Jakob Kesava Moscow: On Syria: For A Friend...

I had originally written this for a friend who was genuinely confused about what is and has been going on in the Syrian Arab Republic for years. As an American, it can be very hard to be able to discern ‘what exactly is going on' there. A lot of American news sources say the same things, while international media say the opposite. But Syria is different. Would you believe me if I told you that Syria, which now looks like the right picture, used to look like the left?

Would you believe me if I said that was just a short 6 years ago?

Since the beginning of the Civil War, Syria has been utterly destroyed in a physical, human, political, and spiritual sense. And it didn’t have to happen. But it did. This is a sad story I am about to tell you, but it is true. What you are about to read contradicts a lot of what you may have heard about Syria. But when a country transforms from a cosmopolitan, secular, modern country, to a heap of rubble with jihadists running everywhere, there is something bigger going on. This is a very short story of Syria, using 33 different sources, to attempt to give an overall picture of the conflict in Syria. I hope that this writing increases your knowledge, ability to critically examine claims about Syria, and, if nothing else, have compassion for the people of this bereft country

Jakob Musick

May 11 2017

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This is just an overview to give you some historical perspective. Maybe you can pass it along to some friends. The government (of the United States) has a particular position that is not the same as other countries. Many media outlets just report what US officials say with no skepticism at all, i.e. they trust the authorities. Whether you do, that is up to you. (Note: In original document footnotes were embedded. They were lost in the transition to Blogger. I apologize. The list of on-line sources is listed at the end)

Syria borders Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan. Before the Civil War began in 2011, it was multi-ethnic (Arabs, Greeks, a people called the Druze, Alawites, there is even a very small number of cities which speak a form of ancient Aramaic [the language that Jesus would have spoke if he were a historical personage]) and multi-religious (Islam, Christianity, Jews, Druze, Alawites). After World War One, the Empires that were victorious (France and UK particularly) divided up the Ottoman Empire (which dated to the middle ages and also had a culture of religious and ethnic tolerance, up to the 20th century, in which they attacked Armenians). There was an agreement between Britain and France, who both wanted colonies in the Middle East called Sikes-Pikotes agreement. This agreement determined the borders (for the most part) that we see in the Middle East today, particularly Syria. It is shaped in a very un-natural way, as it was literally just the French diplomat drawing in like a trapezoid what they wanted. Syria was a colony for a little bit and then gained independence. Like many other middle eastern countries, it ended up independent by the 1950’s and was based on an Arab (though tolerant) Nationalist ideology. These countries-- Iraq, Syria, Egypt-- tended to be closer to the Soviet Union in the Cold War than the United States. The fact that they all opposed Israel, which is arguably USA’s closest ally-- also intensified that. By 2000, the Cold War had ended. Syria was still a state that was mildly repressive, secularism was enforced by the government (as in religion was always a private matter, tolerance but no religion endorsed by gov.), and the Presidency passed from Hafez Al-Assad to his son Bashar Al-Assad, who is still president today. And it had mended ties with the United States and its’ satellites by then, though still vehemently opposed to Israel (Israel has occupied a piece of Syria called Golan Heights illegally since Syria lost a war with Israel in the 1960’s). In 2001, the United States and its allies started what they called The War On Terror, which is extremely broad and involves so many countries but I’m going to guess you generally know what that is because we grew up with it. Torture is not legal in the United States, and the United States government was harshly criticized and embarrassed when it was revealed it was torturing middle easterners it had captured and accused of being ‘terrorists’ (as we will see that label can be applied to a broad group of people), so the United States gov. Around 2002 began a policy they called ‘extraordinary rendition’ which in actual English means ‘special circumstances -- terrorism- allows us to send our prisoners to other countries who will torture them for us because it is legal there’. Torture is legal and regular in Egypt and to a lesser extent in Syria. At this time (2002-2004), Syria and Egypt were more than willing to do this for the United States. By 2004, things have changed. This can be tied to developments with two other countries, who are vehemently opposed to the United States that have been gaining more power, power to rival the United States-- The Islamic Republic of Iran and The Russian Federation. The fact that these two countries were getting strong enough to rival the United States (in certain circumstances), and the fact that they both opposed the American invasions of Iraq (2003), Libya (2011), and other pieces of American policy quickly destroyed whatever relationship potential there was between Syria and the United States. Wesley Clark is an American General who ran for president in 2004. This is what he reported in his book, “In Clark's book, Winning Modern Wars, published in 2003, he describes his conversation with a military officer in the Pentagon shortly after 9/11 regarding a plan to attack seven Middle Eastern countries in five years: ‘As I went back through the Pentagon in November 2001, one of the senior military staff officers had time for a chat. Yes, we were still on track for going against Iraq, he said. But there was more. This was being discussed as part of a five-year campaign plan, he said, and there were a total of seven countries, beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and finishing off Iran.’” If this was accurate as to American policy, that meant that the government was preparing to invade Syria even before it stopped sending people to be tortured there. This “plan” has only been partly carried out. Iraq was invaded in 2003, Syria was invaded this year, Lebanon was invaded by American-ally Israel multiple times, most recently in 2006, Libya was couped by the United States and NATO in 2011, Somalia is still in anarchy, and Sudan has been partitioned by support from the West leading to the creation of a new territory, South Sudan and a civil war there. There was an abortive push for war with Sudan when the appearance of the “Darfur campaign” around 2006, but the United States, which accused Sudan of human rights violations (that is what it normally does before it invades/intervenes in countries, see Nazi Germany, Grenada, Nicaragua, Cuba, Libya, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Kuwait, Iran) didn't end up acting. So 16 years after this ‘plan’ from 2001, only 2 governments have withstood the United States-- Iran & Syria. Syria is seen as the ‘junior partner’ of Iran and they are very close. Here is a timeline of the current conflict:

