The fact is that Bashar Al-Assad is an Alawite, which is a branch of Shia Islam. In other words, in the eyes of the Sunni Muslim King of Saudi Arabia, he is a heretic.
Added to this, he is an ally of Iran – another of Saudi's arch-enemies. The Shia population of the Middle East is growing in strength, which only adds to the reason why Bashar Al-Assad is the bête noire of the Saudi régime.
Factor in the fact that Saudi Arabia is a Sunni dynasty which has colossal oil wealth. Unfortunately for the Saudis, most of that oil wealth comes from the Eastern Province, which is predominantly Shi'ite. Being Shi'ite, it comes under the burgeoning power and influence of that population in that part of the world. In addition, we have a restive Shi'ite population in Bahrain, a small but influential island off the east coast of Saudi Arabia, next to the Eastern Province. Hence the Saudi's paranoia about Syria and Bashar Al-Assad.
The Saudi king therefore wants Bashar Al-Assad toppled. He wants to turn Syria into a country which comes under the influence of the Sunnis. So Bashar's real crime is that he is not a Sunni. We have no hard proof yet that it was he who used those chemical weapons on his people. But our leaders do not want to let a few minor details come in their way of rushing to judgment. After all, they are hell-bent on doing the Saudis' bidding.
Saudi Arabia possesses a huge amount of armaments and war-planes; but Saudis want those for reasons of prestige. Saudis don't like the dirty business of fighting their own battles and wars; so they employ the West, especially the US (and the UK), to fight their dirty wars for them. In other words, this war, if it takes place, will be a proxy war. The US will do the fighting; the Saudis will supply oil to the West at relatively reasonable prices and throw military contracts aplenty the West's way. So, boiled down, this means that the US military are nothing but mercenaries. So how much honour is there in that?
One cannot help but remember that hideous bow which Obama made when visiting the King of Saudi Arabia early on in his first term of office. That bow showed up Obama for what he truly is: The Servant of the King of Saudi Arabia. To put it into Arabic, one could call him Abd ul-Malik. This is one of the true reasons why Obama is keen to get the US into this war. And make no mistake: a war it will be. The notion that it will be limited to a few days of hard-hitting strikes is the stuff of fantasy. This will turn out into a long, drawn-out, protracted war, and one with unpredictable consequences. Our only hope now is that Congress will have the good sense to turn down in no uncertain terms Obama's call for support. Better Obama be crushed than the West be drawn into yet another worthless military campaign; and worthless it will be, for it will achieve nothing.
© Mark Alexander
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