Egypt's role will no longer be marginalized, the solution to the Palestinian cause is political and the time has come for change in Syria. It is with these expressions that Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi defined - in his first appearance on the podium of the Arab League ministerial council - the general headlines of his policy in the region, favoring the activation of the League's role because “the world will rise if the Arabs rise." Once again, Morsi defined the inclination of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) era in Egypt vis-à-vis the commitment to the peace agreement with Israel, but via the Palestinian window whose political resolution inevitably means the relinquishing of the force and armed resistance option, although the Egyptian president stressed the support of “the unity of the Palestinian ranks and the liberation of its territories." And while he recalled that the January 25 revolution was a “clear announcement" by the Egyptians' of their desire to return to their position “at the heart of the Arab nation," Morsi chose the Arab League ministerial council's platform to launch a call for the activation of joint Arab action. But this call remained in the context of generalities and wishes. The aspirations of the MB era in Egypt to restore the country's “complementary role with the Arab, Islamic and African surrounding" will impose tests affecting the foreign policy of Morsi's government, especially since he is the one primarily setting the beat in the executive power. As to the magical expression - which is widely supported on the popular level in Egypt - i.e. “the rejection of marginalization," it features regional messages whose results can be tested through the monitoring of the regional states' coexistence with the repercussions of the Arab spring, not excluding Israel that is fearful on the threshold of the Syrian volcano. It is with this volcano that the Egyptian president started off by calling on the Syrian regime which “will not stay long" to step down. By doing so, he was not merely reacting to this regime's non-detection of any difference between him and his predecessor, deposed President Hosni Mubarak, except for the beard of the successor who was elected by his people. Morsi titillated the Syrians' feelings yesterday when he said that their country “enjoys a special status in the heart of every Egyptian," while disowning the reform promises launched by the regime in Damascus. But who can stop the tragedy? In reality, Morsi's bias in favor of an Arab solution with international support also remains in the context of wishes, shared by the Syrians themselves who demonstrated for many months and offered more than 20,000 martyrs without seeing that solution. The most eloquent part in Morsi's speech was probably his advice to the Syrian command against making the right decision at the wrong time and against listening to voices encouraging it to stay in power. And while it was clear that he was referring to Russia and Iran, the Egyptian president cannot rely on seeing his advice taken into account instead of this command's reliance on Russian-Iranian support on the political and military levels. This is consequently a second weak point in the context of the hopes to which Cairo can hold on or use as an umbrella for an Arab solution to the Syrian tragedy. As for Morsi's call for a quartet Egyptian-Saudi-Turkish-Iranian action to seek a solution, the chances of seeing it materializing are also retreating, in light of Tehran's insistence on playing major regional roles and its public recognition of the attempts to monopolize what it dubs the protection of the Gulf. Clearly, the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia which considers that Iran is part of the problem in Syria, will not encourage its inclusion in any attempts to reach a solution that would appease the volcano. But why did Morsi appear so confident that the Quartet is preparing an imminent meeting, at a time when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan shared the Egyptian president's expectations regarding the fact that the Syrian regime will leave? Would Erdogan reiterate mere wishes of performing the prayer in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, in order to undermine the campaign of the Turkish opposition toward his Syrian policy? What is certain is that his escalation of the campaign against the Syrian regime, which he held responsible for creating a “terrorist state," will move the Turkish-Iranian conflict to a new stage in which Ankara will intensify the military maneuvers on the border with Syria, and use these maneuvers to deploy more forces and missiles. Which scenario will be the most likely at the level of the conflict over Syria, especially after CIA Chief General David Petraeus activated regional security coordination during his visit to Istanbul a few days ago? Morsi's wish is to see an end to the Syrian bloodshed and the victory of the revolution the same way the Egyptians won over an era featuring oppression and Egypt's marginalization. Erdogan, for his part, wishes to see a new Syria so that he can visit the tomb of Salahuddin al-Ayoubi and get back at those who supported the “terrorism of the Kurdistan Workers Party." As for the Syrians who are still paying - to the killing machine - the price for the most precious Arab spring revolution, they can only hope that the nightmare of the massacres will not end with Afghanization.
