The American military strike against the Syrian regime, as promised by President Barack Obama, will be launched in 48 or 72 hours. I am against this strike, because it does not aim at toppling the regime or empowering the patriotic section of the opposition, but rather at punishing the regime for using chemical weapons. The USA is the last country on earth that is entitled to punish others, in light of its continuous role in supporting the Israeli occupation with money and weapons, despite its daily war crimes. Is there a way out? I have some surprising suggestions, just like the American president's surprising move as he shifted the responsibility of the strike to the Congress. Obama figured that, if the Congress was to support the strike, then it will become a partner in it; and if it were to oppose the strike, then the president can say: I wanted to punish the Al-Assad regime but the Congress refused. I suggest the following: - Al-Assad should announce a general and immediate ceasefire in all Syria and pledge that the armed forces will only open fire in case they are attacked first. He should then challenge the opposition to take a similar position, in order to shield the Syrian people's lives. - Al-Assad should pledge not to run for another term at the conclusion of his present one in 2014. - He should dissolve the parliament and call for conducting parliamentary and presidential elections, prior to the elapse of his second term. These elections are to be based on the first Syrian constitution that followed the 1946 independence (i.e. the 1950 constitution). The elections must be overseen by the Arab League and the United Nations. - The new regime should come up with a new constitution for Syria. - The terrorist elements - such as the An-Nusra Front and the pro Al-Qa'idah foreign terrorists - are to be sacked from Syria (this serves America's interests). At a later stage, the Syrian Muslim Brothers could be prevented from nominating any of their members to run for the presidential elections (this serves the interests of the conservative Arab states). - The president should accept the resignation of the cabinet and call on the national opposition groups, such as the Syrian National Coalition, the National Coordination Committee for the Forces of Democratic Change, the National Kurdish Council, and the Syrian Democratic Platform to take part in a cabinet of national unity. During the interim phase and until the election of a new president and a new parliament, Al-Assad is to maintain the posts of minister of defense and minister of interior in the new cabinet, while the opposition is to obtain the economy, education, health and other portfolios. - The president should grant a general pardon for all the crimes committed during the revolution between March 2011 and the election of a new president and parliament. The president also should as the next regime to approve this pardon. - The president should challenge the Arab countries that are capable of coming up with a reconstruction plan for Syria. Some of these countries had supported the national opposition and some others had armed the terrorists. In order to encourage these countries, Al-Assad can say that the reconstruction works are to be launched as soon as he steps down, so that he is not accused of taking credit for the reconstruction. - The presidential statement must tackle the issue of the Syrian Kurds in the north eastern part of the country, by calling to grant them a well-defined and limited autonomous rule within the Syrian state. This can serve as a model for dealing with the Kurds in the neighboring countries. All the above points can be announced in no more than ten minutes. I must say at this point that I have no hope at all that the Syrian regime will accept my suggestions. Had this regime been wise rather than violent, we would have not seen this ongoing tragedy; the 100,000 dead Syrians including children would still be alive; and there would have not been as much as one broken window in Homs, the city that was severely devastated. My suggestions will fall on deaf ears. I do not think that the regime is capable of anything but the security solution that it opted for since day one. Although this solution has been failing one month after the other, the regime is still proceeding with it despite the thirty failures. I also realize that those who committed crimes against the Syrian people deserve no pardon. I however insist on the necessity to make the pardon a part of the (fictitious) solution. This is because, short of a pardon, the murderers will proceed with their crimes to shield themselves against the dark fate that awaits them, in case they lose the battle. My suggestions primarily aim at protecting the Syrians' lives. I am probably dreaming or hallucinating, since human lives are the cheapest things in Syria these days. [email protected]