2011: *following protests against other authoritarian governments in the region, protests begin in Syria

*Protests get violent with both the government and opposition forces attacking each other

*Government takes people into custody and allegedly tortures them, just like they had for the Americans in 2004. Reports of toenails being pulled off were in a dossier I was given to read at work

2012: *Widespread revolt, bombings and violent incidents sweep across the formerly peaceful country

*An opposition, composed of both Islamist (Islamic Fundamentalists who want a religious government) and secular Western-backed opposition rises up in several towns

*The United States accuses Syria of human rights violations and condemns the government

2013: *Iran and Russia both support Syrian government with weapons, United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain send arms to the opposition.

*Heeding the call of lower Jihad, or religious warfare for the faith (of Islam) thousands of militants start streaming into Syria from Saudi Arabia, the gulf states, Turkey, Russia, and Europe to create a religious state

*United States says that if the Syrian government uses chemical weapons in the civil war, it will intervene militarily

2014: *Hizbollah, a Shia paramilitary allied with Iran and Syria comes to the assist of the Syrian government against opposition

*One year almost to the day, as inspectors from the United Nations are in the country to make sure there are no chemical weapons, chemical weapons are used against civilians in a city called Ghouta, under the control of rebel forces. The opposition, UK, and the US immediately blame the government and the United States prepares to intervene. Syria, Iraq, and Iran, as well as Russia blame the opposition. Internal opposition to a war in the United States, along with a United Nations agreement prevent the United States from invading this year, though they do get as far as a battleship stationed off Syria’s coast

2015: *Throughout the past year, a militant group that emerged from the chaos after the United States invasion of Iraq, now known as Islamic State, sweeps across miles and miles of desert, establishing a caliphate, or Islamic religious state, over parts of Iraq and Syria with startling speed. Critics in the West, Russia, and Iran say that the secular part of the opposition now is practically nothing.

