Having followed the arguments on Joshua’s blog over the lat few days, I find myself finally temped to attempt my own debunking of the thesis he expounded on Creative Syria and which assigns an A to the Assads on matters of security. But I shall brief. Continue reading “Was it Worth it?”
Category: Syrian Politics
More than Words!
The ongoing crackdown in Syria is not the result of some haphazard uncalculated move by the Assads. Rather it reflects a deliberate policy on their part and a definite decision that seems to have been made in the immediate aftermath of the Baath Congress in May 2005. The delay in implementation seems to reflect the desire to wait for the “right” circumstances and conditions, and from the regime’s standpoint, there could be no better time than now, seeing that the alliance with Iran seems to have been crystallized more clearly and that the US and the EU seem to be more preoccupied now with the ongoing nuclear stand-off with the Iranian regime. Continue reading “More than Words!”
Few New Thoughts on an Old Divide!
Ibn Taymiyyah be damned. Not that the Alawite of his time were saints though. Indeed, they, as many mountain peoples have done throughout ancient history and the world, were busy wrecking havoc on the inhabitants of cities and villages, pillaging, looting and killing. Hence this infamous fatwa against them by Ibn Taymiyyah, which was briefly revived in the mid 70s. But even then, its revival was premised on injustice perpetrated in the name of Alawite concerns and rights. Continue reading “Few New Thoughts on an Old Divide!”
Why I am Not Surprised! Or, the Cowardly Heretic!
During my second and final encounter with Assef Chawkat, the one that sealed my fate, as it were, the desk of the Illustrious General was covered with black and yellow files and old law books with small white cardboard bookmarks sticking from their sides. The General has done his homework it seems. He has researched all the old law books in search of legal ways for intimidating activists while avoiding recourse to the discredited emergency laws and security courts. Continue reading “Why I am Not Surprised! Or, the Cowardly Heretic!”
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 