by Prof. Eyal Zisser
For years the regime in
Damascus boasted that Syria was the heart of all that was Arab, the
compass and beacon of the Arab world. The arrogance to speak on behalf
of the entire Arab world was based on the fact that Syria is the cradle
of Arab civilization, and it was where the national Arab movement first
took root about a century ago.
This consensus was why
U.S. President George H. Bush was adamant in convincing Hafez Assad,
Bashar's father, to join the anti-Iraq coalition ahead of the 1991 Gulf
War. That is also why Israeli governments over the years have strived to
strike peace with Syria. Damascus' stamp of approval, they believed,
could legitimize the Israeli-Arab peace process as a whole.
But all that is in the
past now. The toxic gas used by the Syrian regime against dissidents and
civilians consumed the last remnants of the fear and respect the Arab
world once held for Damascus as the epitome of all things Arab.
Today, the Arab world
is united against Syria, standing shoulder to shoulder with the West in
backing the U.S. in its efforts to topple Assad's regime. This is not
about the Arab leaders, who, much like U.S. President Barack Obama, are
reluctant to become involved in the Syrian conflict, but about the Arab
street. The people swarming Cairo's Tahrir Square, who see the Syrian
rebels as their brethren in the struggle for democracy, are unwilling to
forgive Assad -- even in the name of the fight against Israel.
If Assad was under the
impression that being a part of the axis of evil, alongside Iran and
Hezbollah, would assure him the support of his people, then he was
sorely mistaken. The Israeli issue no longer takes center stage for
young Arabs and they no longer use it to determine the fate of their
leaders, for better or worse. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
was not toppled because of his support of the peace process, and the
revolt against Assad erupted despite his anti-Israeli policies.
We must remember that
the war in Syria is multifaceted and multidimensional. It is about
social standing, ethnicity and religion. It has several tiers: The
bottom tier is, naturally, the purely Syrian one, where the conflict
between the Syrian regime and the people tired of it is taking place.
The top tier is the international one, where the U.S. and Russia are
embroiled in a cold war, mostly over the fact that without Moscow's
assistance Assad would not have been able to survive until now.
But the middle tier --
the Arab tier -- is just as important. Syria has become the battleground
for a regional conflict between the Arab nations, with Turkey and Iran
weighing in as well. This is a battle between Arabs and Iranians,
moderates and radicals, and Sunnis and Shiites. The Syrian regime is a
radical regime, controlled by the Alawite sect, whose roots are in Shia
Islam. The rebels, however, are for the most part Sunni, and they have
the support of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.
Assad is a relic of an era that
has ended. He represents a declining worldview and is peddling goods
that are no longer in demand. The Arab world has realized that and has
denounced him. This week, Obama has finally come to that conclusion as
well.
Prof. Eyal Zisser
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=5511
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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