- Lakhdar Brahimi to replace Kofi Annan as Syria peace envoy
- Arrest of minister in Lebanon may signal weakening power of Hizbollah
- For one brief, shining Olympic moment, Russians loved North Caucasians
- Relations between South Korea and Japan at rock bottom
Lakhdar Brahimi to replace Kofi Annan as Syria peace envoy
The United Nations announced on Friday that 78 year old Algerian
diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi will become the international envoy on the
Syria conflict, representing the United Nations and the Arab League,
replacing Kofi Annan. On the day that Annan announced his six-point
peace plan, I wrote that it was "farcical," and this has turned out to
be an understatement. In fact, Annan's tenure as peace envoy has
actually made the situation worse, by providing cover for Syrian
president Bashar al-Assad to continue his slaughter of civilian
Sunnis, and cover for the Russians and Iranians to make sanctimonious
statements while they support al-Assad's bloody slaughter.
What I found most interesting were some of the things that I heard
Brahimi say during a couple of live interviews with him that I heard
on Friday. When asked why he took the job after Annan's failure, he
said, "I'll just repeat what Kofi Annan said -- that I must be as
crazy as he is." In fact, Brahimi's statements had a very different
tone than Annan's. Whereas Annan sounds pathetic and dishonest,
Brahimi sounds realistic and truthful, at least so far.
He said that he took the job after promises by Security Council
members that they would support him -- where they hadn't supported
Annan. Unless this was just weasel words, then the only thing that
this can mean is that the Russians are willing to agree to a Security
Council resolution that at least partially condemns al-Assad. We'll
see.
The only thing that I heard Brahimi say that was truly crazy was when
he was asked where there was still a role for diplomacy in stopping
the Syrian conflict. As best as I can remember, he said, "Of course
diplomacy will play a role. Diplomacy is essential. No war can end
without a round of diplomacy."
That makes about as much sense as saying that no book can end without
a back cover. From the point of view of Generational Dynamics,
politicians do not determine the great events of history. Events are
determined by masses of people, generations of people. Politicians
have nothing to do with it, except insofar as their policies reflect
the will of the masses of people. Wars don't end because some
diplomat like Brahimi comes in and chats with everyone. That's
ridiculous, but it appears to be what Brahimi believes. Wars end when
the people are ready for them to end. Syria has not yet reached that
point, but with political support for al-Assad continuing to crumble,
that point may be reached soon. And then Brahimi can take all the
credit. AFP
Arrest of minister in Lebanon may signal weakening power of Hizbollah
A seemingly insignificant arrest in Lebanon could indicate an
important change in mood. Former minister Michel Samaha, a friend of
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, has been arrested for participating
in a plot, hatched by al-Assad, to destabilize Lebanon through a
series of bomb blasts. Not long ago, such an arrest could not have
occurred because Lebanon's government feared the power of Syria and
Hizbollah. But now, the Lebanese are losing their fear of Syria, and
Hizbollah, which is both a political party and a terrorist group in
Lebanon, is keeping quiet.
Reuters
For one brief, shining Olympic moment, Russians loved North Caucasians
Freestyle wrestling gold medal winner Jamal Otarsultanov (geo.tv)
The mutual xenophobia between (Orthodox Christian) ethnic Russians and
(Muslim) citizens of Russia's southern (North Caucasian) provinces has
been growing in recent years, but it abated for a while during the
London Olympics, when the North Caucasians became the first to win
gold medals for the Russian team, and ended up winning 20 Olympic
medals, including five gold medals, for Russia. For a brief while,
Russians loved their North Caucasian fellow citizens, but once the
Olympic games ended, Russians returned to such slogans as, "No More
Feeding the Caucasus." Jamestown
Relations between South Korea and Japan at rock bottom
Recent territorial conflicts over islands disputed between Japan and
South Korea have become more contentious, and are now crossing over
into policies on economic cooperation. The Japanese, who are
particularly offended by criticisms of Japan's Emperor Akihito by
South Korean president Lee Myung-bak, have canceled a bilateral
finance ministers' meeting, and are withdrawing planned support for
South Korea in its bid for election as a nonpermanent member of the
United Nations Security Council for 2013-2014.
The Hankyoreh (Seoul)
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail