« Syria Press Review » #7

Will Russia let the United States start a war in mid-January?

The Western media has showcased the latest report from Human Rights Watch, "By All Means Necessary!", wherein it is alleged that crimes against humanity were committed under the authority of President Bashar al-Assad. At no time does the press inquire about the identity of the authors or the methodology of the report.

The Atlanticist press has hailed the Russian resolution proposal to the Security Council as a sign that Moscow has come around to Washington’s views. However, the newspapers have not seen the full text, but only a few sentences quoted by Reuters.

The Canadian press echoes the call of its Foreign Minister for all Canadian citizens to leave Syria not later than mid-January, when their evacuation will become problematic. It is not clear what disaster is anticipated around this date.

• The Washington Post columnist Jim Hoagland, flashes back to the World Policy Conference organized by the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) in Vienna. He feigns surprise at the consensus struck between Prince Turki of Saudi Arabia and Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak regarding Syria. They both think that the downfall of Assad is inevitable since it is no longer viable to govern by resorting to the bloody crackdown against the protest movement.

• In The National Charles Glass recalls that the U.S. has a history of regime change in Syria. In 1949, the CIA organized the military coup of Colonel Zaim, to allow Aramco to build a trans-Syrian pipeline. However, this move opened a period of instability and Zaim was himself overthrown a month later. The CIA attempted two other regime changes (Operation Straggle and Operation Wappen) which were aborted. This tumultuous period ended with the coup staged by Hafez al-Assad in 1970, which brought stability to Syria if not freedom.