Guðjón Heiðar Valgarðsson
Stríð & Hernaður
31. júlí, 2012
The age of oil, not the arab spring
This article was published on Saturday the 28th of July in Icelands biggest newspaper "Fréttablaðið" (Literal translation "The newspaper"). It is one of the very few pieces of information that has slipped through the mainstream media that tells a radically different story than the one that's being fed to us on a daily basis. It is an interview with a Syrian man named Bashar Mustafa, who the reporter met in Spain.The original author is Jón Sigurður Eyjólfsson but the translation is the work of this website. Please spread this article in the alternative and social media, as it is not likely to be picked up my major western outlets. Here is the link to the article
About Fréttablaðið
Syria is now in the spotlight because of an ongoing rebellion that has cost more than 20 thousand lives. A Syrian, Bashar Mustafa told reporter Jón Sigurður Eyjólfsson when they met in Syria recently, that the conflict had nothing to do with the Arab Spring, but that it was yet another war for oil. He says the solution is not to get rid of the president but to get the Americans and other nations to stop supporting terrorists that are attacking the Syrian people.
Since March of last year we have had constant report of clashes in Syria. More than 20 thousand people have died since the conflict began and we hear regular reports of atrocities where women and children have been killed. The international community, aside from Russia and China, has been pressuring the president of the country, Bashar al-Assad to remove the Syrian military forces from it's towns and cities.
Össur Skarphéðinsson, Icelands foreign minister said in Fréttablaðið on the 14th of June that he had encouraged the Security Council to make the decision to put the Syrian government on trial in the International Court for "gross violations of human rights" .
Bashar Mustafa, who is a Syrian doctoral student in archeology says that this demand is based on a widespread misunderstanding, which is understandable, he says, because the global media is feeding this misunderstanding.
So what does he say is really going on?
At war with terrorists
"I am not going to exclude the possibility that some small portion of the country have taken to the street in the spirit of the arab spring," he says. "But the situation in my home country has nothing to do with democratic protest or the arab spring. The truth is that we are at war with a terrorist organization that is supported by the governments of Saudi-Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and last but not least the USA. It may sound strange but most Syrians know that both the american private army Black Water (XE Services) have been operating in the country as well as Al Qaeda. The terrorists rape women, kill children and also anyone who does not join them. We have heard reports in the western media that they found the bodies of 200 police officers. Any rational person can see that it is not civilians in the ranks of rebels who are responsible for that. Doctors, academics, jugdes and other civil servants are in constant danger and many have already been killed by these miscreants. They operate in a similar way as the ETA did in Basque, only they are much more militant."
One more oil war
But why would the US and Al Qaeda work together towards the destruction of Syria?
"That is actually nothing new, these powers have collaborated before, for instance in Afghanistan against the Soviets. But to put this into proper perspective it is best to consider why Russia and China are going against the will of the other super powers on this issue. We soon discover that it is once again about oil. The thing is, Russia is building an oil pipeline that would connect Russia, China, India, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and finally Syria. It then becomes the job of Syria to distribute the oil supplies from the Mediterranean Sea. The US will certainly lose a lot of it's power in the region if the project is successful so now they need to divide the country into three seperate states that they can control. Many fear that they want to divide Syria into three countries were hardliners would control the largest part, Alawites another part and possibly Christians the third."
Life goes on quite normally
Mustafa belongs to a sect of muslims called Alawites. Less than 15% of Syrian belong to that group but among them is Bashar al-Assad who became president in 2000, after his father Hafez. The old one had for sale been in power for 29 years. Many claim that this minority has to much power and that something must be done about it.
Bashar Mustafa is from Tartus, a city of 60.000 people on the the beach north of Lebanon. He last visited his home country last february and stayed there for one and a half month. The reporter was curious to find how the situation appeared to him then.
"It is actually quite extraordinary how little you noticed the fights. Actually the airport in Damascus was almost empty when I got there but when I came to the city you didn't notice much different than normal. Tartus, my home city, is just 150 kilometers from Homs, where the fighting began. Still there is nothing unusual happening and it is surreal to sit in the comfort of my home and watch footage of the battlefield in Homs."
But don't you think that the president should step down, just to calm things a bit?
"Most people I talk to are convinced that Bashar al-Assad will get through thia ordeal. As strange as it may sound to those who are used to get news where he is portrayed as an insane dictator who is massacring his own people. I want to point out that I am no particular supporter of al-Assad, there is a lot I would criticize about him, but I support him 100% in the face of the horror he is now faced with. So do most of my fellow countrymen. I would say he is supported by about 70% of the country but that will be more clear in 2014, when the next presidential election is held in Syria. He also has his enemies and the opposition parties are highly critical but would never go so far as to justify the horror that the terrorists are causing. That is one major misunderstanding that often comes up in the West."
Risk of a world war
Do you actually think that Bashar al-Assad will still be available for the Syrian people in two years?
"I hope that the world will realize that he is not the problem in Syria and I doubt that the superpowers will go all in on this issue, because it is such a complicated one, and it is intertwined with the interests of other superpowers, so anyone who does not want World War 3 to happen would have to think hard before striking.
