Editorial Board
Khaleej Times
The geopolitical message from Qusayr is quite clear.
The Hezbollah from Lebanon has won the strategic bordering town for Damascus. Now President Bashar Al Assad, without bothering too much about what’s going on in his far-flung frontiers, can rely on the militia - and concentrate on prolonging his rule. The town and its bordering districts have been the centre of fighting for the last few weeks between rebels and Syrian troops backed by the pro-Tehran-cum-Damascus militia. These pitched battles at times drew comparison with World War II duels between France and Germany, wherein the southeastern frontiers were the theatre of action day in and day out at the hands of pro-Nazi constituencies. Fighters and sympathisers from Lebanon, according to reports, tactfully supplemented the fighting in Qusayr that lies inside the Syrian territory.
This module of intervention seems to have unnerved the rebels and the opposition forces, mostly based in foreign countries, to the extent that now they claim pushing back Syrian forces is next to impossible. Free Syrian Army rebel group chief General Salem Idris - who was named the point man by the Nato and Western leaders recently in Istanbul - is on record having said, ‘the Hezbollah is the game changer, and without an overt supply of arms from the West, the war is literally lost’. His associates now claim that in the backdrop of Qusayr successes, the rebels are prepared to take the conflict inside Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah fighters.
This shouldn’t happen and the conflict be retained well within the frontiers of Syria. That is why perhaps Lebanese President Michel Suleiman has warned the militia against consequences if it let loose its resistance streak and opted for action on foreign soil. This strategic victory in Qusayr, however, has emboldened Hezbollah and the state forces, and it is very likely that the combine would go for sweep operations into villages and towns that are still under the rebels’ control.
In such a scenario, genocide and mayhem await the dispossessed Syrians. The fact that Assad and Hezbollah are glorifying the recapture of Qusayr is enough to reveal their new security doctrine. Coupled with this is the shot in the arm that Damascus has received in the form of Air Defence Missiles from Moscow, which has literally turned the balance of power in its favour. The move has compelled Washington to install Patriot battery missiles on an urgent basis in Jordan to defend the country against any aggressive designs from Syria. With the Syrian opposition in disarray, Assad has all the time on the earth to consolidate his gains.
The Hezbollah from Lebanon has won the strategic bordering town for Damascus. Now President Bashar Al Assad, without bothering too much about what’s going on in his far-flung frontiers, can rely on the militia - and concentrate on prolonging his rule. The town and its bordering districts have been the centre of fighting for the last few weeks between rebels and Syrian troops backed by the pro-Tehran-cum-Damascus militia. These pitched battles at times drew comparison with World War II duels between France and Germany, wherein the southeastern frontiers were the theatre of action day in and day out at the hands of pro-Nazi constituencies. Fighters and sympathisers from Lebanon, according to reports, tactfully supplemented the fighting in Qusayr that lies inside the Syrian territory.
This module of intervention seems to have unnerved the rebels and the opposition forces, mostly based in foreign countries, to the extent that now they claim pushing back Syrian forces is next to impossible. Free Syrian Army rebel group chief General Salem Idris - who was named the point man by the Nato and Western leaders recently in Istanbul - is on record having said, ‘the Hezbollah is the game changer, and without an overt supply of arms from the West, the war is literally lost’. His associates now claim that in the backdrop of Qusayr successes, the rebels are prepared to take the conflict inside Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah fighters.
This shouldn’t happen and the conflict be retained well within the frontiers of Syria. That is why perhaps Lebanese President Michel Suleiman has warned the militia against consequences if it let loose its resistance streak and opted for action on foreign soil. This strategic victory in Qusayr, however, has emboldened Hezbollah and the state forces, and it is very likely that the combine would go for sweep operations into villages and towns that are still under the rebels’ control.
In such a scenario, genocide and mayhem await the dispossessed Syrians. The fact that Assad and Hezbollah are glorifying the recapture of Qusayr is enough to reveal their new security doctrine. Coupled with this is the shot in the arm that Damascus has received in the form of Air Defence Missiles from Moscow, which has literally turned the balance of power in its favour. The move has compelled Washington to install Patriot battery missiles on an urgent basis in Jordan to defend the country against any aggressive designs from Syria. With the Syrian opposition in disarray, Assad has all the time on the earth to consolidate his gains.
