After the so-called Free Syrian Army has again be defeated in Aleppo, and failed to get the foothold that would be necessary for a Libya-Style establishment of a Transitional Government within the country, the calls for a so-called No-Fly-Zone are back on the Subversives agenda, proposed primarily by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The recent capture of a Turkish General by Syrian military forces in Aleppo (1) made it evident that the Subversives alliance planned to throw as many forces as possible to secure the city of Aleppo.
The underlying strategy behind the campaign for Aleppo is most likely a plan to mirror the model that was implemented in Libya; to secure one city as the seat of a transitional national government, that would be able to “quasi-legally” call for a military intervention, or a so-called No-Fly-Zone.
On her visit to Turkey and talks with Turkiey´s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davotoglu, last week, US Secretary of State proposed that the implementation of No-Fly-Zones around the city of Aleppo and other areas should be analyzed in-depth.
The Foreign Minister of The Russian Federation, Sergei Lavrov, responded to the calls for a No-Fly-Zone in an interview with Sky News Arabia, in which he stated that the crisis in Syria had to be solved by using methods that are put into practice by international law.
Lavrov also stated that some countries are using the humanitarian crisis as a pretext to implement a no-fly-zone while the true purpose would be the establishment of safety zones for military purposes. Lavrov called this practice as unacceptable.
It must be reiterated, that the crisis in Syria is not a civil war but a war on Syria. The actual Syrian armed opposition makes up an insignificant part of the Syrian population.
The vast majority of so-called opposition fighters or troops under the umbrella of the Free Syrian Army consists of a rag-tag mercenary force, built up of over 18.000 fighters of the Al-Qaeda Associated Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, Saudi backed Al Qaeda Brigades, US/CIA backed Iraqi fighters, Lebanese Insurgents, Turkish backed brigades of the Turkish and Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar backed Muslim Brotherhood brigades, and a cohort of Jihadi Organizations, many of which are designated terrorist organizations from throughout the greater Middle East.
While most of these brigades and units are supported by the one or the other NATO or GCC member state, Jordan, Libya and other, and while those nations provide support, ranging from political support, over financing and delivering of arms, to logistical and direct military support by special forces, these brigades often have internal rivalries.
Calling the crisis in Syria a civil war and the rag-tag army of terrorists, mercenaries and Jihadis as Free Syrian Army or Syrian Opposition is only possible in nations with a well-organized propaganda apparatus, which NATO countries in the so-called free West possess as much as the crackpots dictatorships in the Persian Gulf.
The implementation of a No-Fly-Zone without the endorsement of all members of the UNSC would be illegal. In fact, even if Russia and China would endorse a No-Fly-Zone at the UNSC it would still be illegal and in violation of the UN-Charter.
Dr. Christof Lehmann
Notes
1) Turkish General Arrested in Aleppo, Syria; Turkey Denies, Iran Calls for Consequences. http://nsnbc.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/turkish-general-arrested-in-aleppo-syria-turkey-denies-iran-calls-for-consequences/