The U.S. and its allies must take a strong stand against the Assad dictatorship.
By Mulham Shbeib
Recent events in Syria have caused President Barack Obama’s administration, Congress and intelligence agencies to question America’s role in the uprising.
Historically, American foreign policy promoted and preferred stability over democracy as evident by our unequivocal support of despotic Middle Eastern leaders. These Arab leaders were never elected by their people and often suppressed dissent by torture, imprisonment or execution.
Yet, our government remained publicly silent as the kings of Saudi Arabia forbade women from driving. Hosni Mubarak’s Egyptian government pocketed more than $50 billion, aided by U.S. foreign aid paid for by American taxpayer money, without any tangible result. Instead of taking the $50 billion and building Egypt’s infrastructure and economy, Mubarak and his cronies used this money to further alienate common Egyptians, stifle prosperity and create an uneven playing field. The currency of Mubarak’s government centered on briberies, “commissions,” and other forms of unethical dealings.
Whether it is Jordan, the Gulf states, or North Africa, our policies in the region have helped give cause to the uprisings currently taking place.
In the past six months, the Syrian government, led by President Bashar Assad, has killed more than 2,000 people. When the world asked Assad to reform, he responded with bullets. When America placed sanctions on Assad, he responded with more torture and more killings.
Oddly, he is still being asked to reform and is being told that if he is unwilling to reform, he should step down, or transition the country to democracy.
On behalf of all the mothers and fathers who lost someone in Syria, what about justice for those families? Assad is directly responsible for the killings of more than 2,000 innocent people as well as thousands who are missing, unjustly imprisoned or being tortured. Instead of “advising” Assad of his options, not one country has spoken out in regards to punishing Assad for his crimes against humanity. The International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, should be Assad’s destination and not some comfy resort if he chooses to “reform” or step down.
American troops must not be involved in this conflict. The sanctions currently being led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are positive steps, but for all of their effect, the Assad family will still be the wealthiest in Syria. Where America can lead, along with Turkey and other allies in the region, is to bring about criminal charges against the Assad dynasty. Too many people are dying and Assad is only being asked to reform. That is an absurd proposition.
It is time for our foreign policy to match the values that we promote at home. We have the unique opportunity to show the Arab world that we can resolve this issue without military intervention. We have the chance to show the region that the policies of justice, freedom and pursuit of happiness apply to Syria as well.
The people of Syria and other Arab countries want democracy, and America can promote this value without any tanks. A democratic Middle East eventually will reduce future American taxpayer spending and provide real, not perceived, stability in the region. Only then can we refocus on becoming the innovative leader of the world.
Mulham Shbeib, a native of Syria, is director of finance at Mar Jak Poultry in Gainesville.
With roots in the brutal repression of 1982, this crisis will not dissolve quietly.
By Miriam Cooke
One afternoon in September 1994, while wandering around what remained of the old city of Hama, I ran into the imam of a local mosque. Like all Syrians I met, he was delighted to learn that I was American and engaged by Syrian culture. We struck up a conversation in the shadow of the huge Roman water wheel whose legendary groaning muffled our voices. Constantly looking over his shoulder, he told me of the devastating military assault ordered by President Hafiz Assad in February 1982, of the massacre of untold thousands in the space of a few days, of the stench of the dead left unwashed and unburied in the streets, and of the old city razed to the ground.
For the average Syrian citizen, Hama spelt dread; for the state, it was a source of pride. Why? Although unfortunate, the Hama operation had ended the Sunni Muslims’ opposition to Alawite rule and eliminated the Islamist threat that other regimes were still combating. Back in 1982, few Americans or Europeans seemed to think that anything should be done except regret this latest bloodbath.
Almost 30 years later, Syria is back in the headlines, and Hama is the lead story. With his father’s “victory” in Hama still ringing in his head, President Bashar Assad believes he can crush the will of the people. But this time they are not cowed. A few days ago, more than half of the city’s population went into the streets carrying banners with “We Will Not Kneel” scrawled across them.
The cruel violence of 1982, it seems, did not eradicate the longing for freedom and democracy. It merely repressed the resistance and drove it underground.
Above all, it created a climate of such terror that the only way to survive was to act as if all was well. To the outside world it seemed that, like Arabs elsewhere, Syrians supported their dictatorship and thus deserved it.
The Arab Spring has proven that judgment wrong. Just below the surface, an emotional cauldron has been simmering throughout the Arab world, and especially in Syria. In the past, whenever it was about to boil over, the regime would ease the pressure with a critical newspaper article or a play or film by a known dissident. This ploy, which led people to believe they were not alone in their dread and anger, acted as a kind of opiate and the crisis usually passed.
But this is August 2011, not February 1982. The world has changed and the Arab world with it.
Also, Bashar is not as clever as his Machiavellian father. He has inherited the lust for power and blood without the finesse.
Last week, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, with the support of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other world leaders, flew to Damascus to scold Bashar.
Six hours later, Davutoglu emerged from his meetings with the Syrian president confident that the talks had gone well and that promised reforms would be introduced within 15 days. Two days later, Turkish papers reported that while the tanks were leaving Hama, Syrian troops were taking over the eastern city of Deirezzor.
The Assad regime is not going to stop, even when confronted by the return of what has been repressed for 30 years. The Syrian people will not stop either because they have lost their fear at the prospect of freedom from tyranny.
Miriam Cooke is professor of Arabic Literature and Culture at Duke University in North Carolina and author of “Dissident Syria: Making Oppositional Arts Official.”
