A Syrian's View of the Khaddam Patronage Network
A Syrian reader has just written me the most interesting analysis of the Khaddam affaire I have yet read. Many thanks to him for sending this along and giving me permission to publish it. Here it is:... Josh,
Extremely interesting analysis on Khaddam! I totally agree. As a young Syrian who lived the last part of Khaddam era and the transition to Bashar, allow me to add the following to your excellent analysis:
I think that Khaddam's reasons for his precisely timed comeback on the Syrian regime was because of a mix of reasons, mainly:
1- personal vendettas
2- fresh business deals
3- an oversized ego.
Think about it: here is a man that was selling his services to bidders from outside Syria who wanted to influence Syria's political and major business decisions.
He sold his services to the Hariri senior and continued his alliance with the new Hariri. He is a major partner in most of Hariri's businesses in Syria, Lebanon, Saudi and France as was Hariri a partner in his business in Syria, whereas Rafiq Hariri's business competitors in Lebanon and Syria were having an extremely hard time finding any foothold in Syria . One major example: Prince Al-Walid Bin Talal who was unable to enter the Syrian market until Bashar came to power.. which by the way added to Khaddam's mafia grievances in the last 5 years. Until 2000, it was very well known that it would be extremely hard for any big player from outside or inside Syria to enter the Syrian market unless they made someone from Khaddam's mafia a partner (Coca-cola, Philip-Morris, Jaguar are just a few of Khaddam's businesses in Syria with partnerships with the Hariri and other Saudis, plus the countless local businesses and chains in Syria) not to mention his sons and wife illegal businesses of smuggling, trade in nuclear waste, etc. I was personally told in 1998 (by a son of ex-senior bathist from the old -and now expired- guards) of a very well-known meeting between Al-walid bin Talal and Assad senior in Damascus where the prince begged Hafez to keep Khaddam cronies away from him as he was being kept out of the Syrian market because he refused to pay "the partnership fees" to one of Khaddam sons. I personally think that it was not possible for Emaar (the Dubai based mega properties investment company) to come to Syria with its 5 Billions Dollars investment if Khaddam was not "gently" kicked out from power during the last 5 years. Oh and by the way, did anyone else notice how Future TV (owned by Hariri) does not play Syrian TV shows unless they were produced by the Al-Sham Int... you guessed it.. it is owned by Khaddam!
Unfortunately, Syria was and still is run by corrupted mafia-style businessmen/politicians for the last 30 years, where Lebanon has been run by a larger number of corrupted mafia-style businessmen/politicians/sectarian Za'ims since its creation. These Lebanese and Syrian mafias interchanging control turfs in both countries and many powerful partnerships were created over the years of Syria in Lebanon.. both sides are to blame.
The Personal Vendetta!
As for Khaddam's remarks on the foreign minister, it is a fact that Al-Sharaa lost a lot of the glamour he had in the nineties. He should be blamed for Syria's recent foreign policy missteps. But although this incompetence begs for change in the foreign ministry's head, it should be clearly stated that Farouk Al-Sharaa was and still is seen by the Syrian public as one of the few "clean hands" in the brutal and corrupted world of the Syrian regime. For more than 20 years, no one ever heard in Syria of any illegal activity by Al-Sharaa or any of his relatives (while it is a sad truth, it is something rare and admirable in the dirty world of Syrian regime). Given that Khaddam held, and obviously still holds, grudge for Al-Sharaa, this gives even more credibility to the rumors that prevailed in Syria during the last 5 years about tensions between Al-Sharaa and Khaddam, not always because of policy-related reasons! The rumors said that Al-Shara'a was critical of Khaddam wide-scale corruption and his sons imposed siege on investment in Syria.
As I see it, Khaddam has surely lost his mind. He lost control on Lebanon back in 1998 to Bashar, then lost leadership in Syria to Bashar again in 2000 and finally his corrupted empire is being continuously threatened by both legal businesses as well as other mafias (relatives of the president and others) who were finally permitted to enter the Syrian market since Bashar came to power. I think that sometime in the last 5 years he knew that sooner or later his turn will come in the list of the old-guards heads rolling out of office.. it was Zu'by (when Bashar was heading the anti-corruption campaign between 1998 and 2000 under Hafez), Tlass and other military and security chiefs heads rolled after that and Khaddam was being put out of duty gradually in a polite way for years, maybe as a "gratitude" for his services to Bashar's father and maybe because Bashar did not want to make an enemy out of him because of Khaddam's mafia connections inside Syria and personal political allies outside that may threaten Assad's regime. In his interview with the robotic and miserably-researched journalist, it was blatantly clear how Khaddam was more enraged because of slowly losing grip of political and business power on a the business/political level and more importantly of how Shara'a (his rival) becoming the only one from the old guards not put out of office!
