Source: Strategic Culture Foundation and Global Research
Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya
Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya
The
encirclement of Syria and Lebanon has long been in the works. Since
2001, Washington and NATO have started the process of cordoning off
Lebanon and Syria. The permanent NATO presence in the Eastern
Mediterranean and the Syrian Accountability Act are part of this
initiative. It appears that this roadmap is based on a 1996 Israeli
document aimed at controlling Syria. The document’s name is A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm.
The
1996 Israeli document, which included prominent U.S. policy figures as
authors, calls for “rolling back Syria” in 2000 or afterward. The
roadmap outlines pushing the Syrians out of Lebanon, diverting the
attention of Damascus by using an anti-Syrian opposition in Lebanon, and
then destabilizing Syria with the help of both Jordan and Turkey. This
has all respectively occurred from 2005 to 2011. This is also why the
anti-Syrian March 14 Alliance and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)
were created in Lebanon.
As a
first step towards all this the 1996 document even calls for the
removal of President Saddam Hussein from power in Baghdad and even
alludes to the balkanization of Iraq and forging a strategic regional
alliance against Damascus that includes a Sunni Muslim Arab “Central
Iraq.” The sectarian nature of this project is very obvious as are its
ties to opposing a so-called “Shiite Crescent.” The roadmap seeks to
foment sectarian divisions as a means of conquering Syria and creating a
Shiite-Sunni rift that will oppose Iran and keep the Arab monarchs in
power.
The
U.S. has now initiated a naval build-up off the Syrian and Lebanese
coasts. This is part of Washington’s standard scare tactics that it has
used as a form of intimidation and psychological warfare against Iran,
Syria, and the Resistance Bloc. While Washington is engaged in its naval
build-up, the mainstream media networks controlled by the Saudis and
Arab clients of the U.S. are focusing on the deployment of Russian naval
vessels to Syria, which can be seen as a counter-move to NATO.
Al-Ramtha
in Jordan is being used to launch attacks into Daraa and Syrian
territory. The Jordanian Minister of State for Media Affairs and
Communications, Rakan Al-Majali, has even publicly admitted this and
dismissed it as weapons smuggling. For years, Jordanian forces have
successfully prevented weapons from reaching the Palestinians in the
Israeli-occupied West Bank from Jordanian territory. In reality, Amman
is sending weapons into Syria and working to destabilize Syria.
Jordanian forces work as a frontline to protect Israel and the Jordanian
intelligence services are an extension of the C.I.A. and Mossad.
According
to the Turkish media, France has sent its military trainers into Turkey
and Lebanon to prepare conscripts against Syria. The Lebanese media
also suggests the same. The so-called Free Syrian Army and other
NATO-GCC front organizations are also using Turkish and Jordanian
territory to stage raids into Syria. Lebanon is also being used to
smuggle weapon shipments into Syria. Many of these weapons were actually
arms that the Pentagon had secretly re-directed into Lebanon from
Anglo-American occupied Iraq during the George W. Bush Jr. presidency.
The
French Foreign Minister, Alain Juppé, has promised the Syrian National
Council, that a so-called “humanitarian corridor” will be imposed on
Syria. Once again, the Syrian National Council is not an independent
entity and therefore Juppé did not really make a promise; he really made
a declaration.
While
foreign companies like Suncor Energy were forced to leave Libya, they
have not left Syria. The reason that these companies have stayed has
been presented as being humanitarian, because they provide domestic
local services in Syria. For example, Suncor Energy helped produce oil
for export from Libya, but in Syria produces energy for local
consumption. In reality, hostile governments are letting these companies
stay, because they siphon money out of Syria. They want to prevent any
money from going in, while they want to also drain the local economy as a
catalyst to internal implosion in Syria.
Along
with the U.S. and its NATO allies, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
is imposing sanctions that include an end to all flights to Syria. The
GCC states and Turkey have joined the foreign ministries of NATO states
in asking their citizens to leave Syria. Since the U.N. Security Council
is no longer a viable route against Syria, the GCC may also try to
impose a no-fly zone over Syria through the Arab League.
Turkey: NATO’s Trojan Horse and Gateway into the Middle East
Turkey: NATO’s Trojan Horse and Gateway into the Middle East
Turkey
was present at the Arab League meeting in Morocco, which demanded
regime change in Damascus. Ankara has been playing a dirty game.
Initially, during the start of NATO’s war against Libya, Ankara
pretended to be neutral while it was helping the Transitional Council in
Benghazi. The Turkish government does not care about the Syrian
population. On the contrary, the demands that Turkish officials have
made to the Syrians spell out that realpolitik is at play. In tune with
the GCC, Turkey has demanded that Damascus re-orient its foreign policy
and submit to Washington’s demands as a new satellite. Through a NATO
initiative, the Turks have also been responsible for recruiting fighters
against the Libyan and Syrian governments.
For
several years Ankara has been silently trying to de-link Syria from Iran
and to displace Iranian influence in the Middle East. Turkey has been
working to promote itself and its image amongst the Arabs, but all along
it has been a key component of the plans of Washington and NATO. At the
same time, it has been upgrading its military capabilities in the Black
Sea and on its borders with Iran and Syria. Its military research and
development body, TUBITAK-SAGE, has also announced that Ankara will also
start mass-production of cruise-missiles in 2012 that will be fitted
for its navy and forthcoming deliveries of U.S. military jets that could
be used in future regional wars. Turkey and NATO have also agreed to
upgrade Turkish bases for NATO troops.
