By Franklin Lamb;
DAMASCUS — This observer judges that the Persians,
whose bright, articulate students are well known
internationally, and with whom he has been honored
to discuss international politics on several
occasions, may well have met their intellectual match
with the Syrian Arabs. This conclusion is based on
what is happening among the public in Damascus,
not just in the universities and schools, but during
impromptu “marketplace of ideas” sessions
increasingly taking place on the streets and in coffee
houses and places of public gathering.
Last night was one example. Way past this
observer’s bedtime, some friends came to see me and
wanted to sit outside “for a few minutes” to discuss
the latest speculation from Washington and St.
Petersburg. We ended up sitting on concrete slabs
that divides Al Bahsa Street where no cars are
allowed in front of my hotel for more than three
hours! Miss Hiba, a wild and wonderful Palestinian
journalist born in Yarmouk camp, interpreted for us.
The congregation very quickly grew as a few
soldiers, shabiha, and national defense force types
showed up to see what was going on. Some even
joined in the fast moving animated discussions.
There were several students and neighborhood
residents assembling and at the start of the “seminar”
it quickly became obvious that Syrians are carefully
tracking developments in the run-up to the widely
expected “9/12/13 black Thursday” now less than
one week away. It is this date when many
Damascenes and foreign observers believe the
American attack will begin.
As a backdrop, for certain, life appears on the
surface fairly normal, but tensions are rising and
people are alarmed at the prospects of an American
attack. This observer was educated by these Syrians
about many views of the conflict raging here and
how events locally and internationally are apt to
unfold.
One sentiment that is virtually unanimous here is
that very few, if any at all, credit the White House
smooth talk to the effect that the purpose of the
American attack, without the benefit of UN Security
Council approval, is to be very limited and short and
is only designed to send a message or punish the
Syrian leadership, even though the last couple of days
the President’s team is using the word “degrade” (as
in demolish and utterly destroy) frequently.
An elderly gentleman who owns a pharmacy around
the corner explained, “It’s regime change here and in
Tehran and nothing less! They will bomb anywhere
at will because their top 75 listed targets have already
been emptied and keep shifting. We are all working
to provide Obama with no targets.”
This observer was dumbfounded by the sophistication
and quality of interventions by the impromptu
gathering. One student preparing to return to classes
late this month at Damascus University rattled off
statistics regarding the Congressional vote prospects
and explained to the growing assembly that the House
of Representative count as of September 4 were
47 members of the House as firm or inclined to a yes
vote, 187 firm or inclined to a no vote, and 220
unknown or undecided. Then she expressed her view
that she was pretty certain that the President will be
forced to withdraw the resolution or postpone a vote
in the House.
Another lady, who I have seen around my hotel
garden, mentioned yesterday’s report in the
Washington Post that the Conference of Presidents of
Major American Jewish Organizations has linked
with the Israeli lobby AIPAC in an all-out public
campaign for a U.S. war on Syria. I had no idea
about this and wondered how she was so current
with her information. She then explained, “So far,
only 21 senators have said they support or are likely
to support the Obama resolution, thirteen have said
they oppose or are likely to oppose the resolution,
while 66 votes are undecided or unknown.”
The question that ended our gathering early this
morning was when one young man, presumably a
law student, zeroed in on this observer and started
reciting from memory, not a summary mind you,
but rather word for word, Article One, Section
Eight, Clause 11 of the United States Constitution:
“The Congress shall have Power To declare War,
grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make
Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water.”
He then explained that the particular passage
provides no specific format for what form any
legislation must have in order to be considered a
“Declaration of War” nor does the Constitution itself
use this term.
Then came the zinger, “Sir, can you compare and
contrast this Article and Clause with the 1973 War
Powers Act and share with us your interpretation of
both with respect to what your President is
threatening to do to my country?”
“Who is this guy?” I thought to myself and I began to
stutter and in anguish thought to myself, “Where is
Professor Richard Falk when I need him. He could
handle this question perfectly!”
I did not know where or how to begin to answer the
gentleman. I started to mumble something like “that’s
an excellent question, can we meet later to discuss it
because it’s very late now.”
But just as I glanced at my watch and noticed it was
4:28 a.m., mercifully, we all heard the Adhan,
(Islamic call to prayer) which is called out by a
muezzin from the nearby mosque. The somehow
reassuring strains, even a bit eerie, wafted around
us. It was time for al fajr (Dawn) prayers.
It was this observer’s very good luck and I could
duck the question. The soldiers on the street fell
silent and listened and became contemplative. One
can only imagine their thought about next week’s
likely American bombing campaign. They started to
disperse as did about half of the assembly.
I was saved. No thanks to Professor Falk.
The people of the Syrian Arab Republic are
politically very sophisticated and amazingly well
informed about the details of the current crisis and
with specifics about external players and their plans.
One can only wish the Syrian people well and join
with them and all people of good will, as many
Christians and, reportedly more Muslims will do, for
the day of fasting and prayer that his Holiness Pope
Francis has called to be observed on September 7,
2013.
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