For god's sake, the man was for a while the ruler of a country (Lebanon) and was preparing himself for taking Lebanon back plus having Syria after Hafez died, thinking that Bashar will be a stooge manipulated by him.. eventually, it seems that either Bashar was able to gently and smoothly replace the corrupted old guards with technocrats (Dardari being the most successful example) or that his new corrupted inner-circle was able to replace the old ones with new -but multiple and less brutal- mafias (or maybe both of these reasons are true)! Either case Khaddam was enraged and slowly planned his exit strategy for the last few years. The Hariri fiasco -regardless of who did it- was Khaddam's biggest chance and the most beneficial financially and politically in the long run in his view.
For people like Khaddam, who served in a dictatorship for so long, the Syrian people do not matter .. they simply are irrelevant in Khaddam's calculations. We have to admit that people in Syria are enraged and feel stabbed in the back. The possibility that the Syrian regime is involved in killing Hariri does not take away the fact that most Syrians (in and outside Syria) are seeing the whole Hariri and aftermath as a huge threat to their economy, their rights in the Golan, their security and their country as whole. The reason for the Syrian people view is because international and regional parties are itching to gain on Syria's expense in the current turmoil. I think that he really thought that he would be back with a vengeance when Bashar's regime would fall because of external pressures that he solely was able to revive (a new service sold by Khaddam to the highest bidder). With his speech he just made friends with the Saudis, the French, the Americans, the Syrian opposition (including the Muslim Brotherhood who was brutally crushed in Hama when he was its mayor!) and -strangely as it may seem- the Israelis (Didn't you notice how he did not utter a single bad word on Israel, not even when the interviewer included it in his examples of who might killed Hariri.. something very weird when considering his Bathist pan-Arabist Anti-Israeli ideology that he preached and ruled with for the last 35 years!). This gives more credibility to what Ma'arif published few days ago stating that Israeli officials visited Khaddam in Paris a lot during the last six months (and just recently published that its editor-in-chief was "scolded" by the Mosad for this scoop!).
One final note, if the Lebanese sectarian warlords now applauding Khaddam think that all of what he presented was credible, then they should take the whole package he offered and spare Syrians the decades long accusations.. Khaddam in his long speech (that was sometimes disgusting when he preached on freedom and corruption) cleared Syria's name from many of the major issues these same Lebanese warlords are currently utilizing in their political struggles for power. He cleared Syria's name from the blood of Moauadh (former Lebanese president), he made it clear that Samir Jaja' did kill Karami (former PM) and how it was not Syria that insisted for him to be jailed (contrary to what the Lebanese Maronite urban legend widely say), he also told the story of General Aoun and how Syria requested that he is brought to power as defense minister after kicking him from the presidency he held by force and many other issues!
What Bashar should do now?
The Khaddam empire he built on corruption in Syria/Lebanon/Saudi/France/..etc. was very well known to normal Syrians. Almost month ago (long before the interview) one independent MP requested that the government open Khaddam's corruption files. Knowing that Khaddam influence was very well established within the corrupted mafias inside Syria and other mafias outside such as the Hariri's (his biggest business partners) and some Saudi conglomerates, this was one of the bravest things done in the Syrian parliament last year (and when I say Mafia, I mean just that: a brutal business empire rotating around a family). On the last parliament session in 2005 many of the MPs were naming names in corruptions charges and threatening to open the corruption files of people still in power (including ministers) related to Khaddam's mafia.
The good thing that I see from the whole Khaddam fiasco is that more corruption charges would be openly thrown both ways now and that the Syrian parliament (or at least some of its members hopefully) would raise the demands of bringing people to justice openly. We saw a glimpse of this few days ago when one independent MP demanded the release of Dalila and Homsy because -as he put it- "they stood in the face of Khaddam's corruption". I think this is a golden opportunity for Bashar -if he is intelligent enough- to seize the moment and release the political prisoners (in the coming release expected on Eid Al-Adha in less than 10 days) who were jailed during Damascus spring and -to save face- blame Khaddam (rightly or wrongly) for "manipulating the authorities" and putting these brave men in jail for their stance on corruption back in 2001-2003. Better yet, imagine the reaction of the Syrian people if Bashar carried out the magnificent counter attack of installing some of Damascus spring prisoners as ministers in the upcoming government change!
My wish for 2006 after what I saw in the Syrian parliament in the last day in 2005, is for this parliament (the independent part of the MPs at least) to become more active, outspoken and brave in fighting corruption and naming names publicly (I also hope that some of the "installed" MPs that we painfully listed to last year would resign, drop dead or spontaneously combust!). This might solve the biggest part of Syria's problems.
Thank you Josh and please do keep posting more often.
