If Machiavelli was alive today he would have a smirk on his face..a smirk implying " i told you so". Nobody agreed with him when he said human by nature are wicked and ungrateful because we all try to feel good about ourselves.But when we analyze the state of affairs in Syria today we must agree that Machiavelli was not entirely wrong.Bashar Al-Assad is representing the evil half of humanity.Just for the sake of power he is killing his subjects, power is too addictive to let go. Its been three years now since Tunisia, the arab spring is making its presence felt in every dynastic/monarchy regime.
Syrian rebels are part of a bigger tide,Assad's been ruling Syria for 40 years now.People in middle east today want to taste the sweet scent of freedom,equality and their every natural right which has been denied to them till now.Why it is taking too long for Syrian rebels to oust Assad ?
Firstly Assad have strong cohorts, consociates who share the same fears, who feel that masses are meant to be ruled and democracy is "overrated". China has its own Tienanmen Square.Masses today do not want pseudo communism, they want freedom to choose their fate.China always plays the card of "no interference" and supports even the regimes of Myanmar and other states who have worst record of human right violation. Syrian civilians will keep dying if it is up to China, thankfully it is not.
Russia is no different,Putin is in office for 14 years now, the utopia of communism turned out to be a house of horror for masses.The communist regime is extremely corrupt.One party system is suffocating and the signs are visible on streets of Moscow.Ancillary reason for supporting Assad is business, Syrian government buys almost all its weapons from Russia.If Assad goes it will be a big loss to Russian arms business.
China and Russia if allow International community to act in Syria today, tomorrow they can have the same situation at home.So its not about saving Syrian civilians life for the communists,it is about saving their own skin.
Now it comes to the state which defies every political theory of international relations,it acts as a whimsical brat. Yes it is Iran. In international politics it is very common to be friends with someone not because you share same values but because you have common enemies; in this case Israel and United states.Iran knows that it can not afford a direct confrontation with USA or Israel.So to gain attention, keep Benjamin Netanyahu astir, they are supporting Assad.
The regional political equations in middle east today are nowhere even nearly balanced.Egyptians are busy in sorting out things from the Pandora's box which frequent regime change has opened. Gulf cooperation council of Arab states is also not in a position to take a firm stand because the strongest players in middle east politics UAE and Saudi Arabia are monarchies. They have their own agenda, but at least they are criticising Assad publicly and he has no friends left in neighbourhood.
Lets consider the position of the hegemon, USA, Syria is no direct threat to USA ,but it is to their strongest ally Israel. Inaction of Obama or going back on his words will give him and USA a badge which he can't afford to have. It will become the question of safety for Israel. Obama administration must act. But it is also true that after Bush Jr.'s bluff about WMD is caught it is very hard for Obama to convince international community that there was use of chemical weapons.Another problem for Mr. Obama is that the Syrian rebel group may have some extremist groups fighting Assad's regime.But if we take Egypt as an example that should not be a problem because masses will not allow any wolf in sheep's skin unnoticed.People of Egypt ousted Morsi too the moment he started showing his extremist tendencies.So all the masses need is arms to fight a unjust state, the revolution can't be questioned just because few deviants are supporting it.
Today Obama needs UN security council's support now more than ever because British parliament declined to support a military action, even french public opinion is strongly divided.But if there is anyone who can convince the masses and international community about the morality and virtuousness of military action, he is none other than Nobel laureate Mr. Obama. How can the world not remember that he is not a warmonger, he is the same person whom they decorated with highest honour for preaching peace.
With power comes responsibility, but sometimes to prove that you are worthy of power you have to prove yourself,UN should also realise that if it truly wants to be respected as a legitimate international organisation than it should protect the people. Peace may not always be the answer. It is cowardice to let Syrian civilians die. Gandhi, who was the messenger of peace, even he accepted that he will choose violence over cowardice. International community must act to save the innocent lives because if they won't who will ??
