Four difficult and revolutionary years in Syria

Four difficult and revolutionary years in Syria
Comment: The last four years have transformed Syria and Syrian society completely. There can be no going back.
4 min read
20 Mar, 2015
The revolution cannot be undone [Firas Taki/Anadolu/Getty]

Syria shows what can be the difficulty of revolutions. First, because the Syrian revolution started after a revolutionary spread from Tunisia and rapidly expanded, which struck fears in regional countries and perplexed others. It was necessary to stop the revolutionary wave from gaining more ground. It was also necessary to stop the wave because the world was experiencing an economic crisis, which could have led to the revolutions reaching beyond Arab borders and thus becoming uncontrollable.

Second, imperialist countries needed a example to demonstrate how rebellion and revolution against capital means drowning in massacres, terrorism and chaos. Therefore it was necessary for the Syrian revolution to turn into a "sectarian conflict", "civil war" and an actual massacre in which Syria is destroyed and its population killed and displaced. This became clear after a year and a half of revolution, as the main focus was to increase the regime's violence and escalate its brutality while providing it with the necessary tools for violence and brutality.

The regime is capable of incredible brutality as it is run by a group that does not fear committing excesses in violence.

Third, we must realize the regime is capable of high degrees of brutality given its composition and the fact that it is run by a group that does not fear committing excesses in violence. Further, the ruling family group considers Syria to be its personal property, which it inherited from Hafez al-Assad, and it would rather burn its inheritance than let go of it. It was this mentality that gave rise to the regime slogan "either Assad or we burn the country". The ruling family group decided to fight till the end, with all the brutality possible, to remain in control of power and the economy, and if that failed it would destroy the country before others could snatch it out of the group's hands. This mentality led to the regime committing all manner of crimes against humanity, in plain sight of the world and the international community who actually wanted the regime to carry out these actions regardless of the hollow statements of this or that president, or this or that country.

The forces of imperial capitalism

The actions of the Syrian regime were exactly what imperialist capitalism wanted, which is why those actions were turned into a clear example of brutality used in imperialist and Arab media to scare people of the consequences of rebellion against Mafiosi capitalism that plunders, impoverishes and exploits. However this form of capitalism now realizes that its plunder and exploitation has reached to crisis point and will definitely lead to an explosion of revolutions, therefore it was necessary to demonstrate the consequences.

Fourth, the imperial ambitions of Turkey and Iran contributed to the escalation of the violent conflict. The Iranian regime doggedly defended the Syrian regime and continues to do so not for the purposes of supporting the resistance or improving Hizballah's position, but because Syria is a card Iranians can use in international bargains. Therefore, a Shia force was mobilized to prevent the fall of the Syrian regime, and Iranian officials began publically stating that they were the ones who prevented the fall of Damascus (and Baghdad and Beirut). This gave a lifeline to the regime even after it had been weakened and was on the verge of collapse.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Hizballah and sectarian militias from Iraq and elsewhere have become the forces fighting the Syrian people, after Syrians had shaken the regime and made paved the path to its collapse. The Syrian people are no longer fighting the regime, but fighting Iran's forces and allies who rely on Russian military and political support.

Despite that all, and after hundreds of thousands of martyrs and prisoners and millions of refugees, and despite the continuous barbaric violence, the Syrian people are still fighting for victory in a world that wanted to see them massacred. It is an immense revolution that shall continue.

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of al-Araby al-Jadeed, its editorial board or staff.

This is an edited translation from our Arabic website.