Cameron’s coup against Assad

In an effort to hasten the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad, British Prime Minister David Cameron encouraged members of Syria’s army and security forces to launch a coup against their leader, promising them they would not be prosecuted for atrocities committed against the Syrian people. While most Sunni Arabs pray for Assad’s fall, it is unlikely they will be willing to forgive and forget his henchmen so easily, Arab media reports.

The London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi reports that Cameron, who supports providing money and arms to the Syrian opposition’s Free Syrian Army, was fed up with the G-8’s inability to come to a consensus on the need for an Assad exit to end the Syrian civil war due to Russia’s disagreement. As a result, he is attempting to launch a new diplomatic effort geared at Assad’s cronies, promising to ensure their survival when their leader is forcibly removed from power.

Cameron’s new initiative is likely to be a hot topic when the Friends of Syria conference is held tomorrow in Doha. The conference, a gathering of the foreign ministers of 11 countries in the West and the Arab world, is being held to discuss how to arm the Syrian opposition. The Saudi-owned A-Sharq Al-Awsat states that, for the first time, the Americans are expected to play a pivotal role in military planning.

US forces are currently conducting war games with 17 other countries 70 kilometers north of the Jordanian port city of Aqaba. It is not officially known whether the timing is coincidental or if the US is planning to coordinate a limited ground assault against the Syrian army.

But, if it is, it would surely be welcomed by all militias fighting against the Assad regime, even the more radical ones. According to the Doha-based media channel Al-Jazeera, Zahran Alwash, a commander of Al-Qaeda-linked Army of Islam, vows his group is committed to overthrowing Assad by any means necessary, including through coordination with the Americans. However, that does not mean that that opposition Syrian government in any way represents the group or any Syrian for that matter.

“Syrian political organizations from abroad do not represent us at all,” Alwash said. “They are separate from Syria. What we regret is that we many of the leaders from abroad are not looking at what’s really going on. They are building their policy based on perceptions and ideologies, not reality.”

Alwash did not conceal his group’s desire for political power once the Syrian opposition takes over the whole of the country.

“We aspire to have a political role in the future in Syria. The state we aspire to create will be created based on justice and rights as stipulated by the Islamic religion. We are keen to have good relations with neighboring countries. But we will not forget the hands of treachery of Iran and Hezbollah that supported the regime.”

The leadership of the Syrian opposition insists that radicals will be reined in once it consolidates power. A day after 83 people were killed in violence across Syria stemming from government military operations, it remains more unclear than ever how Assad’s forces could ever be consolidated with the militants of the Free Syrian Army.

The London-based pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat emphasizes that active plans are under way for planning on a “Geneva II” peace conference with representatives of the Syrian opposition and the Assad government in attendance. But, under the current circumstances, it seems neither party is much interested in dialogue. Strong voices within the Syrian opposition state vocally that any communication with the Assad government should be considered a crime.

The leading editorial in Al-Quds Al-Arabi is called “Britain and the option of a military coup in Syria.” It explains Cameron’s rationale for suggesting a military coup that Western countries are very nervous about a post-civil war Syria turning into another Iraq or Libya, when government forces were purged from power and then proceeded to wreak havoc on their populations.

“Cameron wants to eliminate the strength of jihadi groups and strengthen the moderate Syrian opposition government,” the editorial reads, “so that a dialogue can be held with the leaders of such a coup. . . But what happens if such efforts fail? The only resort will be for Britain and its allies to invade.”