Thoughts about the Syrian Army

I'm seriously trying to understand what, if anything, the Syrian army is good for. So far, I find nothing for the jingoistic Syrian 'patriot' to be proud of. In 1949, Husni al Zaim overthrew the democratically elected government of Syria and began a trend that has led directly to where we are today. Since then, the Syrian army has been the greatest force of political instability in the country, greater even than Israel or the United States, and that says quite a lot. Interestingly, it was the CIA that encouraged Zaim to take that step, which is a poignant reminder that Syria has and probably always will face external conspiracies of some sort or another. Of course that does not mean we should give the current regime any credibility for the hysterical cries of 'wolf' that it is shrieking. In all probability I believe it very likely that some are looking of ways to exploit this period of unrest, but are the protests themselves inspired by foreign conspirators, or funded by them? Not at all.

The country is heading into the unknown, and whilst I've never encouraged anybody to go out on the streets (thus risking their lives and wellbeing) I have always been consistently against the brutality of the regime against Syrian civilians. Realpolitik is for the outside, for the abroad, and not for use domestically. It is there for the greater good of all, for those people you are supposed to be practicing the real politik in the interests of. Instead I am finding that the Syrian regime's (highly successful) foreign policy, was aimed solely at the preservation of the regime, but to the neglect and detriment of the Syrian people. There was never any plan to develop Syria as anything other than a cash-cow for the ruling family. That is what is disgraceful about this whole charade that lasted for forty years, that somehow all this suffering was in order to accomplish some grandiose plan. There was no plan, ever.

Today the Syrian army, incompetent, corrupt and stupid, again directs its weapons against the people they are supposed to be protecting, the very people who fund it, at the behest of a bunch of thugs. Apart from a few brief interludes of parliamentary democracy, I would say that Syria has never been independent in its modern history. And the road to that goal is very difficult and long indeed.