In light of the dire situation of the Syrian opposition - its inability to defeat the Assad regime and to enlist international support for its struggle - Sara Al-Atasi, a Syrian journalist who writes on the oppositionist website alasema.com, called on the political and armed Syrian opposition to drop the moderate approach it has been pursuing in order to appease the West and resort to terrorism as "the way to save the Syrian people and the revolution." In her article, titled "Message to the Syrian Opposition: What Will Happen If You Become Terrorists?," she presents the example of the Palestinians, who, she says, gained international recognition and made progress only after they started to hijack airliners and carry out terrorist operations like the 1972 attack at the Munich Olympics. She says that if the Syrian opposition issues an announcement that it is pledging loyalty to ISIS and to Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, Jabhat Al-Nusra, the international community will rush to find a solution to the Syrian crisis.
The following are translated excerpts from her article:[1]
Image: Bbc.co.uk
The Palestinian Cause Would Not Have Gained International Recognition Were It Not For The PLO's So-Called Terrorism
"There is only one way to make dreams come true. The dreamers (whoever they are) must either seek this way and stick to it exclusively, or else sit by the wayside cursing [their] bad luck or the U.S. [and the] plots it concocts night and day. In 1972 the Palestinian Fatah's Black September organization carried out several operations that were described by the world as unprecedented acts of terrorism. [One was] hijacking an airliner that was on its way to Vienna [sic] and landing it at the Ben Gurion airport in the Palestinian town of Lod. In another operation, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine attacked the [Ben Gurion] airport and killed 24 civilians. But the most prominent operation that year, also carried out by Black September, was the famous Munich [Olympics] attack, in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed, as well as five of the Palestinian attackers, a German policeman and a German helicopter pilot [sic]. By the way, [Palestinian] President Abu Mazen [Mahmoud 'Abbas] was in charge of the operation's finances.[2]
"Just two years later, in 1974, the late Abu 'Amar [Yasser Arafat] delivered his famous speech at the UN. Back then, 'Israel,' unlike the rest of the world, did not think that it was the chairman of an unofficial organization who was delivering a speech at the UN. As far as [Israel] was concerned, this was the first time a terrorist and a member of a terrorist organization was [allowed to] deliver a speech [at the UN]. Everybody heard or read the famous phrase he uttered in that speech - 'an olive branch in one hand and a rifle in the other' - which aroused sympathy across the world while causing deep anguish to the leaders of the Israeli entity. There is a broad consensus among politicians and analysts worldwide that the Palestinian cause would not have seen this significant turnaround on the political level and in terms of international sympathy were it not for fidai [self-sacrifice] operations that were described as terrorism!
"I opened with the [example of] the Palestinian cause because it is foremost in the Syrians' memory. I use it to present a question to the 'politicians' of the Syrian opposition, and through them also to the Free Syrian Army: Are you really afraid that the world will accuse you of terrorism? I can answer [my own question] with a clear conscience by saying: Yes, all the factions of the Syrian opposition and the battalions of the Free Syrian Army are afraid to be accused of terrorism. If I ask myself why, my answer will be: because they are fools... There is not a single movement of national liberation that the world did not [initially] regard as terrorist. Everyone is invited to reread the history of popular struggles, from South America to Asia. Everyone is invited to discover the great deception [regarding] what is called terrorism. The same world that described various movements as terrorist was eventually forced to talk with these movements. More than that, it provided them with money and gear to carry out their terrorism, either directly or by means of the arms mafia that, everyone knows, operates under the explicit orders of international intelligence apparatuses.
"If all [these movements] are 'terrorist,' [but] politically they are not regarded as such, then why do you, gentlemen of the political and armed Syrian opposition, object to being terrorists?! Your attempts to present yourselves to the countries of the world as 'moderate' in order to enlist their sympathy for the Syrian revolution - have they not become both ridiculous and despicable?
"There is only one way to realize dreams, and the dreamers must seek it and stick to it exclusively. I wish to ask the opposition: is there any course of action you haven't yet tried [in your attempts] to prevent the spilling of the Syrian people's blood? Since I assume you are acting in good faith, I say that there is no course of action you haven't tried - and yet [despite this] you have failed. So why shouldn't [you opt for] the way of terrorism as the way to save the Syrian people and to realize the dream of the revolution?! Why is it that, when you consider this way, you are beset with doubts and your courage fails you, [thus preventing you] from taking it? Let me answer for you: it's simply [because] the world has threatened you not to take it, and has concealed it from you, and has lied to you that it leads to hell. More than that, some of the world's countries have deceived you [into believing] that there is no way out of the present plight, and some gullible people among you hastened to believe them and set out to seek a solution by [talking to] the murderer [Assad] himself. Am I talking of Mu'adh Al-Khatib and Haytham Manna', for example?[3] Only you [oppositionists] know who I am talking about, and you must believe that there is a way towards salvation. Paradoxically, it is the way of terrorism. Take it, and you will see results tomorrow."
By Adopting Terrorism We Will Galvanize Global Decision-Makers To Resolve The Syrian Crisis
"Have I not [just] told you about Abu 'Amar? How he threatened the whole world with an [olive] branch and a rifle, and told them not to strike down the branch [i.e., thwart the option of peace] because, [if they did,] he would blow their heads off [with the rifle] the next day? Is this not a good enough lesson for you? [Does it not convince you] to issue a declaration right now that you are swearing allegiance to [ISIS leader] Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and to Jabhat Al-Nusra together?!..."
"Let's say the Syrian opposition issues an announcement that it intends to join ISIS or Jabhat Al-Nusra. What can happen? What will it lose? Will it lose, for example, the military aid that is flown to it directly from the Pentagon? Will it forfeit the Syrian embassies that the West has [allowed it to open] instead of the [embassies of the Assad] regime? Will it lose its seat on the [UN] Security Council? It will lose none of these [because they don't exist]. Furthermore, the Syrian people will continue to lose if it doesn't do so. Yes, the people that gave everything to this opposition in hope that it would end its suffering will continue to lose and to shed its blood. [This is] a people that has sacrificed 12 million uprooted and refugees, half a million dead and another half a million missing, a people that sacrificed its homes and property after they collapsed upon its head, a people that sacrificed its stability and infrastructure, a people that sacrificed everything. Can it sacrifice anything more? What could [still] happen to it if all opposition members became terrorists?
"Let me whisper to you what will actually happen if the opposition issues such an announcement. Only a few hours later, the world will [find itself] teetering on one foot on the brink of the very deep abyss to which you will bring it. Then the world's real decision-makers will launch feverish international contacts, [in order to] immediately start seeking a solution... As long as the world's influential countries continue to play the game [of terrorism] in collaboration with the regime, we have no choice but to toss the ball of terrorism back into their court and cause them, as I said, to stand on one foot while teetering on the edge of the abyss.
"I direct my final words to Mu'adh Al-Khatib: Sir, the path to hell is paved with good intentions."
Endnotes:
[1] Alasema.com, December 22, 2014.
[2] Black September leader Mohammad Daoud Oudeh (aka Aby Daoud) wrote in his autobiography that 'Abbas was one of the few people who knew about the operation and that he handled its funding; 'Abbas claims he did not know what the funds were intended for.
[3] Mu'adh Al-Khatib, former chairman of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, and Hayhtam Manna', a former member of the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change, both reject a military solution for the Syrian crisis and advocate a non-violet solution through dialogue with the Syrian regime and do not present the ouster of President Assad as a precondition for dialogue.
