Shell games afoot in Syria

Shell games afoot in Syria
Shell games are nothing new. They have been popular among con men for centuries. By definition a shell game is a method of deceiving or cheating someone by moving things from one place to another in order to hide what you are doing.

For some time now the Governor of the Central Bank of Syria has been conspiring with the Assad regime in playing a shell game with the people of Syria using Syrian currency and the US dollar.

The value of the Syrian pound (lira) has been deteriorating steadily since 2011 and in spite of the fact that the bottom is soon to fall out of the war torn country’s economy, the Assad regime has been able, with the Governor’s help, to manipulate the fluctuating value of Syrian currency to its own advantage and provide fuel for its own propaganda. 

Recently the regime’s media made a big deal over the fact that the governor was able to reduce the dollar exchange rate of 650 pounds to 600 pounds -- despite the fact that the dollar exchange nearly two months ago was less than 500 pounds!

The story of the regime with the Syrian people since the beginning of the revolution until the present day is that Assad negotiates with trade-offs between misery and most miserable, and between bad and worse, even though his presence and continuity has consistently proven to be the worst choice of all.

At this critical period, economists have begun to recognize an ironic pattern that has not been noticed by many of the people in Syria. At the beginning of each month the regime provokes a drop in the value of the Syrian lira which results in a higher exchange rate for the US dollar. 

When the exchange rate for the dollar peaks, the regime then sells dollars to exchange companies for the maximum amount of Syrian lira. The flood of US dollars in the market then results in a drop in its value which artificially raises the value of the Syrian lira.

Through this process the Assad regime is able to continue paying the monthly salaries for government employees as they are always paid in Syrian currency.  Moreover, the regime makes a profit by the artificially manipulated difference between the old price and the new price.

Not only has Assad become an expert at devious sleight of hand games when it comes to the international community, he also excels at fooling his own loyalists and supporters with his shell game conspiracies.

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