A Word to Össur
The foreign minister of Iceland recently stated that it was possible that it was necessary to use military force to respond to the situation in Syria. He also criticized the functioning of the Security Council where Russia and China can veto actions against the Syrian government. How would you respond to him?
"He is obviously not alone in his opinion but I would say to him and others who are thinking along the same lines to investigate the other side of this issue before acting bold. If anyone genuinely best wants to help the Syrian people he would campaign for the governments of certain countries would stop sponsoring terrorist in the area to do these monstrous acts."
Since March of last year we have had constant report of clashes in Syria. More than 20 thousand people have died since the conflict began and we hear regular reports of atrocities where women and children have been killed. The international community, aside from Russia and China, has been pressuring the president of the country, Bashar al-Assad to remove the Syrian military forces from it's towns and cities.
Össur Skarphéðinsson, Icelands foreign minister said in Fréttablaðið on the 14th of June that he had encouraged the Security Council to make the decision to put the Syrian government on trial in the International Court for "gross violations of human rights" .
Bashar Mustafa, who is a Syrian doctoral student in archeology says that this demand is based on a widespread misunderstanding, which is understandable, he says, because the global media is feeding this misunderstanding.
So what does he say is really going on?
At war with terrorists
"I am not going to exclude the possibility that some small portion of the country have taken to the street in the spirit of the arab spring," he says. "But the situation in my home country has nothing to do with democratic protest or the arab spring. The truth is that we are at war with a terrorist organization that is supported by the governments of Saudi-Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and last but not least the USA. It may sound strange but most Syrians know that both the american private army Black Water (XE Services) have been operating in the country as well as Al Qaeda. The terrorists rape women, kill children and also anyone who does not join them. We have heard reports in the western media that they found the bodies of 200 police officers. Any rational person can see that it is not civilians in the ranks of rebels who are responsible for that. Doctors, academics, jugdes and other civil servants are in constant danger and many have already been killed by these miscreants. They operate in a similar way as the ETA did in Basque, only they are much more militant."
One more oil war
But why would the US and Al Qaeda work together towards the destruction of Syria?
"That is actually nothing new, these powers have collaborated before, for instance in Afghanistan against the Soviets. But to put this into proper perspective it is best to consider why Russia and China are going against the will of the other super powers on this issue. We soon discover that it is once again about oil. The thing is, Russia is building an oil pipeline that would connect Russia, China, India, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and finally Syria. It then becomes the job of Syria to distribute the oil supplies from the Mediterranean Sea. The US will certainly lose a lot of it's power in the region if the project is successful so now they need to divide the country into three seperate states that they can control. Many fear that they want to divide Syria into three countries were hardliners would control the largest part, Alawites another part and possibly Christians the third."
Life goes on quite normally
Mustafa belongs to a sect of muslims called Alawites. Less than 15% of Syrian belong to that group but among them is Bashar al-Assad who became president in 2000, after his father Hafez. The old one had for sale been in power for 29 years. Many claim that this minority has to much power and that something must be done about it.
Bashar Mustafa is from Tartus, a city of 60.000 people on the the beach north of Lebanon. He last visited his home country last february and stayed there for one and a half month. The reporter was curious to find how the situation appeared to him then.
"It is actually quite extraordinary how little you noticed the fights. Actually the airport in Damascus was almost empty when I got there but when I came to the city you didn't notice much different than normal. Tartus, my home city, is just 150 kilometers from Homs, where the fighting began. Still there is nothing unusual happening and it is surreal to sit in the comfort of my home and watch footage of the battlefield in Homs."
But don't you think that the president should step down, just to calm things a bit?
"Most people I talk to are convinced that Bashar al-Assad will get through thia ordeal. As strange as it may sound to those who are used to get news where he is portrayed as an insane dictator who is massacring his own people. I want to point out that I am no particular supporter of al-Assad, there is a lot I would criticize about him, but I support him 100% in the face of the horror he is now faced with. So do most of my fellow countrymen. I would say he is supported by about 70% of the country but that will be more clear in 2014, when the next presidential election is held in Syria. He also has his enemies and the opposition parties are highly critical but would never go so far as to justify the horror that the terrorists are causing. That is one major misunderstanding that often comes up in the West."
Risk of a world war
Do you actually think that Bashar al-Assad will still be available for the Syrian people in two years?
"I hope that the world will realize that he is not the problem in Syria and I doubt that the superpowers will go all in on this issue, because it is such a complicated one, and it is intertwined with the interests of other superpowers, so anyone who does not want World War 3 to happen would have to think hard before striking.
A Word to Össur
The foreign minister of Iceland recently stated that it was possible that it was necessary to use military force to respond to the situation in Syria. He also criticized the functioning of the Security Council where Russia and China can veto actions against the Syrian government. How would you respond to him?
"He is obviously not alone in his opinion but I would say to him and others who are thinking along the same lines to investigate the other side of this issue before acting bold. If anyone genuinely best wants to help the Syrian people he would campaign for the governments of certain countries would stop sponsoring terrorist in the area to do these monstrous acts."