THE PROPOSED SYRIAN PEACE CONFERENCE—NON-MEMBERS ONLY

10/24/15

Yesterday, the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the European Union, Jordan, and maybe Iran indicated that they will enter into talks to determine the future of Syria.

Hmm…

Who’s missing in these proposed talks?   Well, maybe Iran, which would be a major omission, given that Iran and Russia are the major props behind the Assad regime in Syria.

But there is an even more glaring omission in the proposed “broad: talks to determine the future of Syria…

Syria itself!

So far, no one has proposed that representatives from the Assad regime, from the “moderate” opposition (if such people exist outside the febrile minds of John McCain, Barack Obama, and John Kerry), or from the radical but not quite as radical as ISIS opposition are to be included in the talks.   So this latest brilliant peace of statecraft proposes that other powers are going to determine the fate of Syria.   So what else is new?

Such blatant disregard for the most directly involved parties, i.e., the people whose fates are being determined in foreign drawing rooms, is what created this Middle Eastern mess in the first place.   Readers are referred to an outstanding book on the topic, Paris 1919, by the admittedly conflicted Margaret MacMillan.   The Middle East was carved up by the “victors” in World War I with little or no regard for the wishes, or even the perceived interests, of the indigenous peoples…and that has made all the difference.   We have been living with the consequences ever since and, the way it looks, will be for many years to come.

Apparently, the imperial impulse dies hard in the West…or at least among its diplomatic classes.

Perhaps the Russians have something to offer in the Middle East beyond the heretofore one of only two (The Kurds have engaged in the other.) effective efforts against ISIS.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday stated

“The fate of the Syrian president must be decided by the Syrian people.”

What a novel concept!