Clans And Cartels

Every comparison of Bashar al-Assad's heired family empire with other dynasties or whatsoever might ultimately end as a disgraceful insult of the last mentioned. So let me be clear straight in the beginning that the following comparison I'm sketching is not to be regarded as an impertinence towards the ones I'm figuring out besides the Syrian regime. Otherwise I risk to end with a cut-off head or a dozen of deadly gunshot wounds somewhere in the outback. That's not what I want.

The Assad clan and the drug cartels from the Mexican meth producing families to the Colombian cocaine barons have a lot in common. In both cases the top heads representing their dynasties are dressed in good-shaped expensive clothes, both prefer good-looking women at their side, both are emperors over their felt natural-given rights to defend their rulership even taking a lot of people's lives; the first one as highest representative, the other ones as businessmen. Both are dealing with the death balancing it as necessary side-effect of their actions to keep up the - family affairs.

The main difference between both clan systems is that no official in the world would or could tolerate any kind of exile or promoted exit strategy for a drug baron while Assad is up to now flattered to choose a safe haven taking all the money with him he needs to contain his family's luxury life.

Imagine that offer would have been given a lot of years ago to Pablo Escobar, the drug lord legend of South America. Officials from all over the world would have wooed him with the guarantee of granted safety for all his ones even including the worst contract killers among his tribe. Imagine the gigantic global outcry; mothers who've lost their children to overdoses or gang shootouts would had protest enormously loud side by side with frustrated DEA agents and other opponents of the organized drug crime.

I don't know the exactly number of victims Escobar had accounted for during his reign as head of the cocaine cartel. Possibly the dark figure might been a similar number than the one of Assad's victims up to now. Possibly much times lower. The drug related crimes of El Patrón are separatedly seen exactly the same than the power maintaining related crimes of the first shabeeh. But while the first ones are clearly regarded as an absolute no-go the last mentioned crimes are tried to sell to the public perception as justified sacrifices.

And that is the point where my inner logic refuses to accept that as given. Sorry, but there's no difference if a teener playing at the street corner is taken down by a regime sniper's bullet or during a drug related shootout. In both cases a young life ends abruptly and a mourning family is left demanding justice for their brutal loss.

To catch the responsible drug dealer who fired the deadly shot at the minor is in almost all civilizations a moral duty. But where is the moral duty of the world to demand an extensive investigation in the child murdering caused by a ruthless regime crony? To take the regime top to responsibility for such random crimes? Where?

As long as Assad stays in power with the help of the global representatives my inner logic stays to refuse that there exists some kind of global justice. And being confronted with the crucial question whom of both I have to choose pardoning his deeds I would take a deep breath before deciding myself for the Colombian.