Discovering MENA and other thoughts

It seems Brahimi wants to ditch the organization thanks to which he got the post he now flaunts. He's right up to a certain extent: despite all the beautiful empty words, the Arab League has done almost nothing to put an end to the conflict in Syria, giving much leeway to renewed talks about a "good for nothing body". But we have to take into account there hasn't been much/enough help from other international actors. The conflict finds itself at a dead end, and meanwhile people keep either dying by the thousands, either fleeing the country heading towards an unbearable uncertain situation . UN officials already speak about a "humanitarian catastrophe" . I really don't know what can be done. I believe nobody does. But enough is enough. A new Lebanon might crash all the hope the "Arab Spring" once kindled. Please, whoever may help, don't let us, and by us I mean the whole human race, down. P.S. Rumour has it the one to replace Brahimi wi...

According to UN numbers, more than 60,000 people had already lost their life when a tired but impassive at the plight his compatriots are going through Bashar Al-Assad delivered, for the first time since June, a speech (that was announced as the "discourse of the solution") that hasn't convinced anyone (barring the dozens of staunch supporters gathered at the Upper House that cheered and acclaimed the President like a hero), neither internally nor abroad, where the address to the nation has been dismissed as a complete disconnection from reality. One more time, Assad put the blame on terrorist elements backed by external forces (calling them "puppets of the West") he refuses to negotiate with. Even though it is beyond doubt a certain amount of foreign intervention is being felt on the ground, we all know this accusation, this blatant justification is non-sense. He nevertheless acknowledged the need for a dialogue "the regime has been looking forward sinc...

Death toll approaching 40,000 (plus those wounded, arrested, psychologically injured... and approximately 2.5 million refugees (both internally and abroad)!)... Struggle approaching its 20th month... Winter approaching in destroyed towns and refugee camps throughout the region... Update on the new opposition here   The situation thus remains extremely dire and worrying from all points of view. Heavy fighting continues and shows no sign of abating. Neither side seems capable of putting an end to the conflict. And civilians are the ones who mainly bear the brunt: the civil war is resulting in a notable disintegration of a Syrian society which was once hailed as a model for the rest of Arab countries, principally characterized by its inclusiveness and an exemplary secular core. Citing an alarming deterioration of the security situation on the ground (though I find it hard to believe things can get even worse), the UN OCHA has announced the withdrawal of all its remaining non-essential st...

UN/LAS Special Envoy Brahimi met Russian Foreign Minister today: "the [Syrian] government says they are fighting terrorists and only terrorists, and that it is their duty to do so -- to protect their people. And the other side [the rebels] says they're fighting a very cruel government that is persecuting them, and they are just defending themselves", he said after the meeting. He also recalled talking to a Syrian woman who has one son in the Syrian regular military and another son in the Free Syrian Army, and that's when he stated the poignant truth: "if that's not a civil war, I don't know what is". Neither do we. Neither do they.

Most important data: death toll dangerously approaching an outrageous number: 35,000 (mostly civilians, and too many innocent children amongst them) since the outset of the uprising in March 2011, with countless injured and more than 25,000 detained. Moreover, more than 260,000 Syrians have fled to neighbouring countries (moreover,  the number of internally displaced persons is now estimated at 1.2 million)  and approximately 2.5 million are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, according to official UN sources. As I said in my last entry (paraphrasing the admirable Sartre), our hands (all of us') are dirty. On 24 September,  Lakhdar Brahimi , Joint United Nations and League of Arab States' Envoy for Syria, briefed the United Nations Security Council on his recent visit to the region (Syria, neighbouring countries and Cairo), announcing the situation is still "very grim", but nonetheless showed an optimistic stance, and even foresaw a ...

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 Karza...