Why Brahimi is a much better fit for Syria

Visiting Scholar for the Carnegie Middle East Center´s Sami Moubayed has got it all right. His magnificent article Brahimi won´t risk his reputation in vain highlights the poignant truth about of one of the most serious mistakes the international community (and particularly both the UN and the League of Arab States) has made since the breaking out of the conflict: choosing the wrong mediator. And taking into account the many many (many) things at stake, it really shocks me why nearly nobody stressed that fact earlier. Appointing an special envoy to show unity/consensus and be able to speak to Assad? Great idea. Not bearing in mind what was exactly needed? Failure. Even though he will have to face several setbacks, let´s only hope Brahimi´s appointment somehow clears the path of the Syrian mess...

His advantages, as presented by Moubayed:

He is "the man who helped end Lebanon’s civil war, who managed Iraq’s troubled post-Saddam elections, and propped up Hamid Karzai as president of Afghanistan" (well, I´m not sure this last point could even be considered an achievement, but that is another story)
He is "an Arab Muslim who knows the Middle East inside out"; Annan wasn´t, and that was clearly a matter of concern for Syrians themselves
"His positions brought him often to Damascus" and knows the Syrian´s "fears, concerns and mentality"
He "won’t sound like an Orientalist approaching the region with white gloves"
He "won’t take things at face value"; he is bound to resort to sound judgement when confronted with different versions of the same story
"People trust and respect him, not only in Syria but globally"; Annan, a former UN Secretary General, was broadly respected, but also had to bear the consequence of the spread mistrust towards the UN system.
Last but not least, "he won’t risk his reputation for a failed mission in Syria which, if it materialises, would probably be his last before retirement".

The article I am talking about also raises one outstanding question: "what will Brahimi’s point of reference be?" Annan’s six points plan? The 30 June Contact Group Geneva conference? The Cairo-held opposition meeting? The UNSC and LAS Resolutions? We will have to wait and see, even though time has been running out for months in Syria...

Comments

What about Lebanon?

I would never dare to think I have enough knowledge so as to freely talk about this issue and produce a meaningful article, but I will try to write down what I have understood so far (I already had to edit as I misunderstood some facts, thanks Louis!). Lebanon and Syria have always been deeply interconnected. Both countries were part of the Ottoman Empire, both countries were under the dominance of France's colonization, both countries share an extremely complicated ethnic/religious division, and both countries political scenes still depend on the other's. More recently, Syria was a key player in the brokering of the 1989 Taif Accords putting an end to Lebanon's civil war, and its troops (and many authorities) stayed in the country (allegedly guaranteeing the non resumption of violence) until 2005, when the country's population unanimously demanded their retreat. It all started in Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city, next to the country's northern borde...

Palestina: hoja de ruta, callejón sin salida

El 13 de septiembre se cumplió el vigésimosegundo aniversario de la firma de los Acuerdos de Oslo , texto que marcó un antes y un después en el conflicto entre Israel y Palestina . Para los israelíes, los acuerdos tenían por objeto garantizar a su población un cierto grado de seguridad, así como un socio con el que compartir mesa de negociación cada cierto tiempo. En el caso de los palestinos, los acuerdos fueron diseñados para proporcionarles un cierto margen de libertad política y económica y un horizonte de autogobierno.

El claro ganador de las presidenciales en Siria – y que no debería sorprendernos en exceso

Lo que al principio parecía una broma pesada se ha convertido en una realidad ineludible: Siria celebrará elecciones presidenciales el próximo 3 de junio, y todo apunta a que Bashar Al Assad está en posición de declararse vencedor de las mismas. La única pregunta es ahora con qué margen . Independientemente de la utilidad de debates bizantinos sobre si estos comicios deberían tener lugar o no, lo cierto es que no resulta tan descabellado a día de hoy comparar, aunque salvando las distancias, los escenarios electorales en Siria y Egipto. A pesar de que ambos régimenes son perfectamente capaces de manipular los resultados, esto no será necesario, ya que una mayoría considerable de la población se muestra favorable a que un hombre fuerte siga dominando un país que aún se enfrenta a numerosas amenazas. Cartel electoral en Latakia / Foto: Flickr

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