U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria Kofi Annan resigned from his post on Thursday after having failed to implement his six-point peace plan, launched in April, which was supposed to effect a cease-fire in the war-torn country if anyone actually believed that it could have. To have succeeded in this extremely complex mission, Annan theoretically required the support of the international community. Asked to explain his resignation, in careful diplomatic language, he blamed "disunity in the international community" for hampering his ability to carry out his task. In undiplomatic language, Annan blamed Moscow for sabotaging his mission. But Annan himself had a hand in his failure. In his great naivete, he believed that adding Tehran to the equation would bring about a solution. Annan, incidentally, was not the only naive one in this scenario. Those who sent him to Damascus, as if he were Alice in Wonderland, were also quite naive. For those of you who have not yet understood: This Middle East of ours is undergoing a dangerous and serious shift, and to solve the current problems we need actions, not words. Libya is a perfect example of that. How symbolic that the day Annan decided to leave, the fighting in Aleppo intensified. The army and the rebels are waging a crucial battle over the city that is home to 2.5 million Syrians. Under Annan's six-point peace plan, the forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were supposed to hold their fire and retreat from the cities while committing to an inclusive political process. That is exactly the opposite of what Assad's army ended up doing in the last weeks. On Thursday, as fighter jets were bombing rebel strongholds in Aleppo, large ground forces arrived by land aiming to capture the areas that had fallen under the control of the Free Syrian Army. The U.N. Security Council was supposed to back Annan's peace plan, but in practice, the Russians (even if they won't admit it) are doing everything in their power to buy Assad time, and more importantly, to buy Assad more targets. This does not guarantee a victory for Assad, but it ensures many more weeks of fighting and hundreds more victims. The inclusive political process stipulated in Annan's plan also means that Assad will have to leave Damascus, sooner or later. Come on, seriously. Did anyone really think that Assad would sign such a plan- U.S. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wants to appoint a new envoy in Annan's place as soon as possible, but he was fair enough to declare that Annan's successor would not have an easy task. Annan had so many good intentions, as did the people who appointed him, the ones who populate the U.N. headquarters in New York. It is incredible to witness, time and time again, just how foreign the way our region works is to them. The next envoy will most likely arrive in Damascus with words, words, words, while a solution can only come on the back of actions, actions, actions.