In
September 2011, Ankara joined Washington’s missile shield project, which
upset both Moscow and Tehran. The Kremlin has reserved the right to
attack NATO’s missile shield facilities in Eastern Europe, while Tehran
has reserved the right to attack NATO’s missile shield facilities in
Turkey or in the case of a regional war. There have also been
discussions about the Kremlin deploying Iskander missiles to Syria.
Since
June 2011, Ankara has been talking about invading Syria. It has
presented the invasion plans as a humanitarian mission to establish a
“buffer zone” and “humanitarian corridor” under R2P, while it has also
claimed that the protests in Syria are a regional issue and not a
domestic issue. In July 2011, despite the close Irano-Turkish economic
ties, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard made it clear that Tehran would
support the Syrians and choose Damascus over Ankara. In August 2011,
Ankara started deploying retired soldiers and its military reserve units
to the Turkish-Syrian border. It is in this context, that the Russian
military presence has also been beefing up in the port of Tartus.
From Damascus to Tehran
From Damascus to Tehran
It
is also no mere coincidence that Senator Joseph Lieberman started
demanding at the start of 2011 that the Pentagon and NATO attack Syria
and Iran. Nor is it a coincidence that Tehran has been included in the
recent Obama Administration sanctions imposed against Damascus. Damascus
is being targeted as a means of targeting Iran and, in broader terms,
weakening Tehran, Moscow, and Beijing in the struggle for control over
the Eurasian landmass. The U.S. and its remaining allies are about to
reduce their forces in Iraq, but they do not want to leave the region or
allow Iran to create a bridge between itself and the Eastern
Mediterranean using Iraq.
Once
the U.S. leaves Iraq, there will be a direct corridor between Lebanon
and Syria with Iran. This will be a nightmare for Washington and Tel
Aviv. It will entrench Iranian regional dominance and cement the
Resistance Bloc, which will pin Iran, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and the
Palestinians together. Israel and the U.S. will both be struck with
major strategic blows.
The
pressure on Syria is directly tied to this American withdrawal from Iraq
and Washington’s efforts to block Tehran from making any further
geo-political gains. By removing Damascus from the equation, Washington
and its allies are hoping to create a geo-strategic setback for Iran.
Everything
that Washington is doing is in preparation for the new geo-political
reality and an attempt to preserve its regional standing. U.S. military
forces from Iraq will actually be redeployed to the GCC countries in the
Persian Gulf. Kuwait will host new combat units that have been
designated to re-enter Iraq should security collapse, such as in the
case of a regional war, or to confront Iran and its allies in a future
conflict. The U.S. is now activating the so-called “Coalition of the
Moderate” that it created under George W. Bush Jr. and directing it
against Iran, Syria, and their regional allies.
On
November 23, 2011 the Turks signed a military agreement with Britain to
establish a strategic partnership and closer Anglo-Turkish military
ties. During an important state visit by Abdullah Gül to London, the
agreement was signed by Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond and the Deputy
Chief of the Turkish General Staff, Hulusi Akar. The Anglo-Turkish
agreement comes into play within the framework of the meetings that the
British Chief of Defence Staff, General David Richards, and Liam Fox,
the former scandal-ridden British defence minister, had with Israeli
officials in Tel Aviv. After the visit of General Richards to Israel,
Ehud Barak would visit Britain and later Canada for talks concerning
Syria and its strategic ally Iran. Within this timeframe the British and
Canadian governments would declare that they were prepared for war with
both Syria and Iran.
London
has announced that military plans were also drawn for war with Syria
and Iran. On the other side of the Atlantic, Canada’s Defence Minister,
Peter MacKay, created shockwaves in Canada when he made belligerent
announcements about war with Syria and Iran. He also announced that
Canada was buying a new series of military jets through a major arms
purchase. Days later, both Canada and Britain would also cut their
banking and financial ties with Iran. In reality, these steps have
largely been symbolic, because Tehran was deliberately curbing it ties
with Britain and Canada. For months the Iranians have also openly been
evaluating cutting their ties with Britain and several other E.U.
members.
The
events surrounding Syria have much more to do with the geo-politics of
the Middle East than just Syria alone. In the Israeli Knesset, the
events in Syria were naturally tied to reducing Iranian power in the
Middle East. Tel Aviv has been preparing itself for a major conflict for
several years. This includes its long distance military flights to
Greece that simulated an attack on Iran and its deployment of
nuclear-armed submarines to the Persian Gulf. It has also conducted the
“Turning Point” exercises, which seek to insure the continuation of the
Israeli government through the evacuation and relocation of the Israeli
cabinet and officials, including the Israeli finance ministry, to secret
bunkers in the case of a war.
For
half a decade Washington has been directing a military arms build-up in
the Middle East aimed at Iran and the Resistance Bloc. It has sent
massive arms shipments to Saudi Arabia. It has sent deliveries of bunker
busters to the U.A.E. and Israel, amongst others, while it has upgraded
its own deadly arsenal. U.S. officials have also started to openly
discuss murdering Iranian leaders and military officials through covert
operations. What the world is facing is a pathway towards possible
military escalation that could go far beyond the boundaries of the
Middle East and suck in Russia, China, and their allies. The
Revolutionary Guard have also made it clear that if conflict is ignited
with Iran that Lebanon, Iraq, and the Palestinians would all be drawn in
as Iranian allies.
Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya
is a Sociologist and award-winning author based in Ottawa. He is a
Research Associate at the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG),
Montreal. He was a witness to the "Arab Spring" in action in North
Africa. While on the ground in Libya during the NATO bombing campaign,
he reported out of Tripoli for several media outlets. He was Special
Correspondent for Global Research and Pacifica's investigative program
Flashpoints, broadcast out of Berkeley, California. His writings have
been published in more than ten languages.