US backing for the overthrow of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was supposed to be all about democracy. As Washington tells it, the people took to the street demanding democratic reforms and Assad did not listen, so he lost his legitimacy and needed to be overthrown. The US helped facilitate that overthrow by shipping in tons of weapons (much of which ended up in the hands of al-Qaeda and ISIS).
What Syrians were supposed to get in Assad’s place was a bright new future where they could vote for whoever they pleased to lead their government. That is what Washington told us was the noble goal of its regime change operation in Syria.
But just as in other US “democratization” operations overseas, that turns out to be not the case at all.
Syrians are free to choose their leaders as long as they choose the leaders Washington has chosen for them.
Over and over again the White House has reiterated its position that the Syrian people are forbidden from choosing Assad as their president after ISIS and al-Qaeda are defeated. The latest example of Washington’s anti-democratic “democracy promotion” came today, after Assad signaled his flexibility in forming a transitional government that might include the opposition, independents, and loyalists.
Obama’s spokesman flatly rejected any such proposal, saying, “I don’t know whether (Assad) envisioned himself being a part of that national unity government. Obviously that would be a non-starter for us.”
So Syrians, your “democracy” is being given to you by a United States deeply opposed to the idea of allowing any vote that is not pre-approved by Washington’s regime-changers.
Shorter Washington to Syrian people: “OK, you can vote, but we will hand you the approved candidate list.”
Hmmm…don’t they do that in US-condemned Iran?
Daniel McAdams is director of the The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity. Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.
“White House has reiterated its position that the Syrian people are forbidden from choosing Assad”
The Syrian people should be allowed to vote for whoever is constitutionally eligible.
Note, in the last presidential elections (2014), where three candidates including assad stood, certain countries forbade Syrians from exercising their democratic right, by denying them the chance to vote – in their own embassies! These countries were:
Belgium
Canada
Egypt
France
Germany
Saudi Arabia
Turkey
The UAE
The United States
Previous electoral results for Assad and his father:
https://redpill.me/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/CWj5WT_VAAAxZwC.png-large-300×239.png
The results claim that 100% to 99% supported Assad but this was contradicted by a survey from Syrian refugees in Germany. A majority of them does not like Assad and blamed Assad for the Syrian Civil War. This is more than the people who blamed the Islamic State. However, this does not mean that they accept the Islamic State either.
Don’t be silly. The first democratic election only took place in 2014; the new Syrian constitution to allow for such was only introduced in 2012. It was introduced as a remedy for the troubles. Unfortunately, a foreign-sponsored insurgency was then in full fling, and could not be stopped.
You can read the new constitution, which was voted for by a large percentage of the electorate, here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/81771718/Qordoba-Translation-of-the-Syrian-Constitution-Modifications-15-2-2012
Oh, and perhaps you’ll comment on the thrust of the article above, as well as my comment – the anti-democratic tendency of uncle sam.
Uncle Sam is only for “democracy” when the results he wants are guaranteed and when propaganda featuring people waving purple fingers is needed.
Spot on. As wikileaks documents clearly show, the US played a leading role provoking the Syrian government to react the way it did. No government anywhere on this earth would tolerate armed insurrection on its soil. We know this even in the US itself where the police are armed to the teeth to fight any pretense of protest. protest like the one in syria took place at the same time as in yemen and bahrain among other places. yet, in bahrain and yemen, mad US ally saudi arabia was allowed to heavy handedly crush the rebellions. the syrian government tried exactly that but was condemned by the US and its allies.
One has to wonder why democracy matters so much in secular syria, but not in yemen and bahrain where its not even being talked about. we know though that in yemen the ruling family belongs to the sunni minority (the most likely reason why the US wont talk democracy there).
the US considers itself the world’s policeman. unfortunately said policeman is so haplessly biased its a joke of a policeman. its accepted as one in the west and largely because the US does not target the west as its victims. in the rest of the world, this is different. to call the USA exceptionalist in its treatment of world issues is unhelpful because that’s inaccurate. THE USA is biased. how it treats countries depends on patronage, nothing more. this makes it unqualified to police the world.
The U.S. is a militarized world dictatorship.
This dictatorship is called a democracy at least here in the USA anyway .
It looks like our democracy is now starting to target us as its victims too vote for anyone accept Trump on the republican ticket or vote for any one except Bernie on the democrat ticket .Trump has the most votes every one that votes for Trump will be one of their victims
The Americans and Saudi’s with the active assistance of Turkey have spent four years, billions of dollars and of course countless Syrian lives lost and ruined to overthrow Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian Government. The wickedness of this scheme far exceeds that of the Iraqi and Libyan debacles since a certain amount of incompetence can be attributed to them while the Syrian effort has been conducted knowingly. To a very large extent these ambitions have been nullified by Putin’s military intervention though this is not to say there will not be further attempts by the Washington Regime to destabilise Syria. The Gulf-Europe pipeline is often cited as the American motive for their involvement in these events but this seems an inadequate explanation to justify the blood and treasure that has been expended. The seeking of Power for its own sake seems to be the most likely cause.
The American’s through their vast wealth are largely immune to the effects of defeat but one does wonder if this will always be so. Though Empires are expressions of financial success they are also affected by the same forces that exist within all money economies confidence being not the least important constituent. One would think that their history of serial military defeat and geopolitical incompetence would eventually have an effect and that a forerunner of this might be seen in the reluctance of the American people to support foreign adventures so that the elite must of necessity conduct them as has been the case in Syria both by proxies and clandestine means.
Until the mentality changes in the Washington DC establishment of whatever is in our interests and that all other countries need to share our values(whatever the hell that means), nothing will change until eventually the world turns on them. Things could really change IF the EU could become completely independent of these militarized fanatics in DC so when DC talks this garbage about regime change etc., the EU collectively says no.
I would not want to pay 1 cent for removing Assad , I would rather pay to get rid of Turkeys president and even the Saudi king .
The key to understanding the Syrian disaster is the pipeline. It’s all about the pipeline and the pipeline is all about Russia. The great chess game. That’s what it all comes down to. Thankfully it looks like Putin may have won. Fingers crossed.
http://www.exileinhappyvalley.blogspot.com/
“Obviously that would be a non-starter for us.” Yeah, go f yourself Obama official. Amazing the arrogance of these people that run our government. Our military is nothing about serving their country. They serve this corrupt oligarch whom occupies Washington DC.
And before this corrupt Oligarch they served the corrupt oligarch the served as our president too And I can say the same about the president that served before him too .
Welcome to American democracy!
African-Americans faced and still face this situation in communities all over the U.S. even with the diminished Voting Rights Act.
White folk believe they can decide others’ fate as long as they’re unarmed.
White folk are no fools . If you have a gun and they don’t, you rule !
I say, get one and never give them a choice…
Joseph you are starting to sound like a Trump republican if you want the right to have a gun . Better not vote democrat or will not be allowed to get a gun .
What makes you think Israel wants the mid eastern countries destroyed .
Israel’s support for ISIS is your first clue.
So where did you get that information doesn’t sound right to me .