Arab League approves arms for Syrian fighters

SYRIAN revolutionaries have had access to weapons for almost two years without the approval of the Security Council or the Arab League and of course without the permission of President Bashar Assad’s passport control. This was and is still happening. That is why when the Arab League allowed countries bordering Syria to supply the revolutionaries with weapons — an unprecedented step as far as I know it has given legitimacy to an already ongoing action and is now officially supporting the armed toppling of the Syrian regime. This paves the way for a new stage of the Syrian revolution. The resolution was written in a plural form, but the phrase “neighboring countries” actually means Jordan and Turkey, the only two that have turned a blind eye to smuggling operations and that indirectly supported the revolutionaries and the opposition through hosting their leaders and activities on their territories. The other two neighbors, Iraq and Lebanon, are supporting Assad’s regime. The fifth neighbor, Israel, is just watching. Does the Arab League’s decision, apart from its substantial legal significance, mean that we are about to see larger number of more advanced weapons with almost 100,000 fighters across Syria? This is what it implies, despite the fact that had the entry of weapons been legalized earlier, extremist groups would not have been part of the conflict now. Prohibition and restriction harmed the more deserving Syrian opposition groups that have a national project and helped extremist groups that were not obliged to report to revolutionary institutions or follow the instructions of its leaderships. The Arab League did not allow the revolutionary coalition, which represents the Syrian people, to occupy Syria’s vacant seat under the pretext that its members have not yet established a “state,” yet sanctioned the entry of weapons, which has already been happening. However, the Arab League seat is not important. What is more important at this stage is allowing weapons in to save time and stop the bloodshed. Now borders can be opened for revolutionaries and weapons. Are we, then, about to see a fundamental change on the ground? Exporting the crisis: I believe that is what is going to happen because the Syrian crisis has become a problem for everyone. Assad wanted to export the crisis to neighboring countries and to embarrass the international community. He managed to do so and the governments of affected countries, together with the United Nations, are complaining about the magnitude of the catastrophe. But instead of the international community negotiating with Assad, many are now convinced that toppling the regime is the only solution. Arms shipments are on their way from all over the world and this will definitely change the balance of power in the war in the coming months. However, there are several problems such as, one observer explained, training fighters to use these weapons and controlling the activities of the Free Syrian Army, which now refers to scores of undisciplined groups. One incident, such as those weapons falling into the hands of terrorist groups, would be enough for borders to close and arms supply to stop. These concerns may be part of the reason why most airlines avoid flying in Syrian skies. At last, the Arab League has given the Syrian people hope through sanctioning the entry of weapons and supporting the revolutionaries. Now hope is emerging after a series of frustrations on both the Arab and international levels.