CrossFireArarbia

Carter: A Mideast Idealist

Dr Khairi Janbek
December 31, 2024

Dr Khairi Janbek

The legacy of the late President Jimmy Carter in the Middle East can at best be described as mixed, notable achievements and setbacks.

The Camp David Accords remain his greatest foreign policy achievement in the region, with Egypt and Israel continuing to honor the peace treaty till this day. However, the 1978 Iranian Revolution, the fall of the Shah, the US embassy hostage crisis and the rise of the Islamic Republic of Iran, underscored the limits of his idealistic foreign policy approach.

While Carter’s emphasis on human rights was a notable shift from the more pragmatic or rather, realpolitik approach of his predecessors, it often clashed with the realities of the US strategic interests in the region. His inability to stop or reverse the Iranian Revolution, combined with his perceived weakness in handling the hostage crisis, significantly damaged his standing both domestically and internationally.

Jimmy Carter pic.twitter.com/grnXezIfng
— BladeoftheSun (@BladeoftheS) December 29, 2024

Despite these challenges, Carter’ presidency laid the groundwork for future US policies in the Middle East in terms of emphasis on peace, diplomacy and the need for strategic engagement. In fact, he articulated in January 1980 the Carter Doctrine, which stated that the US will use military force if necessary to defend its interests in the Arabian Gulf against Soviet aggression, which marked a significant shift in US foreign policy asserting a more active and interventionist role in the region.

When it comes to the question of human rights, despite concerns for abuses in countries like Saudi Arabia and Iraq, Carter found it necessary to balance human rights with strategic and economic interests, and he did receive criticism internationally and nationally for tolerating autocratic regimes, not to mention of course in this context, his support for the Shah of Iran despite his repressive policies and human rights abuses.

Still, in the final analysis, with successes and failures, Carter’s approach to the Middle East was foundational in shaping US policy for the years that followed, particularly in the realms of contradictory policies of human rights, and the balance of power in the Gulf region.

Dr Khairi Janbek is a Jordanian commentator currently based in Paris.

News

Baathist Maysaa Sabrine Appointed as Syria’s Central Bank Chief

CrossFireArabia
December 30, 2024

Syria’s new interim government is moving full-blast ahead on women’s right. It has just appointed, Monday Maysaa Sabrine as the new governor of the country’s Central Bank. This is the second woman appointment in the new administration of Ahmed Al Sharaa, seen as an Islamist extremist turned liberal.

She becomes the first woman to hold such a top position in the bank’s seven decade history and is expected to lead Syria into the modern age in a post-Baathist government.

But there is a hitch and apparently that doesn’t seem to be much bothering the new government in Damascus for Sabrine has served under the old Baathist regime as deputy governor of the Central Bank for the last six years and holds a degree in accounting.

Maysaa Sabrine was formerly a deputy governor of the Syrian central bank. She would be the first woman to lead the institution in its more than 70-year history, replacing Mohammed Issam Hazime who was appointed by toppled President Bashar al-Assad.

Source: @Reuters https://t.co/SZbGGY29Ga
— Karen Woods 林爷 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇨🇦🌻 (@KarenWenLin) December 30, 2024

Thus it would seem the new government is looking for meritocracy than ideological or political affiliation for Sabrine is will versed in the country’s fiscal system having also served on the board of directors of the Syria securities exchange.

Her appointment is trending on the social media as she is the second woman after Aisha Al Dibs who was made head of the Women Affairs Section in the interim administration, an appointment designed to allay the fears of the West who still see this government as an Islamist extremist one.

Therefore the appointment of Sabrine has created much talk among the social media buffs related to those who supported the move and those against it as she was part-and-parcel of the former Baath regime.

But those in favor believe the woman has a wide ranging economic experience that would be essential for the current administration. So maybe practicalities has over-ridden the ideological garb.

Opinion

The Day After in Syria is Simply Bleak!

Saleem Ayoub Quna
December 30, 2024

By Saleem Ayoub Quna

Syria has just turned a gloomy chapter of its long turbulent history that lasted for at least half-a-century. The question now is: Will this new era bring better or worse news for this beleaguered country and its people?

The new local stake holders on the ground and outside players are showing different and often conflicting signals of what lies ahead. A month ago, the totalitarian Assad dynasty regime collapsed, its
dictator fled the country, his strong men melted into the caves, his father’s imposing statues downed and his foreign supporters’ influence, Iran and Russia, evaporated. From this underdog dark side, the game
was over!

But it was not so on the other rising side of the game, where you have the local opposition of multiple groups and their new de facto foreign partners and friends, celebrating the defeat of the bygone oppressive regime.

All they see is a helpless, desperate and a lone prey for the cut! In real terms the country, so far, is being divided into different de facto regional enclaves or mini-states. Each is controlled by its own local
leaders. Members of each community share either the same faith, or speak the same language, or adhere to a host of old norms and traditions inherited from their ancestors.

Both leaders and their followers of each faction are finding themselves at a crucial turning point. Do they want to repeat what their previous leaders did when they, willy-nilly, allowed the central government under the Assad regime, run their daily life affaires, and then when it was too late, discovered that they were either deceived or coerced by the now defunct regime’s agents? Or are they saying no more of this stuff this time, and accordingly acting more independently to preserve their special identity and immune their rights?

