Al-Qaeda leader in Syria speaks to Al Jazeera

Al-Qaeda leader in Syria speaks to Al Jazeera – Middle East – Al Jazeera English.

Thanks to inaction by the Obama Administration and other Western leaders, Al-Qaeda now has made a pulpit and an operational base for herself in the Holy Land of Syria. Sunni Jihadis will listen and will flock to her, just as Shia Jihadis are listening to Nasrallah and are flocking to fight for Assad. But those who think that the showdown will be contained within Syria’s borders, or the region’s, are fooling themselves. Soon, the same Jihadis will realize the importance of the “external dimension” of this war and will take the fight to all corners of the world. This is a war of identity now, and the 1.5 billion Muslims on this Earth don’t all live in Syria and the Middle East. The different conditions they live under will not shield them from the fallouts, one way or another, the identity of each Muslim is at stake now. This moment in time has been long in the making. But we are here now. Welcome to the really Hot Phase of the Islamic Reformation.

A Realization

Barrel bombs being dropped daily on rebel areas in Aleppo, civilian installations such as schools and field hospitals are often targeted. Famine and denial of medicals services, including medicines and vaccines, are being used as weapons by the Assad regime in Eastern Ghouta and throughout the country. Worsening weather conditions have created a virtual nightmare for refugees in their tent encampments, especially in Lebanon, Jordan and along the long border with Turkey. Still, thousands are fleeing daily to nearby countries to escape bombardment and starvation.

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U.S. inaction in Syria could be far more costly than intervention

U.S. inaction in Syria could be far more costly than intervention – The Washington Post.

I have been making this argument from the beginning, still, the Obama Administration remains impervious to this logic. In fact, they seem to see victory where everyone else sees defeat, and wisdom where most see folly. Indeed, as Orwell would have it, “Ignorance Is Strength” – perceived, but not real.

Re-legitimating Assad

Re-legitimating the Assad regime today, after all it had done, will green light genocidal ventures elsewhere in the world. If world leaders are standing helpless in the face of one genocide today, what will they, I wonder, when they are faced with a dozen? The world witnessed similar conditions during the Cold War for sure, but this is supposed to be the post-Cold War Era, the Era of Never Again and R2P, an era where social media is creating deep links between average citizens and realities on the ground everywhere in the world. Allowing for a return of Cold-War-like realities and developments, or, to be more specific, allowing for the start of Cold War II, is a major step backward. It’s a major setback, a major failure, and it will come with a hefty price tag for all.