Spotlight: Political solution to Syrian crisis offers chances for global peace

In 2013, a ghastly video appeared online, showing a man, said to be a well-known rebel fighter, carves into the body of a government soldier and cuts out his heart and liver.

"I swear to God we will eat your hearts out, you soldiers of (President) Bashar (al-Assad). You dogs. God is greater!" the rebel said.

In the early hours of 21 August 2013, several opposition-controlled areas in the eastern suburbs of the capital Damascus was struck with rockets containing the chemical agent sarin, which killed 281 people at least. The attack was deemed the deadliest use of chemical weapons since the Iran-Iraq War. Both the government and the opposition traded accusations.

Those were just instances of all the years of bitter conflicts in Syria, where the dangerous ramifications of the crisis didn't stop at the sporadic incidents here and there.

In April 2013, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the now Islamic State (IS), announced the merger of his forces in Iraq and Syria and the creation of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. Leaders of al-Qaida-linked militants rejected the move, but fighters loyal to Baghdadi split from al-Qaida and helped the terror group remain in Syria.

In June 2014, the group formally declared the establishment of a "caliphate" - a state governed in accordance with Islamic law, or Sharia, by God's deputy on Earth, or caliph, who in this case was al-Baghdadi.

With scenes of mass and gruesome executions, the threats of the IS have started snowballing, as the group spewed venom in several Syrian areas and recently started hitting in other countries, including Western ones.

Last month, deadly attacks rocked Paris, killing 129 people and wounding 352 others. The attacks have sent shock waves across the world as many countries beefed up security and tightened checks on refugees, including those coming from Syria.

The Paris attacks have enlightened the international community that the first step of defeating terrorism is to solve the Syrian crisis.

At the G20 meeting in Turkey last month, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he welcomed the renewed sense of urgency to find a solution to the Syrian crisis after the Paris attacks, adding the world had a "rare moment" of diplomatic opportunity to end the violence.

Russia, the United States and powers from Europe and the Middle East outlined a plan for a political process in Syria leading to elections within two years in addition to ramping up their strikes against the IS and other hardline groups in a move to prevent the rebounding of terrorism on their countries.

Those powers also voiced desire to end the Syrian issue politically to resolve the refugee crisis, as Europe has become drowned with an influx of Syrian refugees seeking protection in EU countries.

"Without a doubt, solving the Syrian crisis will positively reflect on the regional and international stability and will mainly lead to the decline of the terrorism. We all know that Syria has become the main magnet for global jihadists, in a way that has exceeded that of Afghanistan or any other country, in which terrorism took hold and thrived," Osama Danura, a Syrian political researcher told Xinhua.

He said the West and particularly Turkey had a hand in the ignition of the religious extremism, adding that the Turkish government has turned a blind eye on the flow of jihadists from around the globe into Syria, in its hope for the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.

Danura also pointed out to the use of jihadists by the United States during the Afghanistan war and how the West have pinned hopes on similar groups during the Syrian crisis to achieve the goal of toppling the Syrian regime.

"If the Syrian crisis has not been ended, the geopolitical crack in Syria and Iraq caused by IS and other groups will have a contagious and cross-border effect and will reach Europe and America on a bigger scale than now," Danura noted.

"When we talk about the flames of terrorism, we can say that such a phenomenon could burn very crucial arenas, at least on the regional scale. Terror could burn Lebanon, Jordan, and even the Gulf states could be targets for the expanding terrorism," he said.

"IS has started in Iraq, continued into Syria, Yemen, Libya and Egypt and even Tunisia... terrorism is like the fan that sends hot, poisonous air 360 degrees from its center, which is Syria and Iraq, something that will affect the international peace and stability," Danura added.

For his part, Hussam Shaib, another political analyst, agreed that finding a political solution to Syria's crisis will be conducive in achieving peace and stability, not only in the region, but in the entire world.

"I think the West should cooperate with the Syrian state and its allies, like Hezbollah and Iran, because these forces are strong and can be a strong hand in the battle against terrorism if a true cooperation took place," he said.

Afif Dallah, a political researcher, said fighting terrorism should be the priority because "you cannot talk about a political settlement in Syria with the extreme groups mushrooming across the country."

"With the Syrian army backed by the Russian air strikes are achieving progress on ground against the terrorists, we can say that a political solution is possible," he said.

Last month, Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem underscored the importance of countering terrorism as a way to protect the international peace and stability.

"Eliminating terrorism is a necessity to protect the international peace and stability and a prelude to any solution in Syria," he said, stressing that "the countries that support terrorism should bring their actions to a halt in accordance to the related UN resolutions."

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while condemning the deadly Paris terrorist attacks, said the French are suffering the same terror as the Syrians have been.

"What France suffered from savage terror is what the Syrian people have been enduring for five years," Assad said during his meeting with a visiting delegation of French lawmakers.

In a jab at France, the embattled leader said "the wrong policies of the West, including France, in the Arab region have contributed to the spread of terrorism," stressing the importance of adopting new policies that could be efficient in curbing the support of terror groups, by drying up their resources and halting their logistic and political support until finally eliminating them completely.

Syria's Foreign Ministry also repeatedly warned of the grave danger on the security and peace in the entire world.

"Terrorism has no boundaries and will surely rebound on its backers, something which requires uniting all sincere international efforts to eradicate this scourge and correct the wrong policies to achieve an efficient counter-terror effort and preserve the peace and stability in the region and the world," the ministry stated last month. Enditem