Syria and Ukraine show Russia’s power but also the cost of its meddling

Russia's meddling in Syria and Ukraine shows its power but at the cost of its legitimacy, writes Octavia Nasr. Other views: ISIL in Syria (Mashari El Thiyadi) and Yemen's challenges (Wahid Abdul Majid)

The events the world has been witnessing from Syria to Russia show that it isn’t about the survival of the fittest anymore, but rather the prevalence of the craziest. For how can there be another explanation for a country that bullies another in plain sight of the entire world, which does not to force it to yield, asked the journalist Octavia Nasr in the Lebanese daily Annahar.

This was the modus operandi of the Syrian forces when they were trying to subjugate Christian regions in the 1980s during their 30-year occupation of Lebanon. Entire regions were ruthlessly bombarded into submission. People were killed physically and morally, their hopes crushed beyond redemption.

Those who rejected the bully’s authority were controlled by other means: sanctions, imprisonment or assassination. The Assad regime’s history abounds with accounts of torture and terror to different degrees but from which none were spared.

Thousands of people living in the besieged Palestinian-dominated district of Yarmouk in southern Damascus have been surviving in deplorable conditions as clashes between Syrian rebels in the area, and Syrian government forces have disrupted any efforts to get food and medial aid to Yarmouk residents.

The Syrian regime kept Lebanon under its direct grip for decades until it was finally forced to leave.

But the departure of Syrian troops from Lebanese soil didn’t end the regime’s hold on the country.

The same applies to Ukraine. After decades of independence from the dismantled Soviet Union bloc, Ukraine sought to strengthen ties with the European Union, but the powerful Russian bear wasn’t about to allow it. It used its far-reaching claws to create sedition and make sure that the struggle would be as bloody and deadly as possible.

Even when the people’s will prevailed and succeeded in toppling an unwanted government, Russia interfered and seems prepared to go as far as invade Ukraine “to save it from itself”.

“It is an equation that leaves no room for logic – the erratic and tyrannical behaviour of a headless monster that sweeps everything in its way as it collapses,” thewriter said.

Both Russia and Syria have lost legitimacy. They have nothing but their strength, having inflicted death and destruction around them.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world, which lingered too long in indecisiveness, is unable to intervene to stop the bloodbath or prevent suffering.

“Syria will let the residents of Yurmuk refugee camp die of hunger and Russia will invade Ukraine simply because it can,” Nasr concluded.

“They have gone beyond the limits of reason and, at this stage, the world can’t face such savagery with civility.”

ISIL and Al Nusra have same plans for region

The tale told by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Al Nusra Front feature no surprises, observed columnist Mashari El Thiyadi in the pan-Arab daily Asharq El Awsat.

Al Nusra is a branch of Al Qaeda that adheres to Osama bin Laden’s and Al Thawahiri’s ideologies. It suddenly entered the Syrian arena as an “Assadian” killing machine, besieged the revolution and spreading fear across the nation.

Al Nusra’s fundamentalist plans go beyond Syria’s borders to the Levant and across the region, pleasing the regime which can act as the supposed protector of the civilised world against such barbaric terrorists.

“Just when we thought that Al Nusra was the ‘crème de la crème’ of fundamentalist extremism, ISIL comes along with a fierce thirst for victory, paving the stage with bombs and killings, in a existentialist discourse aimed at catching the hearts of young ignorants,” remarked Al Thiyadi.

Conspiracy theories aside, this is a key reason ISIL thrived so quickly, aided by Iranian intelligence and others to ensure the failure of the Syrian revolution. It is just one group spreading violence in the Syria.

“The sole difference between ISIL and Al Nusra is about which of them will lead the ‘Levant Project’,” concluded Al Thiyadi.

“How many ISIL and Nusra followers now hide among us, in all Muslim societies, thanks to Al Assad, Putin and Khamenei?”

The new Yemen faces massive challenges

Yemenis face huge challenges to build the new Yemen and counter Al Qaeda affiliates and the Iranian-backed Ansar Allah group, wrote Wahid Abdul Majid in yesterday’s edition of the UAE-based newspaper Al Ittihad.

That led the UN Security Council to issue a resolution backing the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference in which all the political, tribal and denominational parties agreed to split Yemen into a six-region confederation, similar to the UAE’s successful model, he noted.

However, success in Yemen will hinge on the country’s ability to face the challenges standing in the way, including domestic issues and in particular the opposition of the Southern Movement to the six-region formula. They seek two regions: south and north. Other challenges are to do with external influence, namely the stance of the Iranian-backed Ansar Allah group, as well as Al Qaeda-linked groups that have gained a foothold in the country.

The Huthis’ rejection of the six-region agreement reflects Iran’s policy, considering the close relationship between the Huthis and Tehran.

The new formula should be implemented in a way that ensures the federal forces are strong and capable of quick action and redeployment in the regions targeted by Al Qaeda.

* Digest compiled by Translation Desk