beg for its mercy!
In other words, the Syrian regime has given up all of the elements of the balance of power and deterrence with Israel merely because it considered its own survival to have become at risk, as a result of threats of a Western strike against its forces. It is not without significance for Israel and its view of the Syrian front that the regime has given up its arsenal of strategic deterrence after the Golan front has been calm for such a long time. In this sense, the Syrian regime's concession serves Israel's interests as well, and represents the declared end of the strategy of the balance of power. It also represents the end of the strategy of resistance and defiance, the latter having lost its central element, namely that of deterrence.
In parallel to this, the Syrian regime has given Russia the authority to negotiate on its behalf directly with the United States in Geneva. The background of such a move is the fact that the regime considers that providing assets to Moscow, which seeks to restore the balance of power between itself and Washington, would make of the regime's survival a vital need for Russian diplomacy, one which would make threatening the regime tantamount to threatening Russia. This is true in one its aspects, but its other aspect, the one more dangerous for the state and the nation in Syria, is that of having relinquished an essential part of the sovereignty which the regime had always boasted of protecting. It also makes of Syria a Russian "protectorate", at least diplomatically, despite the constant supply of Russian weapons to it.
At the same time, and under the slogan of their alliance of defiance, Iran is exploiting Syria's strategic exposure before Israel, after having relinquished its chemical arsenal, to compensate for it with a missile defense shield which Iran would be directly in charge of, either through Iranian experts or through members of Lebanon's Hezbollah. Here too the regime is relinquishing a vital element of its sovereignty in favor of a foreign power, in a manner by far exceeding that of merely making use of foreign fighters on the ground to confront the advance of the armed opposition.
President Vladimir Putin has won a round of his confrontation with President Barack Obama, by taking charge of negotiations in Syria's name over its chemical arsenal in exchange for stopping the march to a military strike against the Syrian regime. The regime may well have bought itself some time through these negotiations, but it has shown itself to be willing to make all kinds of concessions to foreign powers in order to save itself, including the sovereignty of the state, on a background of unprecedented inflexibility in the face of the people's demands, to which has now been added the restoration of such sovereignty.


Clic here to read the story from its source.