Those who think about a military coup recall the history of coups in Syria without knowing that times have changed and the structure of the army has changed. The difficulty of achieving the coup lies in the following matters:
A) In the decade of the fifties, when several coups and coup attempts took place, the number of the Syrian army at that time did not exceed thirty thousand, and it was enough for the First Brigade to move in the Kiswa to bring down the government. Moreover, a low-ranking officer, who was Captain Mustafa Hamdoun at the time, brought down the regime of Adeeb Al-Shishakli.
B) The other basic matter is that Hafez al-Assad changed the army’s doctrine from loyalty to the homeland and the people to loyalty to the president of the regime and gradually changed the structure of the armed forces and security services through affiliation with military and security colleges, so that the number of those affiliated with these colleges annually exceeded more than three thousand and five hundred students, while the number in previous years was no. It exceeds one hundred and twenty students, and eighty-five percent of these students belong to the Sahel region, that is, the Alawite sect
C) There may be individuals among the senior officers who can think or give the impression of their readiness to work to achieve the military coup, but they have nothing in their hands and they are commanded by the theory that the actual leadership of the units is in the hands of mid-ranking and junior officers whose loyalty is to the palace. In addition, the tyrant Bashar al-Assad has succeeded in provoking tension. The sectarianism of these people was evident in the acts of killing and destruction they carried out. Two important points were pointed out: the first is the role of the security services in internal oversight of all army officers without exception, and the other is that the number of the army is approximately four hundred thousand soldiers and it is not easy to play in the army.
The military coup could take place in one case if the Alawite sect completely turned away from Bashar al-Assad, because all members of the sect who oppose Bashar al-Assad’s approach are oppressed by the regime.
Mr. Secretary-General
Since the first initiative of the League of Arab States and ending with the initiative of Mr. Kofi Annan, has anyone calculated the number of martyrs and wounded who were killed by the armed forces, security services, and shabiha? Has anyone calculated the number of detainees in the regime's prisons? Has anyone calculated the number of Syrian refugees in their homeland after the killing regime demolished their homes in city neighborhoods and villages? Has anyone thought to estimate Syria's economic and financial losses due to the killings, the demolition of entire neighborhoods and entire villages, the paralysis of the national economy, and the cessation of work?
The human, economic and moral losses were huge. Syria needs time to rebuild what this aggressive war destroyed in the country’s structure and national unity. After that, you are looking for initiatives or new solutions that will take a long time. How many Syrians must be slaughtered? How many neighborhoods must be destroyed? How much of the population must turn to asylum? How much national disunity will deepen and how much chaos will spread?
Is the goal of these successive programs to save the Syrian people or to destroy Syria and place it in one of the corners of history?
When we called for international military intervention in May of last year, we were seeing a picture of what would happen in Syria at that time. Unfortunately, some of those dreaming of power and seeking it, whom you enjoy, raised their voices loudly in condemnation, and they were followed by a series of League Council decisions rejecting external intervention without anyone being able to do so. To give justification or one reason for those decisions
When most Syrians called for foreign intervention, based on a patriotic position, because protecting and saving the Syrian people is protecting and liberating the homeland.
We say out loud that saving Syria and protecting its people is a Syrian interest and an interest for all Arabs, because defeating the revolution means an overwhelming victory for Iran in the region, and everyone understands the meaning of that.
Mr. Secretary-General
A few days ago, my attention was caught by a statement I read in Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper issued by you in which you said that the Arab League does not receive opponents who demand military intervention. Do you not see in this that you refuse to hear the voice of the Syrian people who go out in all their demonstrations demanding international military intervention? Do you see your position as a response to the call of mothers, fathers and children who are demanding international military intervention to protect their homeland and people?
Is this long time intended to bring the situation in Syria to a stage where it will be easy for you to form a group of Syrians to negotiate with the regime at the expense of the blood of martyrs and the pain and suffering of the Syrian people?
Finally, my greetings to you
Abdul Halim Khaddam
Former Vice President of the Syrian Arab Republic
