We are in a strange expectation. At the beginning, we had the discussion of whether the U.S. would retreat from Syria or not. And now, the possibility of a U.S. intervention is on the agenda. I would say that this situation is not what our region deserves and that it does not befit the Muslim world, but unfortunately, these are the facts.
Having forgotten the reasons which have been pushing the Muslim world into a disaster for 15 years, we have been firmly bound to the decisions coming from far beyond the ocean. If the U.S. is to carry out an intervention in Syria, why cannot Muslim countries, which have heaps of weapons do the same?
Is this a recent incident tor did we hear of it recently?
Last Saturday, in the massacre carried out by Bashar Al-Assad in eastern Ghouta, which is very near to Damascus, approximately 100 children, women, elderly and young lost their lives. It is an absolute tragedy, certainly a war crime and a catastrophe which shames us all.
However, it is not something that has emerged recently. The Syrian regime has been conducting this since 2011. Just in a short while, we have forgotten the incidents that started the events. The massacre in Eastern Ghouta started when some children were shot in Daraa by snipers while they were scribbling something on the wall.
Is it not that true that 600,000 people lost their lives in front of the eyes of the U.S. because of Russia’s aid and the support of Iran and many other countries? Are there not still approximately 2 million people who are wounded? Six million people, half of whom are in Turkey, happen to be refugees. Are not as many internally displaced?
Will those who are watching this massacre in Eastern Ghouta be touched and take an action? If the issue is the Frankensteins, the chemical weapons, produced by the West, then let’s have a look at the UN reports. According to reports, it is known that chemical weapons have been used at least 33 times. On the top of that, the suspect of 27 of them is the Syrian regime.
Is not that true that all the people across the world observed the killings of more than a thousand people with sarin gas in Eastern Ghouta in 2013? Ten thousands of pictures and videos were sent to the UN. But, despite tens of thousands of images in UN archives, who took action against it? Can we get the answers for the questions chewing on our minds? No, we cannot. Whatever attitude the U.S. adopts, whatever results of the threats of Russia saying “Don’t, it would lead to a great disaster” have, this picture of shame belonging to our region will remain the same.
Since 2017, approximately 300 million have been experiencing a humanitarian crisis due to natural disasters, disease outbreaks and armed conflicts, the most tragic reason. Disasters and crises have been targeting all of humanity regardless of their race, religion, skin color and sect. These crises, most of which have been conducted by humans and which are observed by us from our glass houses, aim to annihilate all of humankind. When we look at this human crisis where the minorities are satisfied with technology revolution, it is surprising that substantial parts of these crises take place in Muslim countries. The Islamic world is still expecting from the outside world to solve the issues.
Throughout history, our world has gone through many disasters. Instead of having inner conflicts and interstate wars, the world is experiencing inner conflicts backed up by international powers. For the initial forms, there was an ethic and even a law of war stated in the Geneva Convention. In the crises taking place today, there is no law of war, no ethic and not even any kind of a term that fits into morality.
The strategies of the ones backed by the so-called civilized countries that are to sweep away opponents in an aimless way have been resulting in the disasters of today. The U.S., which had the aim of building up an empire which will benefit from the fall of the Berlin Wall, is set on establishing fragile countries. Thus, it has destroyed the capacity of the international system to solve crises. The insufficiency and incapacity of the UN also stems from this. The last vote of the UN Security Council has also demonstrated this.
Where did the massacre in Syria begin?
The U.S., which we expected to punish the Syrian regime, also did the same thing in Iraq. The U.S., which fooled the whole world with forged documents, made everyone expect that it would punish the Iraqi regime. The sauciness and the opportunism of the U.S. do not justify the acts of Bashar Al-Assad and Saddam Hussein and alleviate their atrocities. However, that does not also change the reality that was done through them is a bigger immorality.
While Saddam was being punished in broad daylight, the state of Iraq, which was being newly formed, was destroyed, and the regional disasters of today were created.
Even though it was an artificial one, World War I had created an Iraqi state. However, it was destroyed by the U.S. in a way that it cannot be assembled anymore.
Besides, millions of children, women, elderly, etc. were killed. No one can say that the reason behind the disaster in Syria is the Arab Spring and that the clumsy revolutionists and the opportunist groups are the guilty ones. Everyone should go back to 2003 and study the books. Each and every answer lies there.
The ones, who should learn the most from these are Muslim countries. If one seeks salvation beyond the ocean, then they will be confronted with many types of gas, the formulas of which are written in the West.
At least for a quarter-century, the Muslim world should put inner conflicts aside and focus on the disasters happening today. There is a great opportunity for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation at such a time when the UN does not fulfill any of its responsibilities. The Army of Islam and the Islam Peace Corps, whose names have been uttered many times, should be put into force and stationed in the crises areas.
Now, it is the time “to solve the crises and not to benefit.” And for this, according to me, whatever has happened with whatever country ranging from the innocent ones to the guilty ones, without stipulating anything, the frank leaders of Muslim countries should open their doors to dialogue and create internal solutions.
