The strategy of the Syrian steadfastness and resistance

The strategy of the Syrian steadfastness and resistance.

By Ghaleb KANDIL

The resistance in which Syria is engaged against the colonial attack is progressing along a series of axes, and pointing to a long term strategy in managing the conflict while taking into account the available equations, balances and capabilities to defeat the hostile plan.

Firstly, the Syrian command is insisting on the political reformatory course and the idea of a political solution. This is why it is still calling for national dialogue and partnership in drawing up the Syrian future and operating along the course of national reconciliation on the field. This would explain its insistence on Kofi Annan’s initiative with which it cooperated since day one, despite the fact that Annan and the international observers succumbed to American and Western pressures and influence on more than one occasion. Reality testifies for the fact that since April 12, the Syrian state showed concern over the ending of the bloodshed, the discontinuation of violence and the launching of dialogue, at a time when the opposition groups linked to foreign parties and the armed groups on the ground have been attacking Annan’s mission, calling for its toppling, insisting on the calls for the country’s invasion through NATO and rejecting any talk about dialogue. This exposed the reality of the situation before the Syrian citizens who are now more persistent on the reinstatement of stability and more aware of the mercenary work carried out by the opposition movements abroad and some of the opposition movements on the domestic arena, but also of the dangerous and bloody task of the media campaigns and the war of rumors aiming at undermining their morale.

Secondly, according to the information, the Syrian command is now fully and accurately knowledgeable about the details of the situation of the field and the deployment of the armed groups which are receiving funding and weapons via the Lebanese and Turkish borders and are being managed by operation rooms located in the Turkish border area under the supervision of American officers.

Moreover, the Syrian military and security commands acquired information and facts about the number of non-Syrian terrorists who were introduced to Syria and the presence of foreign Western and Turkish intelligence officers and some multinational mercenary groups on Syrian soil. At the level of the Syrian operations to confront the rebellion and the acts of terrorism, it is clear that a major progress is being secured on the field to end the presence of strongholds and tighten the control over the international roads and the strategic facilities in the country. Efforts are also being deployed to besiege all the pits harboring armed gangs, at a time when an American study issued in March estimated there were around seven thousands armed men acting in the context of these gangs. The operations are ongoing on the ground without any political or media commotion and with a growing popular support in all the heated areas. This is due to the fact that the people are extremely tired of the depletion and the impact of the sabotage operations on the citizens’ daily lives. It is noticeable at this level that the Syrian national state is giving its citizens the opportunity to back down and drop their weapons and earning more popular collaboration in the pursuit of the death squads.

Thirdly, the new Syrian government is launching its work based on a plan aiming at enhancing the development at the level of the social and livelihood conditions, thus securing a regular electricity supply in all the Syrian regions, reactivating the public facilities and carrying out intensive work on the economic level to face the sanctions and the siege through the enhancement of communication and exchange with the commercial partners in the region and around the world, in a way that will soon carry a positive impact on the economic and financial reality in the country. So far, the adopted governmental measures have attempted to activate national production and sponsor the small and middle size businesses, while containing any possible tampering with the value of the national currency and the prices of basic products.

Fourthly, in parallel to the political, economic and administrative steps and the mission carried out by the national military institutions to reinstate stability, Syria addressed strong messages to the sources of the threat via massive maneuvers carried out by the Syrian Arab Army with the participation of the land, air and navy forces. Clearly, this army has regained its ability to defend the nation against any aggression and revealed without the shadow of a doubt that its capabilities were progressing with the recognition of foreign experts who commented on the military exercises and assured they featured high technical abilities and clear cohesion. Through this development, Syria addressed a strong blow to all the illusions conveyed via foreign propaganda about the extent of the army’s unity and ability to deter any foreign threat.

The Syrian command is in control over all the areas and knows - as it was recently said by President Assad- that the war will be long and harsh and that its results will draw up new equations for the world, the region and the strong Syrian state which relied on the resistance of its people and the steadfastness of its army, and is spreading its strengthen between its partners around the world and in the region among the states opposed to colonial hegemony.

