Is there still anti-American sentiment in the region?
Anti-Americanism, once regarded as a dominant phenomenon in the region due to Washington’s policies, has been reduced during the Arab Spring as increasing numbers of people began looking at the United States to help get rid of authoritarian regimes. A close look at the banners raised during the Egyptian revolution reveals the absence of anti-American slogan. Even Islamists in Egypt, who have built a political career based on anti-American positions and slogans, thought that the United States would be a natural friend in their struggle for freedom.
While Arabs, on the whole, despise American policies vis-à-vis the Arab-Israeli conflict; a majority of them does not have any problem with the American culture. Indeed, values of freedom and democracy are cherished by the masses. Not surprisingly, they turn to Washington hoping that the latter will be in the right side of history and support them in their bid to achieve their longstanding aspirations in democracy and freedom. The United States’ firm and positive stand toward the Tunisian, Egyptian, and Libyan revolutions have created the impression that the fighters in Syrian are not without a strong and credible ally.
And yet, the Syrian people feel that they are let down. After 18 months of continuous bloody crackdown on them, still the Americans are not doing what is expected to help the people gain their freedom. Syrians feel that all they get is words! The Free Syrian Army (FSA) has been fighting tooth and nail hoping that their heroic stand against the butcher of Damascus would bring external assistance. The reality, however, is that the FSA has been left alone to face the fierce army in Aleppo.
Far from being helpful, the American administration has vetoed arming rebels while failing to deter the Syrian army, which is supported logistically by Iran and Hezbollah. The pretext that the opposition is divided and that the arms may fall into the hands of radical elements in Syria is counterproductive. On the one hand, the Syrian opposition and rebels are being exhausted; but on the other hand the regime has been giving all time necessary to be in a position to crush the revolution.
That said, the rebels are not calling for a direct military intervention on their behalf. Nonetheless, they have repeatedly called for a no-fly zone and for supplies of heavy weapons and ammunition to counter the superior firepower of the regime’s troops. So far their pleas for help have gone unanswered.
It seems that the lack of leadership on the part of President Obama will cause the United States a lot in the future. The rebels will eventually prevail and will kick Assad out of Syria. If this takes place without American help, the Syrians will live to distrust American. In other words, the United States is wasting an opportunity to reverse the tide of anti-Americanism in Syria. This is the feeling of many rebels who made their voices heard in different media outlets.
The situation is a bit more complicated though. Washington is not the only player in this conflict, a matter that has been deeply considered by the White House. In fact, there is a debate within the American administration over whether to step up support for the opposition after the colossal failure of Annan’s six-point plan. Nonlethal aid is under way to the opposition. Additionally, American allies in the region are helping the rebels. Both Jordan and Turkey are facilitating rebels' movements across the borders with Syria. On top of that, Washington has been working to weaken Assad through sanctions.
American efforts do not impress the Syrian opposition. The dominant feeling among the Syrians and the Arabs is that the West and the United States could have done a better job and could have prevented the daily massacres against Syrians. The sense of being let down has pushed the Syrian rebels to a grim sense of self-reliance.
In brief, the demise of the Syrian regime is inevitable. Syrians will prevail in their long struggle against the bloodiest regime in the region. And yet, a few among the Syrians will remember any minor help offered by America. A sense of bitterness may haunt the Syrians for years to come and therefore the United States has lost a golden opportunity to gain the friendship of the Syrian people.
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