Syrian Litmus Test: Davutoğlu, Kissinger, Larijani, Lavrov

To whom do the following statements belong? Before you answer, please consider the background, country of origin and political leaning of each of the responses.

1. “Syria is in no way similar to Libya, and [the effects of] creating another Benghazi in Syria would spread to Palestine, and ash rising from the flames would definitely envelop Israel.” a) Henry Kissinger b) Ali Ardashir Larijani c) Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov d) Ahmet Davutoğlu

2. “In reacting to one human tragedy, we must be careful not to facilitate another. … Does America consider itself obliged to support every popular uprising against any non-democratic government, including those heretofore considered important in sustaining the international system?” a) Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov b) Henry Kissinger c) Ali Ardashir Larijani d) Ahmet Davutoğlu

3. “Syria is a complicated multi-confessional state, and because we know that some of those calling for military intervention want to ruin this and turn Syria into a battleground for domination in the Islamic world.” a) Ali Ardashir Larijani b) Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov c) Ahmet Davutoğlu d) Henry Kissinger

4. “[Al-]Assad’s rule belongs to the Cold War era when governments were sacrificing freedom in the name of security from possible enemies, such as communists, hostile neighbors, terrorists and others.” a) Henry Kissinger b) Ahmet Davutoğlu c) Ali Ardashir Larijani d) Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov 

If you picked response B for all four questions: It’s Iran that warns the United States of the potential threat Israel faces due to the Syrian crisis; The United States draws attention to the tragedies of humanity and the fragility of the international system; It is Russia that is deeply concerned about potential proxy wars in the Middle East; and Turkey declares the al-Assad administration a relic of the Cold War. And if you actually take the owners of these statements seriously, then, there is no reason for the global and regional crises not to reach a solution. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a “B-response world.” The B-response world, or the “Balanced World,” is not compatible with the economically and politically imbalanced world we live in. Therefore, when we distance ourselves from the B-response world and return to our global realities we are faced with an “A-response world” or the “Abnormal World.” 

If you also picked more A-responses than B responses, then, we live in an A-response world. In the A-response world: America is concerned about Israel’s security; Russiacomplains about U.S interventionism and it is Iran that fears the collapse of the so-called “Islamic resistance axis.” If you are uttering “Yes, that’s it,” then you are seriously mistaken. Where is the peculiarity? 

Because all the A-responses are the wrong and all the B responses are the correct answers. 

Setting aside the Turkish foreign minister, if this is the result of Kissinger, Larijani and Lavro’s—who best represent the U.S.’s de facto stance on Syria independent from rhetoric, Iran’s incongruity, Russia’s mentality, respectively—litmus test, then waiting for a serious initiative toward a resolution in Syria is an exercise in futility. In other words, “Kissinger-Larijani-Lavrov axis” is only a different way of declaring “let al-Assad stay.” The results of this litmus test will be utilized in the new Middle East numerous times!

Hurriyet Daily News (15.06.2012)