Hillary Clinton just announced that Russia and China will face ‘consequences’ their support of the Syrian regime. Give me a break. What is so different from their support to the USA and others support of the ‘rebels?’ For a start--- who are the rebels? We don’t really know.
We see images of those who have been undoubtedly hurt by Assad’s goons. That their numbers are growing is obvious, but when it comes to offering viable alternate government, I am not so sure. No doubt the CIA and various Western agencies are doing their best to find out. We have no idea how much influence is coming from the Hezbollah or Al Qaeda, or how much is from genuinely Syrian ‘home grown groups.
One thing we can expect that it is going to be a long hard road to peace and prosperity and whether that starts from a ‘Western-style’ version of the democratic process, is an ideal that will find difficulty taking route. One only has to look at Iraq, Libya and other middle-Eastern nations to see the warning signs. Those nations I have mentioned are actually on the start of the journey towards democracy, but their counterparts in the Middle-East give little reason for confidence. Just look at Saudi Arabia or Iran and you will know what I mean.
Is Russia’s support or China’s that different from that of the ‘West?’ I am pretty sure that both countries want a stake in the future of Syria. They want their point of influence, just like the USA, and the UK etc. compete for the same position. If it is not oil, then it is geo/political in nature. None of the said powers wish to be ‘left out’ in this unstable area. Their reasons for ‘involvement’ have nothing to do with altruistic or humanitarian ideals. Though they may state such positions, their words are hollow.
Neither the USA nor the UK wish to see yet another fundamentalist Islamic regime born out of the Syrian situation. The spectre of such regimes in Libya and Egypt must be causing sleepless nights in the bedrooms of those policy makers.
In the end, China, Russia, the UK, USA and others will seek to curry favour with either the ‘old failed regime or a potentially new one. That it is not clear who that will be is problematic for them all.
There is another common group in all of the ‘behind the scene nations’--- the huge corporate giants and politicians who have strayed from their Communist beginnings. The Communist Party in China is simply a new dynasty while Putin in Russia, backed by the military/ industrialists, is a byword for the Tsarists. Nothing really changes. Power is, and always has been in the hands of a minority, all over the world and throughout history.
In the West, democracy is ‘tolerated’ by the military/industrial complex and when government policies become too unfriendly to them--- the pendulum swings. Little ‘people’ demonstrate and think that they are forcing change, but in reality, nothing really does. Watch Greece as the economy further unravels. The military will return.
If you think I have painted a cynical or depressing picture of real world politics, then closely observe as events unfold in unstable nations around the world and stay essentially the same in the West. It will of course depend on where you get your news-feeds from. The bright hope for the truth---Julian Assange and his leaked series of emails. I sadly think that he too will be closed down soon. He is getting a little too close to the truth...
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