Abdul Halim Khaddam, former vice president of the Syrian president, asserted that the transitional government formed by the Syrian National Coalition opposition, led by Ghassan Hitto, a few days ago, is a “step that will not succeed.”
Khaddam, during his appearance on the program “Al-Shar’a Al-Arabi” with Zeina Yazji on Dubai TV, which will be rebroadcast at 5 p.m. today, explained the reason for the failure of the transitional government. He stated that the opposition forces did not take into account, in his words, that the Syrian interior, represented by “those who are fighting,” is the one that should decide the form of governance and the government, not those who have been outside Syria for decades, asking and wondering: “Who gave them the mandate that allows them the task of forming a government?”
The former vice president of the Syrian president stipulated the legitimacy of any action, such as forming a government, to emanate from two sources. The first is elections, which are known not to be possible under these circumstances. The second is a comprehensive national conference that embodies national unity by bringing together all opposition parties, with the representation of the internal opposition being 85 percent, considering “the interior as the one bearing the burden of bloodshed and destruction.”
Khaddam expressed his confidence that military intervention will occur in Syria as long as the situation continues as it is. Syrians will turn from fighting as rebels for their freedom to an arena of extremism, which “will push all extremist forces in both the Arab and Islamic worlds to come to Syria for the purpose of jihad.” He emphasized that the only step to stop the bloodshed, save the Syrian people, and enable them to determine their destiny is to undertake an Arab and international military intervention outside the scope of the Security Council. He also confirmed that a quick fall of the regime cannot occur except through such intervention. However, he did not rule out the possibility of toppling the Assad regime by the ongoing revolutionary effort, even if it requires, according to him, many years of war, given “the significant military strength available to it.”
Regarding the possibility of dividing Syria and the Middle East due to the Syrian crisis, Khaddam said that the West, for oil-related reasons, is not interested in dividing the Middle East into sectarian emirates because any division, as he said, would compromise security in an area considered an oil reservoir for the entire Western world. Additionally, dividing Syria is rejected by the vast majority of Syrians.
He pointed out that those seeking to divide the country are the Assad regime. He denied the possibility of the regime succeeding in its efforts to drag the country into sectarian conflict or civil war, describing it as merely a military machine without popular support.