The idea of partitioning Syria as we know it since its independence in 1946 is not new! It can be traced back to its pre-independence original format, conceived then by the French mandatory power in the early 1900s, when the Ottoman’s four centuries rule, of the whole of Arabia and North Africa, came to an end.

At that time, France, sanctioned by League of Nations, suggested to divide the country into five main enclaves or mini-states: An Alawite enclave on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean with Latakia as its capital, an Aleppo enclave in the north, a Jabal Druze enclave in the south, bordering Jordan, Alexandretta enclave which was taken by Turkey and renamed as the Hatay province, and finally the dominated Sunni region in the center with its capital Damascus.

Today, the US, with the consent of other good wishers, are openly pushing, by deeds and words, to create an additional enclave in the autonomous Kurdish oil-rich region in the north-eastern part of Syria.
On the Golan Heights, the new strong players are turning a blind eye to the serious Israeli military encroachments inside proper Syrian territories, previously recognized by the world community and UN resolutions. At the same time, the emerging clashes in the east and west of the country and other places in the center, between rivaling armed groups, leave little room for optimism.

The most important step Syrians need today is a constitution that can stand at the same distance from all components of the society. But surprisingly, the last statement attributed to the new top man in
Damascus saying such a constitution might take four to five years to come to life, can only send discouraging and negative signals to all the components of Syrian society and others!

A final question that must be asked: Is Syria nearing to lose its last chance to avoid falling back in the pre-independence fragmentation trap?

This opinion was especially written for Crossfire Arabia by Saleem Ayoub Quna who is a Jordanian author writing on local, regional and international affairs and has two books published. He has a BA in English Literature from Jordan University, a diploma from Paris and an MA from Johns Hopkins University in Washington. He also has working knowledge of French and German.

News

Gaza Genocide: Death Toll Spikes to Over 45,000

CrossFireArabia
December 30, 2024

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced, Monday, the death toll from the genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinians has risen to 45,541 dead and 108,338 wounded since October 7, 2023.

The ministry stated in its daily statistical statement the Israeli army “committed three massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, with 27 martyrs and 149 wounded arriving to hospitals in the past 24 hours.”

It reported “the death toll from the Israeli aggression has risen to 45,541 martyrs and 108,338 wounded since October 7, 2023.”

The ministry indicated there are victims under the rubble of destroyed homes and on the roads, but the civil defense and ambulance crews are unable to reach them due to the repeated Israeli targeting.

The Israeli genocide since 7 October, 2023 with American support has caused the loss of more than 11,000 Palestinians, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and the elderly.

Israel continues its massacres, ignoring two arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court on 21 November against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant, for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza.

Tel Aviv has turned Gaza into the largest prison in the world, besieging it for the 18th year, and the war of extermination has forced about two million of its citizens, numbering about 2.3 million Palestinians, to flee in tragic conditions with a deliberate severe shortage of food, water and medicine.

For decades, Israel has occupied lands in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, and refuses to withdraw from them and establish an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the borders before the 1967 war as reported in Anadolu.

News

Six Babies Freeze to Death in Gaza

CrossFireArabia
December 30, 2024

Seven Palestinians, including six babies and a nurse, have died from the extreme cold in war-torn Gaza Strip over the past few nights, according to the Government Media Office. The death toll is expected to rise due to the dire conditions faced by displaced people.

In a statement issued, Monday, the Office said, “The death toll from extreme cold and frost waves among the displaced in tents, whose homes were destroyed by the Israeli occupation, has risen to seven, and the number is expected to increase due to the dire conditions.”

“We have repeatedly warned of the dangers posed by the approaching weather fronts, the winter season, and the cold waves, which coincide with the tragic reality faced by our Palestinian people,” the Office added.

“They are enduring killing, genocide, and the destruction of homes and vital infrastructure and forced displacement.”

“It is expected that heavy rains will continue to fall, along with ongoing frost waves and cold weather in the coming days, posing a great risk and a real threat to the lives of the displaced who are enduring tragic suffering.”

The Office said the “Israeli occupation has forced them to flee to dilapidated tents that do not protect them from the winter cold or severe frost waves.”

Frozen to Death

Six Palestinian babies have frozen to death in Gaza over the past few nights, including three who died of hypothermia in the so-called “humanitarian zone” in al-Mawasi, and 20-day-old twins born one month prematurely.

Palestinian nurse Ahmed al-Zaharneh, who was among the crews working at the European Gaza Hospital, also died on Friday because of “extreme” weather conditions, according to the Health Ministry.

The Ministry said, “His body was found inside his tent in al-Mawasi area, west of the city of Khan Younis, southern Gaza.”

“This incident comes in light of the difficult humanitarian conditions that displaced citizens are experiencing, as the suffering of Gaza residents increases due to low temperatures and the lack of heating means in tents,” the Ministry added.

Dilapidated Tents

The deaths highlight the dire conditions in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are crammed into makeshift tents, fleeing Israeli shelling from various parts of the strip.

Gaza’s Government Media Office stated on Saturday that 110,000 out of 135,000 tents used by displaced Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip are now out of service and have “completely deteriorated”.

The Office accused the Israeli military of “causing a tragic humanitarian crisis” that is once again putting the lives of thousands of civilians at risk as the freezing winter sets in.

“This catastrophic humanitarian situation is a direct result of the genocide committed by the ‘Israeli’ occupation army, which has completely destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes of these citizens, forcing them to resort to living in tents that lack the minimum requirements for a decent life,” the statement said according to the Quds News Network.