Syria: There is No Benefit From The "Resistance"

By Tariq Alhomayed
This commentary was published in Asharq al-Awsat on 23/04/2011

What a blood Friday in Syria! This was the response given by Syria civilians yesterday who were defenseless in the face of the regime's suppression and violence. It seems that today we are facing the true definition of the "resistance" slogan that has often been raised by Damascus, on all levels. It seems, according to what is happening in Syria, that the "resistance" means a regime "resisting" its people, and their demands for legitimate reform, even through the use of arms!
 
The Syrian regime did everything in its power to convince the people of Syrian, and the world at large, that what is happening in the country is a conspiracy and an extremist terrorist operation; whilst at others time it even described what is happening as being a Zionist – American conspiracy. However nobody has been convinced by such talk, for rather than the Syrian regime rushing to make real reform, taking decisions that will have a direct impact upon the lives of its citizens, the Syrian regime has wasted one opportunity after another and fallen into the same trap as others, from the Ben Ali regime to the Mubarak regime. Just like Libya and Yemen today, the Syrian regime has failed to pay attention to the time factor, which is the most important thing! As a result of this, it is only natural that we are seeing the ceiling of the demands being raised today in Syria, with the protestors now beginning to chant, "the people want the fall of the regime."
 
Despite the media being prevented from internally covering what is happening in Syria, and the attempts being made to hide the facts on the ground, the images and videos being provided by the protestors via the new media reveals to us that the situation in Syria has begun to move in a different direction that is not in the regime's interests. This is illustrated clearly by the content of the banners lifted in Syrian cities, as well as the size of the crowds taking part in demonstrations throughout a number of different cities, as well as the participation of a wide spectrum of Syrian society in these protests. All of this is an indication that the regime is in trouble, especially as Syria is a state that is based upon security and fear.
 
As evidence of the difficult situation that the Syrian regime finds itself in, and the exacerbation of this situation, the regime has begun promoting the theory that Hezbollah could take action again Israel. Syria is doing so in order to find a way out, easing the pressure it is facing, and avoiding the trouble of implementing a real change in Syria, which would represent a genuine disaster for Iran and Hezbollah. However in the event of Hezbollah taking any such action [against Israel], it would be difficult to think that this could have a positive impact on the region, whether with regards to Iran and Hezbollah, not to mention Syria, for at this point the game will be being played openly, and everybody's cards will be exposed, and the consequences of this will be huge for Hezbollah and particularly Syria, even if Hezbollah is acting solely at the request of Iran, and Damascus is not involved.
 
Many illusions and slogans have been exposed in our region as a result of the political earthquake whose aftershocks are still being felt in a number of Arab states. The most prominent false slogan to have been exposed is the slogan of the "resistance" for if what we are seeing in Syria is the "resistance" of the regime against innocent Syrian citizens, or if the resistance is what has Hezbollah has done, and is doing, in Lebanon, particularly if this results in the organization opening a military front with Israel in order to save Iran's allies in the our region, than we must say that there is no benefit from the resistance!