ANN ARBOR — Seeking to bring some clarity to an emotionally-charged issue, the University of Michigan’s Students Allied for Freedom and Equality and Muslim Students’ Association hosted a panel discussion entitled ‘Syria Bleeds:An In-Depth Analysis Into the Uprising in Syria’ this past Wednesday.

A crowd of about 150 people attended including several audience members from off-campus, eager to hear a thorough presentation on the issues surrounding the uprising. 

A few tense moments punctuated the discussion as a handful of audience members challenged some assertions by the panel, which included Juan Cole, a University of Michigan history professor and author of ‘Engaging the Muslim World’ and the ‘Informed Comment’ blog, As’ad AbuKhalil, a professor of political science at California State University and author of ‘The Angry Arab News Service’ blog, and Muna Jondy, an immigration attorney who is president of the ‘United for a Free Syria’ organization and a recent key participant in an opposition meeting for Syria in Istanbul, Turkey. 

Most the time, however, the audience remained civil and eager to soak up understanding for what has become a complicated issue leading to the deaths of thousands of Syrians with no clear solution. 

Cole began by acknowledging the human element, saying from his Twitter feed he noted about 100-200 deaths per day in Syria, before talking about the geopolitics of the situation, noting that the United States has had to contend with much more opposition in potentially intervening in Syria than it is used to with Russia and China reluctant to agree in the UN Security Council to vote for any resolution condemning President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. Cole said both powers are wary over what happened with Libya when the council approved a no-fly zone with Russia and China abstaining from voting. Intervention led to the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians (along with Muammar Gaddafi), and eventually both lost out on key strategic interests for their lack of support for rebels. Both have similar interests with Syria, part of the reason why the U.S. and fellow powers have been “checked” from intervening, the opposite of the situation in 2003 in Iraq. 

“Geopolitics has conspired to produce a kind of stagnation on the side of the international response to the Syrian crisis, I’m afraid Syrians are kind of on their own,” he concluded. 

Jondy began by speaking about the role of women in the uprising, saying that their numbers have grown in participation. “Inside women have been very involved…I’m not trying to sugarcoat it, because there have been some valid concerns about what their role would be in a post-Assad Syria that need to be addressed, but two of the three main organizations representing revolutionaries are headed by women.” 

She also noted that women have suffered at the hands of the Syrian army, especially in what she said were widespread rape cases, noting that it is a problem that transcends culture but one the regime supporters are specifically known for committing. 

AbuKhalil, as the name of his blog may suggest, brought his own brand of fiery commentary into the mix. He called the uprising “spontaneous and genuine” and “not part of a conspiracy” but also had sharp criticisms for the direction of the movement against Assad. 

“I argue that this has been a hijacked popular uprising turned into a plot and agenda of an oppressive nature, for the Saudis and Qatar, the U.S. and Israel,” he said. He called Jondy’s portrayal “way too rosy to fit into the idea of what’s going on.” He said that those positioning themselves as friends of Syria are enemies of Syria in reality just as was the case with Iraq in 2003. 

“When I see John McCain championing a cause (of arming rebels or intervening with airstrikes) I find myself having a problem there.” AbuKhalil took the stance that “all Arab regimes are non-reformable” including the current one in Syria but added that he opposed the Syrian National Council as well, calling them “fanatics who hide as secular on TV” and citing the example of the Libyan rebels as being more extremist than they appeared before they were able to oust Gaddafi.  

“It’s totally disrespectful to contend that the revolution has been hijacked,” Jondy retorted, “these are people who want their freedom and they have been asking for it,” adding that a strong Sufi presence in Syria testifies to the lack of extremism there compared with other countries. 

She said that many members of the SNC are new converts to the movement. “However, I think people will come around, better late than never,” she said. 

Jondy later said that there hasn’t been money filtering in from outside, but AbuKhalil countered by saying that the SNC has admitted that Qatar and Saudi Arabia have given them arms, two oppressive regimes that he believes shows the true nature of the Syrian rebels and their plans for the country should Assad be ousted. He also expressed concern over what would happen to the minorities such as Christians, Druze, and Alawites in particular, who would would likely be major targets of violence due to their support of Assad. 

Cole continued to speak about the geopolitics of the region, answering questions about  what a post-Assad Middle East might look like, saying that it could end up being more of a challenge to Israel if Syrian rebels later align themselves with Egypt and Hamas in Palestine. 

AbuKhalil also criticized Assad earlier in his one of his speaking sessions, saying that the foreign policies supporting resistance (which are exaggerated, he said) do not justify its repressive policies. Assad supporters in the crowd said that the country had nonetheless been made into a relatively peaceful place under him that provides good benefits such as healthcare to its citizens, although they seemed outnumbered in the audience by those against him judging by applause. 

AbuKhalil ultimately expressed his frustration with the direction of the uprising and said that changes need to occur. He said he corresponds with people from various sides daily via the Web. 

“There are now foreign powers fighting in the name of the Syrian people, whose agenda is being trampled upon,” he said. “I do not want it to die down, if anything I want it to be relaunched against the regime and against the Syrian national council; it should focus on the concerns of the Syrian people themselves.” 

Despite reports of foreign influence all over the country as AbuKhalil referenced, Jondy believes the fate of the uprising will ultimately rest on the Syrians, acknowledging the uncertainty.  

“The reality is I think Syrians started and will have to finish it…we’ll see how it plays out.”