Henry Kissinger On Syria

As usual. Dr. Kissinger's realpolitik brain is engaged instead of just his mouth:

“First of all, Syria is not a historic state. It was created in its present shape in 1920, and it was given that shape in order to facilitate the control of the country by France,” he began, explaining the root of the present crisis.

“Secondly, it’s a country that is divided into many ethnic groups, a multiplicity of ethnic groups, and that means that an election doesn’t give you the same results as in the United States because every ethnic group votes for its own people … Moreover these ethnic groups are very antagonistic to each other. You have Kurds, Druzes, Alawites, Sunnis and 10 to 12 Christian ethnic groups.”

The notion that these groups could ever get together and form a coalition government, as proposed in the Western media, is not only unrealistic but “inconceivable,” says Kissinger. “On the whole it is an ethnic and sectarian country… it is now a civil war between sectarian groups.”

(as quoted from his remarks at a gathering at the Ford School earlier this summer)

Kissinger's solution? Allow Syria to break up along its natural lines. He's entirely correct. Especially since al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood are so actively involved with the insurgents.

As it is, the Syrian Kurds already have a de facto alliance with their compatriots just over the border in Iraq, and the Alawites, the Shi'ites and what left of the Christians have the beginnings of a redoubt in northwest Syria.