The Washington Post has published an article entitled 'Syria’s bloody anniversary.' "Two years ago this week, protests erupted against the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus and the southern city of Daraa. Since then, two unchanging factors have propelled the most horrific bloodshed to take place in the Middle East since the beginning of the Arab revolutions. One is the absolute and ruthless determination of the Assad regime and its allies in Iran to crush the rebellion by force alone. The other is the reluctance of the United States to recognize that reality and respond accordingly," the article begins.
According to the authors of the article, the absence of a proper reaction to the conflict led to its escalation and a transformation of the protest movement. "The product of this confluence of brutality and bad judgement has been the tragic transformation of what was once a mass pro-democracy movement. First the peaceful marchers morphed into disorganized groups of fighters, then to increasingly hardened and radicalized militias — of which one of the strongest is an affiliate of al-Qaeda," the article reads.
The authors of the article are very sceptical about the future of the Syrian conflict. "As from the start, it’s relatively easy for Syrian realists to see where the conflict is going. Most likely, as the regime slowly loses ground to the rebels, Syria will crack into pieces controlled by rival authorities — including a regime remnant in Damascus or along the Mediterranean coast, backed by Iran, and an al-Qaeda-controlled zone along the border with Iraq," they write.
The authors of the article believe that only an immediate intervention of the US-led coalition can settle the crisis and prevent the worst-case scenario. "The means to prevent this implosion are the same that could have stopped the ignition of the civil war: aggressive intervention by the United States and its allies to protect the opposition and civilians. This would not require ground troops, only more training and the supply of heavy weapons to the rebels, and airstrikes to eliminate the regime’s warplanes, missiles and, if necessary, chemical weapons. The recognition of an alternative government led by the civilian Syrian National Coalition would send the message to wavering regime supporters that it was time to defect and would help to isolate al-Qaeda before it is too late," the article reads.
