PKK lay down arms in northern Iraq in symbolic disarmament    At least 67 children dead from hunger in Gaza    U.S. judge blocks immigration arrests in Los Angeles over racial profiling claims    Trump slams protesters as 'slimeballs' after attack on ICE agents in California    Saudi Arabia reaffirms OPEC+ compliance as June crude supply hits 9.35 million bpd    Riyadh begins property acquisition for major road development projects    Saudi minister explores strategic industrial and mining partnerships with top Russian firms    Riyadh's Creative District to welcome Italy's Istituto Marangoni    CMA approves major reforms to ease investment account access for foreign and local investors    France's Lady Liberty artwork goes viral as a new Statue of Liberty could be in the works    Saudi population reaches 35.3 million in 2024, majority under 65    GASTAT: Industrial Production Index rises by 1.5% in May    Theo Hernández: Al Hilal can compete with Europe's best    Abdullah Al-Qaisoom wins silver at Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championship    Aubameyang's future at Al Qadsiah in doubt after cryptic post comparing Saudi League strikers    Makkah Deputy Emir leads washing of Holy Kaaba    SFDA approves 'Winrevair' for rare pulmonary hypertension treatment    HONOR returns to Esports World Cup as Official Smartphone Partner for 2025 The renewed commitment will see HONOR elevate mobile esports competition with cutting-edge AI technologies and industry-leading hardware    Michael Madsen, actor of 'Kill Bill' and 'Reservoir Dogs' fame, dead at 67    BTS are back: K-pop band confirm new album and tour    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



From Guernica to Qusayr
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 07 - 06 - 2013


Hisham Melhem
Al Arabiya
The role of countries and foreign parties in the Syrian civil war is similar to that of foreign parties in the Spanish civil war. If the EU's decision to lift the ban on arming the Syrian opposition was aimed at increasing pressure on the Syrian regime to force it to negotiate at the second Geneva Conference, it's clear that the decision led to the opposite result.
It's now certain that countries which hinted at the possibility of arming the opposition, like France and Britain, do not intend to supply the opposition with arms anytime soon and that they will definitely not do so before the Geneva Conference is held. On the practical level, these countries' stances are currently the same as that of Washington on this issue.
On the political front, the EU decision has made it possible for Russia to take a stricter stance regarding arming the Syrian regime. It has also provided the forces of the Syrian regime, Iranian military and Hezbollah fighters a cover to escalate their military attacks on all fronts particularly in Qusayr which has become more symbolically, politically and strategically important than other Syrian towns and cities that have suffered from the brutal war. It is probable that in the Syrian civil war, Qusayr will gain the political and symbolic importance of Guernica, which Picasso immortalized in one of the most important paintings of the 20th century, during the Spanish civil war. A massive distance separates Guernica and Qusayr but a long line of blood links them. Both towns were completely destroyed in fighting that targeted civilians. As in Qusayr, the spearhead in Guernica was a foreign party.
The raids conducted by German and Italian warplanes (as part of the fascist and Nazi support of the Spanish right wing) are what destroyed Guernica in 1937. They were the first raids on civilian targets. In Qusayr, forces of the Lebanese party Hezbollah are the ones besieging and shelling the town. In Spain, the Nazis and the fascist support of General Franco's forces and the latter's heavy use of Moroccan soldiers played a pivotal role in winning the war. In Syria, Iran and Hezbollah play a pivotal military role that has at least until now prevented the collapse of the regime.
The wars in Spain and Syria have an ideological dimension which transformed them into an existential struggle. In Spain, the war was absolutely between the right wing and the left wing. In Syria, the war every day gains a hideous sectarian dimension that reflects the sectarian division between the Sunnis and the Shiites in the region. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah's recent speech was Shiite sectarian rhetoric par excellence. Attempts to embellish cannot hide how sectarian his rhetoric was. Prominent cleric Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi responded with similar Sunni rhetoric. It is true that their headdress is different but their sectarian rhetoric is the same. Spain's war burnt the European continent. We will soon be talking about the sectarian violence in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon as violence occurring on one front.
— Hisham Melhem is the Washington bureau chief of Al Arabiya. Follow him on Twitter @Hisham_Melhem


Clic here to read the story from its source.