A stale script unfolds

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Another Middle East saga is unfolding with the usual sense of déjà vu. Confrontations in this region follow the same script and the current US-Syrian feud is no exception. It is rather like watching the repeat of an old film. The plot can be broken down as follows:

Scene 1; the US and some of its Western allies start provoking an Arab country with Israel cheering them on.

Scene 2; the UN Security Council issues resolutions sanctioning military force in keeping with Article 7 of the UN charter.

Scene 3; the US and its allies set a timetable for full compliance.

Scene 4; the US and its allies appoint an investigator to submit a report.

Scene 5; action is taken to punish the Arab country in question.

While all this happens an equally predictable plot is played out in the region. It runs as follows:

Scene 1; the Arab country in question denounces the provocations, holds rallies, recalls the high-points of Arab history, ups the vitriol in its rhetoric and announces that it will remain defiant.

Scene 2; other Arab countries try to defuse the crisis, sending envoys everywhere and issuing calls for a summit

Scene 3; a summit is held but it's too late.

Scene 4: the Arab media warns of another disaster, recalls previous errors and advises against a one-sided military confrontation.

Scene 5: deadlines expire and allowing the bloody routing of yet another Arab country.

Whatever the extent of Syrian involvement in Al-Hariri's assassination Arab public opinion is deeply sceptical of international action. In its dealings with the region the international community has repeatedly said one thing and done another. When international powers threaten an Arab country they do so not for the sake of justice or freedom but in pursuit of their own agendas. This region has suffered greatly from double such dealing. The Israeli and US occupations of Palestine, Iraq, Golan and south Lebanon show the kind of justice Arabs receive from outsiders.

The UN has yet to send an investigator to Israel or to the US to discuss a timetable for withdrawal from the land they occupy. The international community has never threatened the US or Israel with force, in implementation of Article 7 of the UN Charter, should they fail to comply with international resolutions. Such measures are applied solely to Arab states. A change in the script is long overdue.