Kassioun Editorial 1284: Where To… Internationally, Regionally, and Domestically?

Some key elements of the broader picture that directly affect us can be summarized as follows:

First: Although the confrontation between the US and “Israel” on one side and Iran on the other has not yet ended—and is unlikely to end soon, instead continuing in varying forms over the coming months—it has, in principle, already been decided against American-Zionist interests. This will have significant and gradual repercussions across the global and regional landscape, including within Syria itself.

Second: Among the evident international consequences is the strengthening of the role of China, Russia, and the BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a whole, alongside the erosion of the Western order—specifically the decline of its “hegemony”, and even the beginning of the decline of its ability to maintain “control” through raw military force. Such reliance on raw force represents a lower and less influential stage than hegemony, and historically it is a strategy adopted by declining powers.

Third: Regional rapprochement among the five principal states in our region—Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, and Egypt—has intensified, with this convergence beginning to evolve into an actual alliance. This process has been driven in part by “Israeli” aggression, as “Israel” now openly, explicitly, and brazenly declares that Turkey and Egypt are at the top of its current list of targets for destabilization and destruction, followed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Fourth: Divisions within the Western elite are deepening as a reflection of the West’s broader decline. The growing conflict between the “America First” and “Israel First” camps appears to be a direct manifestation of this internal split, which is likely to deepen further.

Fifth: “Israel”, together with centers of global Zionism, seeks to preserve and deepen instability in its immediate neighborhood. It aims to fuel civil conflict in both Lebanon and Syria—through what has been termed the “framework agreement” with the Lebanese government, which will have the same fate as the May 17 Agreement, and through attempts to drag Syria into a sectarian civil war that would engulf both Lebanon and Syria for the benefit of the Zionist project.

Sixth: Domestically, the economic and political crisis continues to worsen day after day in the absence of any genuine solutions. At the same time, there remains continued reliance on the illusion of Western support and foreign investment, while indefinitely “postponing” the task of unifying Syrians through a comprehensive political settlement and meaningful participation in decision-making.

Taken together, the conditions facing the country and its regional and international environment lead to clear conclusions that must be acted upon with appropriate urgency in order to save Syria and its people. The goal should be to transform the historic opportunity created by the overall decline of American and “Israeli” influence into a tangible reality that opens the way for Syria’s recovery—an opportunity that is more realistic today than ever before.

Among the most important conclusions are the following:

First: Any hope of salvation through the Western powers should be abandoned, because angering colonial powers is always less costly than trying to appease them—including by refusing to be drawn into a destructive war in Lebanon or elsewhere for “Israel’s” benefit and against the interests of Syria, Syrians, Lebanon, and the Lebanese people.

Second: Syria should cooperate with the rising and increasingly coordinated regional powers, which themselves cooperate with emerging international powers, to strengthen Syria internally and prevent Western extortion in its various forms.

Third: Priority should be given to the Syrian people themselves by uniting them away from ethnic, sectarian, or religious discrimination, and by genuinely involving them in shaping their future and defending their country. One of the key mechanisms for achieving this is the establishment of a fully empowered national unity government, whose foremost task would be to convene a comprehensive national conference.

Fourth: The policies of savage economic liberalization must be ended once and for all, and shift toward a productive economy based primarily on agriculture and industry. Such an economy would lay the foundation for genuine social justice and enable resolving long-standing issues such as poverty, unemployment, and marginalization.

(النسخة العربية)