In an interesting change of events, the Syrian opposition is accused of committing war crimes! Up until now it was mostly only the government that the likes of Human Rights Watch accused of committing horrifying practises. Human Rights Watch has criticised the opposition for performing summary executions and the torture of prisoners and of being infiltrated by extremist Islamists.
This is not unexpected, there has never been and never will be, a war in which both sides are completely innocent. It is true that most of the attention has been on the regime, which has killed thousands of innocent civilians and has used all resources available to try and crush the revolution. What I believe is most dangerous is the presence of Islamists, they are hoping to take advantage over an unstable Syria. With government attention away from them, it is easier for them to plot against the West and Israel. Unfortunately it could turn worse, when Assad is removed from power Syria will have a problem, central government will be weak and the country will basically be run by militiamen. If a strong, secular, civilian government is installed, then there will be real hope for peace in the Middle East. On the other hand if the country collapses into sectarian warfare, this will just add to the mess that is the current Arab World.
When the regime collapses the West must be prepared to invest in Syria, otherwise democracy has no hope. Democracy is expensive, and rebuilding Syria will be a difficult task. The infrastructure has basically been destroyed by the Civil War and the country cannot recover unless we help them.
No comments:
Post a Comment