November 21, 2013

Update On Syria [11.21]: Syrian Opposition Opposes Geneva II Conference

An excerpt from, "Syrian government and opposition jockey ahead of Geneva II" by Haytham Mouzahem, Al Monitor, November 19:
On the other hand, Syrian parliamentarian Sharif Shehadeh said that the success of Geneva II depends on all parties. In an exclusive telephone interview with Al-Monitor, he said, "The Syrian opposition, to this moment, does not want [Geneva II] to succeed. The statements the opposition has made recently are directed in a negative manner toward disrupting the conference." Shehadeh added that the Syrian government "does not deal with the Geneva conference based on a position of strength, but rather based on a position of rationality. Because [the government] wants the conference to succeed, it has talked about it and discussed it for a long time. The government, until this moment, wants [Geneva II] to succeed. This is evident through its actions and the statements of its officials."
The Syrian opposition can only win if America joins the war from the air and totally levels the country, but that ship has already sailed, so they've lost the war. But those who are backing the Jihadist terrorists refuse to accept defeat. Meanwhile, the waste in blood and treasure goes on.

The Saudi kingdom is a dying kingdom, and you can't expect rationality from such a regime. So the Saudis will throw everything they have at Syria to destroy Assad.

But even if Assad is eliminated the opposition will not gain a victory. The war will only intensify. The Shiites do not fight for Assad or any other visible political leader, so seeing him gone won't demoralize them in any way.

People thought Al-Qaeda would fade away without the presence of Bin Laden, but Al-Qaeda has grown in his absence, mostly thanks to misguided US and European interventions in Libya and Syria. This will be doubly true for the Shiites if Assad is assassinated. His death will only wake them up and stir them to more zealous action. So getting rid of Assad is not a solution to resolving the conflict, it is the sure way to expand it.