It’s time for some soul-searching

It seems that every decade a Baathist regime pushes the region into chaos that ends up in foreign intervention.
The current situation in Syria reminds one of the 90s’. Back in 1991 an intransigent Saddam Hussein, the then President of Iraq, was kicked out of Kuwait by the joint efforts of regional and international players. In the decade that followed, the US administration led by George W. Bush and Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair, staged a war of choice, unauthorized by the United Nations and supported only by Kuwait. In its opposition to the war, Turkey went to the extent of denying use of its bases to the Americans.
This time it is a bit different. Despite the fact that a civil war has been raging since 2011 in Syria claiming more than 100,000 lives and rendering more than two million Syrians homeless, the international community did not budge. It was only after the use of chemical weapons against civilians last month that the talks of any action gained traction. Despite full regional support, it seems that the world community (read West) is still reluctant in taking any action apparently due to the Iraq experience. The changing situation has raised many questions about the possibility of any strikes against Bashar Assad’s regime. If the US goes ahead with these strikes, the action would not be intended for a change in regime. The US intends to punish Assad’s regime for committing crime against humanity. The military action — if and only if it takes place — will be aimed at weakening the regime so as to deter it from carrying out more chemical attacks.
A recent UNHRC statement said that the number of Syrian refuges figure has shot up in millions and concluded that more Syrians are now displaced than any other nationality.
That is a big question mark over the legitimacy of the regime. It is a big question as to whether the Assad’s regime is qualified to speak on behalf of the Syrians anymore or not.
If the overall body language and tone of the west is studied carefully, one will realize that it is in no mood for a military action and looking ways to settle the issue politically.
In the event of a political solution, it will be imperative on the west not to repeat the mistakes committed in Iraq. All the stakeholders in Syria should be involved in the political process.
And that brings to the fore the issue of a new Arab Order to replace the one that was undermined two decades ago, when Saddam Hussein crossed a red line by attacking another fellow Arab country with the intention of wiping it completely off the world map. The inability of the Arab Order in standing up to that adventure opened a way for foreign interventions. The failure to sort out problems and disputes between Arab states developed into a failure in communication between the people and their rulers, that opened the door again for foreign troops as has been the case in Libya and now Syria.