Arab File.

Syria.

President Bashar al-Assad discussed with United Nations Envoy Kofi Annan the developments witnessed on the Syrian arena and the necessity of drawing up efficient mechanisms and well studied approaches to alleviate the violence in Syria and eventually reinstate stability in full. The mechanisms which could be adopted by the observers mission in cooperation with the Syrian government to achieve that important goal were also discussed, along with the Geneva conference which aimed at setting the right mechanisms to implement Annan’s six-point plan and create an environment suitable for dialogue, knowing that this dialogue should be between the Syrians and led by Syrians. The climate of the talks was positive and constructive and the Syrian side stressed Syria’s commitment to the implementation of the initiative which is widely reliant on the ending of the arming and funding of terrorist activities and the emergence of an international commitment to end violence in the country.

In Iran, Annan said in a joint press conference held with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi: “Iran is playing a positive role in resolving the crisis in Syria and the concerned parties must launch dialogue.” Salehi for his part stressed Iran’s full support of the Syrian people’s entitlement to civil rights and plurality, indicating that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad committed to this promise and to meeting the demands of the people. He also considered that the negative interference of some states was causing the continuation of this crisis, stressing his rejection of military intervention in Syria.

In Baghdad, Annan indicated following his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that he will inform the international Security Council about the developments affecting the Syrian crisis and the outcome of his tour in the region.

Syria’s envoy to the United Nations Bashar al-Jaafari indicated that neither in his report nor in his recommendations did Annan call for the imposition of Chapter VII at the level of the implementation of his initiative. Al-Jaafari thus assured: “We did not detect any intention by the Security Council to escalate the situation in Syria.”

On the security level, the Syrian television announced the release of 275 people who were involved in the recent incidents but whose hands were not drenched in Syrian blood.

Egypt.

New Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi issued a decision to call on the disbanded People’s Assembly to hold a session and seek the staging of new elections within sixty days after the ratification of the new constitution and the new legislative election law. The heads of the People’s Assembly and the Shura Council, i.e. the two chambers of parliament in Egypt, welcomed the presidential decision to resume parliament’s sessions. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said in a statement it had been and still was in favor of the will of the people, stressing the importance of the sovereignty of the law and the constitution to uphold the status of the Egyptian state. It added: “We are confident that all the state institutions will respect all the constitutional declarations,” in reference to the presidency of the republic.

For its part, the Egyptian presidency issued a statement in which it assured it respected the decisions of the Constitutional Court, adding nonetheless that the decision of President Mohammad Morsi to resume the sessions of the People’s Assembly did not go against this court’s sentence. Upon the issuance of Morsi’s decision, the liberals and leftists rushed to reject it, while the Egyptian judges’ club proclaimed “jihad” to topple it. In this context, Judge Ahmad al-Zanad said that Egypt’s judges pledged to stand against what they described as being “an attack on the judicial institution”, while the head of the judges club called on the president of the republic to return to his senses and withdraw the decision, accusing him of succumbing to American pressures aiming at undermining Egypt’s judicial authority.

In Jeddah, Saudi Monarch Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz received President Morsi on his first foreign visit. The Egyptian president stressed that the region’s stability required stability in Egypt and the Gulf states, at the head of which was Saudi Arabia. Morsi described his meeting with the Saudi monarch as being fruitful and constructive, stating: “Our dialogue surrounded the interests and stability of the region, as well the interest of the two brotherly people.”

Libya

The first legislative elections in the post-Muammar Gaddafi phase were held in Libya and the preliminary results showed an overwhelming victory by the Alliance of the National Forces led by Mahmoud Jibril, the former prime minister, after the alliance was able to secure the highest number of votes in most cities. The results, which were published by the electoral commission, revealed that this alliance that represented a liberal inclination, reaped the largest number of seats with a difference which reached tens of thousands of votes in certain constituencies in comparison with its opponents among the other parties, especially those with an Islamic inclination.

