A Regional Role for Syria

Only a few weeks ago, the West had been criticizing Syria over its alleged meddling in Lebanon’s internal affairs. The accusations were raised over the murder of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel. With Lebanon’s current political crisis — which has Hezbollah challenging Prime Minister Siniora’s government — the West is now turning to Syria to help alleviate tensions, fearing an all-out civil war in the country.

It is German Foreign Minister Steinmeler who has taken the lead. In a meeting with Syria’s President Assad today, Steinmeler applauded Syria’s recent move to restore diplomatic relations with Iraq, an event which went largely unnoticed nearly two weeks ago. The Foreign Minister urged that Syria act in similar fashion in regards to Lebanon.

The reason for Steinmeler’s appeal is the political standoff between Hezbollah and Prime Minister Siniora, whose government has lost popularity over its handling of the 34-day war with Israel. Hezbollah supporters have assembled in the thousands in Lebanon’s capital to demand that Siniora give Hezbollah more access to the government. While Hezbollah has political seats in Lebanon’s parliament, it is also listed as a terrorist organization by the US government. This makes it difficult for Western states to engage in direct negotiations with the organization. Syria has been linked to Hezbollah and is believed to have influence on the organization.

With its restoration of diplomatic relations with Iraq after a twenty-five year standoff following Syria’s support of Iran in the Iran-Iraq war, Syria looks to gain more influence in the region. It has already been reported that a three-way summit between Iran, Syria and Iraq may happen and the Iraq Study Group may also suggest the US work with Syria. If Syria participates in stabilizing the current situation in Lebanon, it may become a regional player.

Syria has already played a stabilizing role in Lebanon — that’s how Syrian troops ended up in Lebanon, where they were initially welcome both by Lebanon and the US. This time, Syria will have to go the diplomatic route, as any troops activity will spur speculation of malicious intent, as Syrian troops retreated from Lebanon last year.

Charest Government Announces Spending for Research

Montreal, QC — Quebec Premier Jean Charest was in Montreal today to announce the government’s initiative to spend an additional 888 M$ on research an innovation. Development Minister Raymond Bachand explained that the government’s new strategy is meant to ensure that research can be brought to a commercial market which can then compete with the growing economies, like that of China and Alberta.

“Quebec is doing good, better than the average. But this is today,” said Charest alluding to the strategy’s goal of creating future growth in Quebec’s economy.

The strategy is based on the idea that the strength of Quebec’s economy is in its high-tech exports. With a population of 7.6 million, Quebec is certainly not a big domestic market nor does it have the population numbers to be a manufacturing leader. Thus, the funding announced is aimed at getting researchers into the marketplace. The aeronautic sector was given as an example of Quebec leadership.

The spending announced includes grants for researchers, funding of research infrastructures (including equipment and buildings) as well as tax credits for companies doing research. It also includes money for Quebec’s student population with 32 M$ in bursaries for Masters, Doctorate and Post-Doctorate candidates.

“The policy comes too late in Charest’s government’s mandate. The strategy contains interesting measures for students, but it lacks a part for humanities and social sciences,” said Philippe-Olivier Giroux, President of CNCS-FEUQ. The president of the Graduate Students’ wing of the Quebec Federation of University Students (FEUQ) also said that the money announced was too little because Charest’s government had cut bursary spending for several years in a row.

ERRATUM: RE: Vigil for Anas Bennis

In the original article entitled Vigil for Anas Bennis, I reported that Mohamed Anas Bennis was of Algerian heritage. This is, in fact, not correct; Mr Bennis was from Morocco. I regret the error.

An Iraqi Democracy

The Iraqi project, led by Britain and the US, is increasingly coming under fire from all directions.

While it is not a surprise to see outgoing UN Secretary General Kofi Annan speak about the devastating shortcomings of Iraq, it is somewhat unexpected to see a Donald Rumsfeld memo stating that US tactics in Iraq are “not working well enough” and that a shift in policy must ensue.

The revelation of the memo comes after both Human Rights Watch and a panel of UN experts criticized the Dujail trial of Saddam Hussein as being flawed and unfair. The UN panel even called the Hussein’s detention illegal. While the Dujail trial was not a direct consequence of US or British tactics — the former Iraqi leader was tried by the new Iraqi government — it does raise serious questions about an Iraqi democracy.

Ultimately, the Iraqi project’s goal was to bring democracy to the Middle East with Iraq as a starting point. And Iraq did get an electoral democracy with real elections and a real voter turnout. But democracy is more; it is fundamental for any democracy to have a judiciary that is independent and, in the end, fair. If Human Rights Watch is right in that Saddam Hussein did not receive a “fair trial” — and their report is quite compelling — then there’s a lot more work to be done in Iraq, in addition to ending the ongoing civil war in the country. It is imperative to address the problems with the Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT), which has been scrutinized for its poor handling of the Dujail trial. If these current standards remain, then Iraq will not get past an electoral democracy and can easily slip back into totalitarianism.

A democracy is also about the ability of different factions to work in concert, despite differences. In that sense, Kofi Annan’s characterization of the ongoing conflict within Iraq as “much worse” than a civil war is quite alarming: the Iraqi project has actually destabilized the country, if one compares it to pre-occupation Iraq with violence rampant and not declining. Part of this could be US forces “not working well enough” as Rumsfeld’s memo states, but it’s also a question of choosing the right model of democracy. After all, Lebanon lived through years of civil war, until it came to a model that accommodated its Druze, Christian and Muslim parties. This does not mean that the current model in Iraq does not work; it just means that necessary adjustments must be made, and that elected officials like PM Maliki must be ready to work with opponents in order for the government (and democracy) to truly flourish.

Britain and the US will likely exit from Iraq within the next year and this may actually increase the likeliness of the success of an Iraqi democracy. Whether Britain or the US intend to or not, they are influencing the direction of Iraq’s democracy. And the democracy in Iraq is more likely to succeed if it is chosen and embraced by Iraqis themselves. With a British-US exit, on the surface, nothing may change, except a sense of ownership and a stake in the democracy, which is something hard to experience when your country is under occupation.

The biggest dilemma for the US right now is the civil war and what role the US will play in it, because by participating, the US will have to pick sides, and, once again, influence the direction of the democracy.