Idaf
PS. if you think that my view is worth publishing in one of your posts (as representing a Syrian point of view) then it'll be an honor
Extremely interesting analysis on Khaddam! I totally agree. As a young Syrian who lived the last part of Khaddam era and the transition to Bashar, allow me to add the following to your excellent analysis:
I think that Khaddam's reasons for his precisely timed comeback on the Syrian regime was because of a mix of reasons, mainly:
1- personal vendettas
2- fresh business deals
3- an oversized ego.
Think about it: here is a man that was selling his services to bidders from outside Syria who wanted to influence Syria's political and major business decisions.
He sold his services to the Hariri senior and continued his alliance with the new Hariri. He is a major partner in most of Hariri's businesses in Syria, Lebanon, Saudi and France as was Hariri a partner in his business in Syria, whereas Rafiq Hariri's business competitors in Lebanon and Syria were having an extremely hard time finding any foothold in Syria . One major example: Prince Al-Walid Bin Talal who was unable to enter the Syrian market until Bashar came to power.. which by the way added to Khaddam's mafia grievances in the last 5 years. Until 2000, it was very well known that it would be extremely hard for any big player from outside or inside Syria to enter the Syrian market unless they made someone from Khaddam's mafia a partner (Coca-cola, Philip-Morris, Jaguar are just a few of Khaddam's businesses in Syria with partnerships with the Hariri and other Saudis, plus the countless local businesses and chains in Syria) not to mention his sons and wife illegal businesses of smuggling, trade in nuclear waste, etc. I was personally told in 1998 (by a son of ex-senior bathist from the old -and now expired- guards) of a very well-known meeting between Al-walid bin Talal and Assad senior in Damascus where the prince begged Hafez to keep Khaddam cronies away from him as he was being kept out of the Syrian market because he refused to pay "the partnership fees" to one of Khaddam sons. I personally think that it was not possible for Emaar (the Dubai based mega properties investment company) to come to Syria with its 5 Billions Dollars investment if Khaddam was not "gently" kicked out from power during the last 5 years. Oh and by the way, did anyone else notice how Future TV (owned by Hariri) does not play Syrian TV shows unless they were produced by the Al-Sham Int... you guessed it.. it is owned by Khaddam!
Unfortunately, Syria was and still is run by corrupted mafia-style businessmen/politicians for the last 30 years, where Lebanon has been run by a larger number of corrupted mafia-style businessmen/politicians/sectarian Za'ims since its creation. These Lebanese and Syrian mafias interchanging control turfs in both countries and many powerful partnerships were created over the years of Syria in Lebanon.. both sides are to blame.
The Personal Vendetta!
As for Khaddam's remarks on the foreign minister, it is a fact that Al-Sharaa lost a lot of the glamour he had in the nineties. He should be blamed for Syria's recent foreign policy missteps. But although this incompetence begs for change in the foreign ministry's head, it should be clearly stated that Farouk Al-Sharaa was and still is seen by the Syrian public as one of the few "clean hands" in the brutal and corrupted world of the Syrian regime. For more than 20 years, no one ever heard in Syria of any illegal activity by Al-Sharaa or any of his relatives (while it is a sad truth, it is something rare and admirable in the dirty world of Syrian regime). Given that Khaddam held, and obviously still holds, grudge for Al-Sharaa, this gives even more credibility to the rumors that prevailed in Syria during the last 5 years about tensions between Al-Sharaa and Khaddam, not always because of policy-related reasons! The rumors said that Al-Shara'a was critical of Khaddam wide-scale corruption and his sons imposed siege on investment in Syria.
As I see it, Khaddam has surely lost his mind. He lost control on Lebanon back in 1998 to Bashar, then lost leadership in Syria to Bashar again in 2000 and finally his corrupted empire is being continuously threatened by both legal businesses as well as other mafias (relatives of the president and others) who were finally permitted to enter the Syrian market since Bashar came to power. I think that sometime in the last 5 years he knew that sooner or later his turn will come in the list of the old-guards heads rolling out of office.. it was Zu'by (when Bashar was heading the anti-corruption campaign between 1998 and 2000 under Hafez), Tlass and other military and security chiefs heads rolled after that and Khaddam was being put out of duty gradually in a polite way for years, maybe as a "gratitude" for his services to Bashar's father and maybe because Bashar did not want to make an enemy out of him because of Khaddam's mafia connections inside Syria and personal political allies outside that may threaten Assad's regime. In his interview with the robotic and miserably-researched journalist, it was blatantly clear how Khaddam was more enraged because of slowly losing grip of political and business power on a the business/political level and more importantly of how Shara'a (his rival) becoming the only one from the old guards not put out of office!