Israeli file.

In a step which was considered by the Israeli papers as being extremely surprising, a court in Jerusalem acquitted former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert from charges of corruption and bribery, convicting him solely of having betrayed public trust in the file dubbed the “investment center.” Maariv thus described the situation as being a political and judicial earthquake, while Yediot Aharonot stated that the decision generated further concerns for current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kadima party leader Saul Mofaz vis-à-vis the statements conveyed by people close to Olmert regarding his determination to return to political and partisan life. But in a surprising development, Olmert announced he had no intention of returning to the political arena.

The papers also tackled the events in Egypt and Maariv believed that the decision of Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi to call on parliament to hold its sessions was a show of power which completely undermined the decision of the Constitutional Court. Haaretz mentioned at this level that the president’s legitimacy stemmed from the street and not from particular powers. On the other hand, Yediot Aharonot spoke about the expansion of the Israeli military intelligence branches in parallel to the expansion of the threats, in reference to the Arab spring and the deterioration which affected the relationship with Turkey.

Lebanese affairs.

News analysis.

General Aoun.

During our meeting yesterday, the July war was present on General Michel Aoun’s mind, along with Syria and the change and reform mission. The General said that the relationship with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was above politics, that its secrets will not be grasped by anyone, that it was a source of pride for him and that it will not be undermined as long as he was still alive and will be bequeathed to whoever deserved to continue his course after his departure.

The General said that his stand along with his movement against the course adopted by the government was fruitful, that the electricity-generating vessels would soon arrive and that the developmental projects and appointments will be launched.

The General said that the relationship with Speaker Berri could tolerate disputes over local projects and the perception of the state, but that the disputes should be managed in a way that would prevent the rivals from exploiting it. The General’s eyes then brighten up while saying that the July war produced alliances that could not be broken, adding that the Lebanese, Arab and international camps towards the developments in Syria were not determined by small calculations but by the July war.

He continued: “We will call for an international investigation committee headed by a neutral state such as Russia to investigate the death of Arafat, so that it does not constitute a new international trap like the committee investigating Hariri’s assassination. We will strongly stand behind the army on the border with Syria to prevent internationalization.”

The General’s table is filled with projects and studies.

Lebanese file.

The towns and villages of Akkar witnessed tensions against the backdrop of the release of some officers and army elements that had been arrested in the case of the killing of Sheikh Ahmad Abdul Wahed and his companion. At this level, a number of deputies and dignitaries in the region threatened with violent reactions in case the file of the incident is not transferred to the judicial council.

On the other hand, Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir proceeded with his strike and did not exclude the blocking of the maritime road linking Sidon to the south, assuring he will escalate his action prior to the national dialogue session on July 25. For their part, the city’s economic and unionist officials held a meeting and called on the Lebanese authorities to assume their full responsibilities to break the siege imposed on Sidon as soon as possible, threatening with escalatory steps that could reach the level of a general strike.

In statements to As-Safir, speaker Nabih Berri said he was extremely disgusted by the internal situation, indicating that the climate was very bleak. He added: “It is like watching a play without knowing whether it is a comedy or a tragedy.

Some in the country do not want the resistance, the army, the dialogue table, the government or parliament. So, who will take care of the people?”
As to General Aoun, he informed As-Safir that he absolutely rejected the transfer of the file of the two sheikhs in Akkar to the judicial council, considering that this was harmful to the Lebanese army and could in no way be accepted.

He added: “If we participate in the cabinet session, we will vote against the transfer of this file to the judicial council, and let the others assume their responsibilities.” Aoun assured on the other hand: “The dispute with our partners in the majority over the Electricite du Liban employees file and the reform project can in no way affect the strategic facet of this relationship which is related to the arms of the resistance whose job is not yet over.”