Possible Reaction of Resistance, Reason for US Indecision about Syria Attack
In order to carry out its military strike against Syria, the United States has to know what the reaction of the resistance movement will be.
Hossein Rouyvaran, Middle East analyst and political deputy of the Society for Defending the Palestinian Nation, made the remark in an interview with IQNA, adding that the United States’ indecision is because Washington is not sure what the reaction of the resistance movement will be to such an attack.
What follows is excerpts from the interview.
IQNA: How do you assess Washington’s decision to attack Syria?
Rouyvaran: The US seeks to topple the Bashar Al-Assad government and replace it with an ally government. Washington predicted to realize this objective in two or at most six months but has failed to do so after two and half years since the start of the crisis. This proves that the US has made a big miscalculation.
The US and its allies have spent billions of dollars to overthrow the Assad government and their failure has frustrated them. So the US is talking about war to restore its lost image, show its power to the world and somehow cover up its failures in Syria.
It is not to say that there has not been a war going on against Syria already. There has been a proxy war in economic, political and military dimensions with the participation of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan and Persian Gulf Arab states on behalf of the US and now there is talk of a direct US intervention.
It should be noted that overthrowing the Assad government is only possible by sending in ground troops. What is now being mentioned, that is an air raid, will not be able to bring down the establishment. Therefore, the US wants to put an end to the Syrian government and army’s superiority over the rebels which was manifested in the army’s defeating the terrorists and rebels in Qusayr, Homs and elsewhere.
IQNA: As you know, we have seen a retreat on the US position about attacking Syria. This retreat began with bringing up the idea of a “limited strike” instead of extensive land invasion and then continued with Obama turning the decision about war over to the Congress. What do you think about this retreat?
Rouyvaran: The field of war is one of calculations and everyone entering it has to do all the required calculations. In case of an attack on Syria, the United States should expect reactions from the Syrian government, Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. It should estimate how the reactions will be and predict their outcomes. The retreats by the US are because it is not sure what the reactions will be.
IQNA: Have protests by the international community and in the US itself had an effect on Washington’s backing away from its earlier rhetoric’s?
Rouyvaran: No, I don’t think so because the US is not like that. We saw in the case of [war against] Iraq that there were more massive protests against US intervention, but Washington ignored them. It showed that the United States pays no heed to the public opinion and attaches no value to nations and their ideas.
IQNA: What is the role of the resistance movement and the axis of resistance in this sensitive juncture?
Rouyvaran: Like I said, potential reactions to a possible attack on Syria from Iran and Hezbollah, as two main axes of resistance, are very important and that is one of the reasons for the US to be hesitant.
IQNA: What has been the Israel role in US decision about war against Syria?
Rouyvaran: The entire war is somehow an Israeli design and everyone knows that Israel will play a major part in the US attack. Washington is worried about the powerful Syrian army and seeks to destroy it, which is an Israeli goal. The civil war and the possible US strike are meant to destroy Syria’s power so that Israel will not see any powerful army or any power in its vicinity that could threaten the regime. Given such a role, there is the likelihood for reactions against Israel (in case of an attack on Syria).
IQNA: Given the opposition to military intervention in Syria from the world community, UN Security Council, NATO and even the British parliament, what can support the US in a possible attack?
Rouyvaran: These all show that the world public opinion is opposed to an American war against Syria. In the US Congress, Senator McCain and several other congress members said they would not agree to such a war or that they won’t accept a limited war but want an all-put aggression. Hence, there are serious differences of opinion about war on Syria.
As for the support for war, we can point to the Zionist lobby. Washington is under heavy pressure from the Israeli lobby to launch an attack.
IQNA: How do you see the outcome of a possible strike?
Rouyvaran: Army is the guarantor of a country’s independence and security and destroying the structure of a country’s army would mean chaos. A US attack on Syria, given the presence of Takfiri groups in the country, will certainly bring about an anarchy whose dimensions one cannot predict.
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What follows is excerpts from the interview.
IQNA: How do you assess Washington’s decision to attack Syria?
Rouyvaran: The US seeks to topple the Bashar Al-Assad government and replace it with an ally government. Washington predicted to realize this objective in two or at most six months but has failed to do so after two and half years since the start of the crisis. This proves that the US has made a big miscalculation.
The US and its allies have spent billions of dollars to overthrow the Assad government and their failure has frustrated them. So the US is talking about war to restore its lost image, show its power to the world and somehow cover up its failures in Syria.
It is not to say that there has not been a war going on against Syria already. There has been a proxy war in economic, political and military dimensions with the participation of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan and Persian Gulf Arab states on behalf of the US and now there is talk of a direct US intervention.
It should be noted that overthrowing the Assad government is only possible by sending in ground troops. What is now being mentioned, that is an air raid, will not be able to bring down the establishment. Therefore, the US wants to put an end to the Syrian government and army’s superiority over the rebels which was manifested in the army’s defeating the terrorists and rebels in Qusayr, Homs and elsewhere.
IQNA: As you know, we have seen a retreat on the US position about attacking Syria. This retreat began with bringing up the idea of a “limited strike” instead of extensive land invasion and then continued with Obama turning the decision about war over to the Congress. What do you think about this retreat?
Rouyvaran: The field of war is one of calculations and everyone entering it has to do all the required calculations. In case of an attack on Syria, the United States should expect reactions from the Syrian government, Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. It should estimate how the reactions will be and predict their outcomes. The retreats by the US are because it is not sure what the reactions will be.
IQNA: Have protests by the international community and in the US itself had an effect on Washington’s backing away from its earlier rhetoric’s?
Rouyvaran: No, I don’t think so because the US is not like that. We saw in the case of [war against] Iraq that there were more massive protests against US intervention, but Washington ignored them. It showed that the United States pays no heed to the public opinion and attaches no value to nations and their ideas.
IQNA: What is the role of the resistance movement and the axis of resistance in this sensitive juncture?
Rouyvaran: Like I said, potential reactions to a possible attack on Syria from Iran and Hezbollah, as two main axes of resistance, are very important and that is one of the reasons for the US to be hesitant.
IQNA: What has been the Israel role in US decision about war against Syria?
Rouyvaran: The entire war is somehow an Israeli design and everyone knows that Israel will play a major part in the US attack. Washington is worried about the powerful Syrian army and seeks to destroy it, which is an Israeli goal. The civil war and the possible US strike are meant to destroy Syria’s power so that Israel will not see any powerful army or any power in its vicinity that could threaten the regime. Given such a role, there is the likelihood for reactions against Israel (in case of an attack on Syria).
IQNA: Given the opposition to military intervention in Syria from the world community, UN Security Council, NATO and even the British parliament, what can support the US in a possible attack?
Rouyvaran: These all show that the world public opinion is opposed to an American war against Syria. In the US Congress, Senator McCain and several other congress members said they would not agree to such a war or that they won’t accept a limited war but want an all-put aggression. Hence, there are serious differences of opinion about war on Syria.
As for the support for war, we can point to the Zionist lobby. Washington is under heavy pressure from the Israeli lobby to launch an attack.
IQNA: How do you see the outcome of a possible strike?
Rouyvaran: Army is the guarantor of a country’s independence and security and destroying the structure of a country’s army would mean chaos. A US attack on Syria, given the presence of Takfiri groups in the country, will certainly bring about an anarchy whose dimensions one cannot predict.
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