Is a Grand Alliance Forming against Asad?
Syria Comment  |
Khaddam planned defection since 2003, Bayanouni reports. Khaddam told Bayanouni in 2003 that he was preparing to join the opposition; "he would join the opposition and announce this position when circumstances permitted." This was well before the Lahoud extension and Hariri killing, events that many believed drove Khaddam to defect. Khaddam has said that he was against Bashar succeeding Hafiz al-Asad in 2000, but was unable to stop it at the time for fear of destabilizing Syria. The big question is whether Khaddam began discussing ways to take power for himself in Syria with Jumblatt and Rafiq al-Hariri when Hafiz's health began failing in 1999. Bashar al-Asad feared Khaddam was doing just that, which is why he determined to overturn the power structure in Lebanon and push Jumblatt and Hariri from power. It is also why he tried to sideline the Khaddam, Shihabi, and Kanaan triumvirate in Lebanon even before becoming President in 2000. Asad believed the triumvirate had turned against him and joined the Lebanese in a plan to block his efforts to succeed his father. Khaddam will meet with Saad Hariri and Jumblatt in Paris later this month to find common ground between the new Khaddam-Muslim Brotherhood alliance and Lebanon's leading anti-Syrian politicians. This is powerful stuff. It sheds new light on Bayanouni's eagerness to attach Khaddam to the Brotherhood. It seems that Khaddam could promise the Muslim Brotherhood to bring in Hariri's Future Movement behind their efforts. If Hariri and Jumblatt endorse Bayanouni's opposition coalition, it will be hard for the US not to endorse it as well. Jumblatt met with Khaddam before and after traveling to Washington last month. Everyone speculated that he was acting as a messenger and advocate for Khaddam. It seems that Jumblatt's efforts are paying off. For Bayanouni and Khaddam, the road to Damascus may be through Beirut and then Washington. Word is that Western leaders have been invited to attend the meeting. We will have to see who turns up. This explains why Bashar is cracking down on the Syrian opposition that has traveled to the West and why he is going after the entire Khaddam family. He is frightened that Washington is preparing a grand alliance. Saudi Arabia and Egypt are trying to slow down this polarization of the region, but their warnings may fall on deaf ears. If Hariri and Washington decide to back Bayanouni, Saudi and Egypt will be forced to choose sides, something they will find very difficult to do. SYRIA: DISSIDENTS TO MEET WITH LEBANESE POLITICIANS Leading Syrian dissidents belonging to the Rally for Syria group will hold talks with prominent anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians, including Saad Hariri, the son of assassinated former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri, in Paris later this month. Other high profile figures attending the talks include former Syrian deputy president Abdel Halim Khaddam - who has been living in Paris since falling out with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad - and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt. |
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