For god's sake, the man was for a while the ruler of a country (Lebanon) and was preparing himself for taking Lebanon back plus having Syria after Hafez died, thinking that Bashar will be a stooge manipulated by him.. eventually, it seems that either Bashar was able to gently and smoothly replace the corrupted old guards with technocrats (Dardari being the most successful example) or that his new corrupted inner-circle was able to replace the old ones with new -but multiple and less brutal- mafias (or maybe both of these reasons are true)! Either case Khaddam was enraged and slowly planned his exit strategy for the last few years. The Hariri fiasco -regardless of who did it- was Khaddam's biggest chance and the most beneficial financially and politically in the long run in his view.
For people like Khaddam, who served in a dictatorship for so long, the Syrian people do not matter .. they simply are irrelevant in Khaddam's calculations. We have to admit that people in Syria are enraged and feel stabbed in the back. The possibility that the Syrian regime is involved in killing Hariri does not take away the fact that most Syrians (in and outside Syria) are seeing the whole Hariri and aftermath as a huge threat to their economy, their rights in the Golan, their security and their country as whole. The reason for the Syrian people view is because international and regional parties are itching to gain on Syria's expense in the current turmoil. I think that he really thought that he would be back with a vengeance when Bashar's regime would fall because of external pressures that he solely was able to revive (a new service sold by Khaddam to the highest bidder). With his speech he just made friends with the Saudis, the French, the Americans, the Syrian opposition (including the Muslim Brotherhood who was brutally crushed in Hama when he was its mayor!) and -strangely as it may seem- the Israelis (Didn't you notice how he did not utter a single bad word on Israel, not even when the interviewer included it in his examples of who might killed Hariri.. something very weird when considering his Bathist pan-Arabist Anti-Israeli ideology that he preached and ruled with for the last 35 years!). This gives more credibility to what Ma'arif published few days ago stating that Israeli officials visited Khaddam in Paris a lot during the last six months (and just recently published that its editor-in-chief was "scolded" by the Mosad for this scoop!).
One final note, if the Lebanese sectarian warlords now applauding Khaddam think that all of what he presented was credible, then they should take the whole package he offered and spare Syrians the decades long accusations.. Khaddam in his long speech (that was sometimes disgusting when he preached on freedom and corruption) cleared Syria's name from many of the major issues these same Lebanese warlords are currently utilizing in their political struggles for power. He cleared Syria's name from the blood of Moauadh (former Lebanese president), he made it clear that Samir Jaja' did kill Karami (former PM) and how it was not Syria that insisted for him to be jailed (contrary to what the Lebanese Maronite urban legend widely say), he also told the story of General Aoun and how Syria requested that he is brought to power as defense minister after kicking him from the presidency he held by force and many other issues!
What Bashar should do now?
The Khaddam empire he built on corruption in Syria/Lebanon/Saudi/France/..etc. was very well known to normal Syrians. Almost month ago (long before the interview) one independent MP requested that the government open Khaddam's corruption files. Knowing that Khaddam influence was very well established within the corrupted mafias inside Syria and other mafias outside such as the Hariri's (his biggest business partners) and some Saudi conglomerates, this was one of the bravest things done in the Syrian parliament last year (and when I say Mafia, I mean just that: a brutal business empire rotating around a family). On the last parliament session in 2005 many of the MPs were naming names in corruptions charges and threatening to open the corruption files of people still in power (including ministers) related to Khaddam's mafia.
The good thing that I see from the whole Khaddam fiasco is that more corruption charges would be openly thrown both ways now and that the Syrian parliament (or at least some of its members hopefully) would raise the demands of bringing people to justice openly. We saw a glimpse of this few days ago when one independent MP demanded the release of Dalila and Homsy because -as he put it- "they stood in the face of Khaddam's corruption". I think this is a golden opportunity for Bashar -if he is intelligent enough- to seize the moment and release the political prisoners (in the coming release expected on Eid Al-Adha in less than 10 days) who were jailed during Damascus spring and -to save face- blame Khaddam (rightly or wrongly) for "manipulating the authorities" and putting these brave men in jail for their stance on corruption back in 2001-2003. Better yet, imagine the reaction of the Syrian people if Bashar carried out the magnificent counter attack of installing some of Damascus spring prisoners as ministers in the upcoming government change!
My wish for 2006 after what I saw in the Syrian parliament in the last day in 2005, is for this parliament (the independent part of the MPs at least) to become more active, outspoken and brave in fighting corruption and naming names publicly (I also hope that some of the "installed" MPs that we painfully listed to last year would resign, drop dead or spontaneously combust!). This might solve the biggest part of Syria's problems.
Thank you Josh and please do keep posting more often.
Idaf
PS. if you think that my view is worth publishing in one of your posts (as representing a Syrian point of view) then it'll be an honor
سوري | يناير 06, 2006
0 Comments:
إرسال تعليق
<< الصفحة الرئيسية