The meeting in Geneva on Saturday of the UN action group for Syria was a success, if you count success as hammering out an agreement. The agreement is about a post-Assad Syria.
What follows is a summary of the world media's version of events, as they reported it with a straight face and not a hint of cynicism.
Russia and China were present, along with the United States, France and Great Britain, countries representing the Arab League, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar, Turkey and the secretaries general of the Arab League and the United Nations. The high representative of the European Union also participated.
(Take note, dear readers, that neither Bashir al-Assad, nor any representative of his regime, nor of the Syrian opposition, was present.)
The United States will present the agreement to the UN Security Council for approval in order to give the agreement more weight. The next steps will be for the al-Assad regime to name a representative to the new transition government and for the opposition to do the same. Annan will go to Damascus soon to begin work on this. He will also set in place a new ceasefire.
Russia and China re-affirmed that the Syrians themselves must be allowed to determine their future. So, the agreement calls for a government of transition which will include members of the opposition, other important groups and the al-Assad regime, but Kofi Annan said he doubts that the Syrians will select someone “with blood on their hands” to be the new leader of Syria.
The transition government, to be chosen by mutual consent, will have executive powers.
Kofi Annan said that the future of al-Assad will be in the hands of the new government and the Syrians themselves, as they follow the procedures set out in the agreement.
Russia and China remained firm in their position that Syria must decide its future without excluding anyone or any group from the process. They also stated that the UN Chapter 7 right to intervene with force will not be permitted under the agreement.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the US still insists that al-Assad leave Syria and that this will be discussed at a July meeting of the Friends of Syria in Paris, where the Syrian opposition will be present.
Kofi Annan, in calling for the action group meeting said that it was necessary to find an agreement for the transition in Syria,otherwise “history would judge them severely.”
End of media report summary.
In Syria on Saturday, al-Assad forces took back one of the important suburbs of Damascus, Douma, and there are reportedly people fleeing, and many arrested as the troops advance, with reports of 82 dead, including 30 civilians killed by a bomb as they participated in a funeral procession.
The London-based Syria human rights group is calling on the Red Cross to supply medical equipment and supplies to Douma, where the hospital was abandoned and some patients were left behind without care.
Body count - 15,800 dead in Syria, mostly civilians, since March 2011.
Dear readers, this is the reality concerning Syria today. The civil war goes on, with al-Assad forces being supplied by Russia while the West, mostly Qatar and Saudi Arabia, supply the opposition but with lighter equipment.
One has to marvel at the Alice in Wonderland quality of the Geneva meeting and “agreement.” It was rather like a theatre of the absurd, with the participants taking decisions for al-Assad knowing that he will refuse to cooperate.
A ceasefire? Hasn’t that been tried? I suppose it never hurts to try, try again, but surely the action group knows there is no possibility of a real ceasefire until al-Assad has stopped the insurrection by decimating its participants or has, himself, been killed or captured.
One more time, Russia and China have stonewalled any possibility of peace in Syria. They knew what was going on in Geneva on Saturday, and they played hardball with a group that seems to be sedated and unable to think.
Pipe dreams, me thinks
ReplyDeleteAssad, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Pakistani, Afghanistan, Egypt - where in the world does one start when discussing the erroneous, ill advised moves that we and the various other free nations of Europe have made in the last few years. Maybe April 2009 is a good starting point. Iran directly asks our federal government for help in support of the citizenry uprisings there. Pres Obama did nothing. Iraq is the same “killing fields” as it was 10 years ago, worst due to Pres. Obama because of our specific extraction announced date; now only innocent citizen are being killed by the suicide bombers. Afghanistan is soon to be the same for exactly the same reason as Iraq. Well we saw the results of free and open election in Egypt – the Muslin Brotherhood is now in control with their puppet president. And the rhetoric just keeps flowing from Washington, the President, Secretary of State, Senators, Congressmen, news services, etc, etc. Does it or will it ever stop! How long can the citizenry of the US be asked to keep supporting a lack luster foreign policy and its makers. We need this president and all his recreational policy makers to be gone.
ReplyDeleteI personally am not sure what the UN accomplishments were to be today. But the UN is never quit sure about what they want to accomplish. If nation building was a goal today, what right do we have being any part of that? Where’s the formal request for the US help in Syria and is it a legitimate request. I do not support ISOLATIONISTS policy at all. But we need to have set goals and requirements for countries and regions before w send in the 7th Calvary.
Do we need to help the lawful citizens of Syria – yes, most differently. As a moral nation, a God fearing nation we cannot sit back and let this slaughter continue. But our goal has to be rational. And rational in Syria is not to expect democracy at the ballot box next year. This is a muslin nation. Our goals should be the safeguarding of life of all peace loving men, women and children. If a transitional government can be reached do we have a Syrian partner to strongly represent our desires for the country? Representation that respect the cost this venture will be to the US citizens in monies and humanity – there will be losses, there always are. We have given so mush since 9/11 to the Middle East in time, monies and lives. When tyrants are leaders and citizens want a healthier form of government, war, deficit expenditure, and death are inevitable.
At the conclusion of today’s meeting the role of Assad is still unanswered. We can’t proceed without a guarantee on this point. He must be out or dead – preferably the second for me. The man is a monster of nearly unmatched proportions.
I want to help anyplace and every place people cry out to be at least less oppressed than what they are tonight. It is our duty. To that I have no doubt. If we do not pick up the phone and answer the call then who ever will. I am a devote friend of Israel. For many thousands of years the Israelis have been called the children of God. I have no doubt to that. But if that is so then we must certainly be Gods and civilized decency defenders.
And as you stated while this meeting was in progress Assad forces were at work killing and recapturing territory. Not much has changer I 18 months in Syria.
Thank you for the opportunity to participate again in your search for the truth and citizenry involvement.To stop each night at your posting is a shelter in the night’s air.
After re-reading your posting late last night I was mesmerized by the 15,800. In 15 months that simply belittles our loses if extended over 10 years not just 15 months.Not that any experts figure would be accurate , but I wonder how many of those are small children, very elderly senior adults, young pregnant women. People out on the streets going about their required daily chores for the family.
ReplyDeleteDeath of a warrior whether he ares a uniform is understandable. A combatant is a combatant. You can die taking your next breath or live to be 100. But as they say at Ft. Bragg - "the first victim of war is innocents" and the slaughter that is occurring in Syria supports that. How can a relatively small country, that is so backward in it's approach to family and where everyone fits into that formula cope with such losses.
I believe that it was Gen William T. Sherman once said that all wars are "CIVIL". Referring to the war we were involved in. take for an example the civil war in Viet Nam we got involved in to simply preserve the Philippine Island from falling into the Chinese hands. And today the economic future of the PI rest with the expansion of the Chinese development in the PI.
How many more times will our association with Russia and China bit us in the butt? Our our current crop of diplomats that inept to be on the world stage with the Russians, Chinese, Muslin Brotherhood.
And as you said "A Ceasefire". We've had too many cease fires this last 75 years. Ceasefires only allow the enemy to regroup, resupply, and rethink their plan.
Our hesitation policy in the middle east right now is simply an extension of our policy immediately post 9/11. Action was taken, something akin to "timeout' at Kindercare. We lost some 3,000 in a few hours. had the plan come off as planed it would have been 50,000+ and some very important structures in DC. Somebody thwarted it. Any guesses who?
Again, Casey Pop excellent work. Tks.