Syrians are faced with a corrupt regime, an inexperienced political opposition, foreign interests and Al-Qaeda

To think seriously of a solution to the successive chapters of the Syrian tragedy, we have to clarify some points and conduct an extensive analysis of the outcomes of the situation in Syria after more than forty months of a massive process of self-destruction.

On the one hand, there is a corrupt regime led by economic and security mafia devoid of the slightest humanitarian or national affiliation, and whose greed for money and power led it to deal with its ​​homeland and society on the basis of control or destruction.

On the other hand, the most honest Syrian popular movement for freedom and dignity in history has been hijacked by an inexperienced political-military class that fell under the influence of contradictory regional and international interests.

Despite the support by the group of the Friends of Syria, consisting of more than one hundred countries, including three of the most powerful and richest countries in the world and four of the richest and most influential Arab countries, to legitimise this class, it has failed to present itself as a democratic alternative to the regime and as a body that can persuade the Syrians, and the Arab and international communities that it can represent the Syrian aspirations of establishing the state of citizenship that represents every Syrian.

This deficit, combined with the absence of convincing leadership for the young Syrians defending their dignity, has left a void to be filled by radical organizations dominated by the ideology and strategy of Al-Qaeda. This in turn led to the distortion of the revolution and helped the regime to advertize its idea that what is happening in Syria is a war against terrorism, not a revolution carried out by Syrians protesting against corruption and oppression. This led to a decline in the international public sympathy and a decline in the popular revolutionary ideals because these organizations scared many Syrians who consider them as no less a threat to their lives and future than the regime itself.

Thus, after what happened in Iraq, which threatens of the outbreak of a sectarian war that may extend to the entire region, we must clarify and prioritize things for Syrians who have paid the price of everything that is happening. There are several points to be taken into account when thinking about any solution to save Syria from destruction, death, homelessness and poverty.

1. The destruction and killing must stop, because it benefits everyone but the Syrian people who have paid the price of the war in their blood and the future of their children. This is war meant to destroy Syria, not to liberate it, and there's a clear quest by the regional and international powers to prolong this war to achieve their own goals, not for the freedom of Syria and the dignity of its people. The regime, aware of the crimes it has committed, will not stop the killing, even if it destroyed all Syria and displaced most of its population. Al-Qaeda will not stop the war until it achieves its own goals far away from the objectives of the revolution of freedom and dignity. Thus Syrians, with their different ethnic, religious or political affiliations, are the ones who should work to stop this crazy war.

2. Syrians no longer have the luxury of a Byzantine debate about the regime’s support or its opposition; the vast majority of the Syrian people were not part of the regime's corruption and criminality, and were not part of the opposition which became associated with the interests of other countries and now fights the war to fulfill the objectives of its supporters and financiers. The interest of the majority lies in a free and pluralistic state, away from the tyranny and oppression of Assad and his mafia, and away from the horror of ISIS and Al-Qaeda. If Syrians don't unite as soon as possible, they will miss the chance to save their country and their children's future.

3. The bet on a regional or international side on ideological or sectarian basis is no longer important for all Syrians; all those countries care about their interests and those of their own regimes first and foremost. They consider the Syrians as tools to achieve the ambitions and interests of their countries, using them when needed and abandoning them in the first negotiations with other powers. Thus, Syrians can only depend on each other to end the killing and destruction and move on to the reconstruction of the homeland they deserve.

4. If we have to reach a compromise, let it be among Syrians, not Iran or Israel or any other regional or international force. There must be reconciliation and forgiveness between all Syrians, except senior criminals and their leaders on both sides; Assad-Hezbollah and Al-Qaeda-ISIS, as Syria cannot be divided. Living together and working together is everyones fate.

5. The neutrality of Syria in the next stage, keeping away from regional and international alliances, and trying to build balanced relations with all regional and international powers in accordance with common interests, and on the basis of respecting the unity of Syria's land and people within its internationally recognized borders, will be vital for the free Syria to reconstruct what this war has destroyed in terms of infrastructure and to face the social ills and the deterioration in scientific and administrative fields caused by fifty years of corruption and tyranny.