It is as if a significant portion of our Ummah suffers from clinical schizophrenia, and is incapable of comprehending the relationship between cause and effect, between actions and consequences, and cannot grasp that sometimes when you make decisions, the aftermath is irreversible. You actually can go beyond the point of no return; and at that stage, you are literally in a situation that has no way out; except possibly the passage of time. Decades, and generations will live the consequences of these decisions.
The IMF loan to Egypt is an example. This was what political scientists call an “inflection point” in history. Nothing is the same after such events. Egypt is now burdened with a $12 billion 20 year debt agreement that will cost double the amount by the time it is paid off; and it will not be paid off, because the conditions of the agreement make it impossible to repay. Egyptian economic sovereignty, even the hope of it, evaporated on November 11th 2016. The aftermath of this will last for generations.
In Syria, after several months of nonviolent protests and brutal repression, a segment of the Syrian people (by no means the majority) made a decision to undertake armed revolution. That decision has led to the devastation of the entire society. Hundreds of thousands have been killed, millions have fled as refugees, millions more are internally displaced. Infrastructure is degraded to the point of nonexistence. At least one generation of children is growing up without access to education, and knowing nothing but war. Within a few years from the start of armed conflict, the cost of rebuilding Syria already far surpassed the country’s pre-war annual GDP. There is essentially no economy left. Even if you imagine that the rebels can push ahead and conquer the entire country, these are facts that are irreversible and are going to determine the future of the Syrian people for longer than any of us will live.
No matter who “wins” in Syria, no one will win, except international creditors and corporations. These are realities that cannot be undone, and that will have repercussions regardless of the outcome of the war. If you ask, “how do we get out of it?” the answer is, “you don’t”. These are the consequences of decisions in real life. That is why you are supposed to consider consequences before you make decisions.