*Russia gives the assist to the Syrian government by flying troops and helping execute bombings on opposition held territories

*Another chemical attack happens in a north Syrian town. Turkey blames the Syrian government, though Wikileaks documents released later show that this attack was conducted by Turkey itself, an American ally, with the intent of provoking an American invasion

2016: * Russia withdraws its troops saying it had fulfilled its part of the mission

*Syrian government starts to gain ground against secular opposition, Islamic state starts to lose its momentum

* Some western states (France in particular) drop their demand that the Syrian president must resign

2017: *Israel bombs a town in Syria, claiming they were targeting Hizbollah

*Turkey and Russia suddenly become friends, taking some of Turkey’s intent to overthrow the government of Syria away. After this, along with the reconciliation policy where the government was allowing militants to give away their arms with no punishment, is implemented and reaches hundreds of towns. Things are the calmest they have been in the first time since 2011

*2 weeks before the United States started a bombing campaign (this week), the United States invaded Syria, saying it was targeting the Islamic State. It set up a base close to the capital of Islamic State and blocked the Syrian army from liberating it itself. This week, another incident of chemical gasses being released occurs. The West, opposition, and Islamists all blame the Syrian government immediately. Syria, Iran, Russia, and Hizbollah say it was the rebels. United States , which had already invaded Syria illegally, begins bombing Syria.

The sides have changed somewhat but as of now here are the sides

Syria, Islamic Republic Of Iran, Russia, Hizbollah, Iraq, Popular Front For the Liberation Of Palestine, Palestinian Liberation Army, Ansarullah/Yemen, International Brigades, Democratic People’s Republic Of Korea (North Korea), Egypt, Belarus, People’s Republic Of China, Algeria, Syrian Resistance

United States, Syrian Rebels (secular and religious), France, UK

Islamic State, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Grey Wolves, Muslim Brotherhood, Caucasus Emirate

Kurds in Syria/Iraq/Turkey, Kurdistan Worker’s Party, Marxist-Leninist Communist Party, Communist Party Of Turkey (Marxist-Leninist), Marxist Leninist Propaganda Union, Marxist Leninist Party (Communist Reconstruction), International Freedom Battalion, Communist Labour Party of Turkey, Antifascist International, Czech Republic

What you choose to believe is up to you, but here are what the contenders views are:

Syrian Secular opposition: Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad is a murderer. The west, in not invading Syria until now, have been complicit in these human rights violations. We want a western-style state in Syria, allied with the United States and NATO.

Islamic State: The government in Damascus is Kafir (infidel). They are illegitimate in God’s eyes and we will destroy them, along with the United States and Turkey, which have foolishly intervened. Iraq and Iran are full of Shia’s, Alawites, Druze, and Christians who are kafir and who should be punished by killing them. We want to extend our holy state into all corners of the world, starting with Syria

Turkey: 2011-2016: Syria is murdering innocent civilians. The Kurds are undermining our security and taking advantage of this and they should be stopped. Chemical attacks are the result of the Syrian government.

Israel: Syrian government is harbouring Hizbollah which are terrorists, and we see it is as perfectly justified to shoot missiles and send planes into Syria when necessary. The United States and the West should have declared war on Iran ages ago. They want to destroy us.

Hizbollah: We will liberate the Palestinian people and wipe the racist state of Israel off the face of the earth. The war in Syria is partly israel’s fault. They support these Sunni terrorists of Islamic State because they want to destabilize Syria, which is Iran’s friend. These takfiri (‘radical’, ‘wrong’) terrorists of Islamic state are at least supported indirectly by Israel and the United States.

Syria: The United States has from the very beginning of this conflict been intervening in our sovereign state, including supporting terrorists who bomb our country, because we are a stepping stone to Iran. It has already been revealed that Turkey had staged chemical attacks before for their advantage. We did not “kill our own civilians” with chemical stocks. We had none as they were destroyed, and why would we unleash chemical gasses with UN inspectors in our country? That makes no sense.

Islamic Republic of Iran: The United States and Israel are continuing their imperial project in Syria. The uprising in Syria from the very beginning was sponsored by Turkey, Israel, and the United States. The United States has secretly nurtured and supported terrorists and Islamic state from the very beginning as a way to destabilize the region and achieve hegemony.

Russian Federation: The Syrian government is legitimate and these rebel forces are mostly foreign creations. What Turkey, the United States, and the gulf states are doing in supporting these terrorists is criminal. The West and the United States has said they would not hesitate in intervening in Syria, and the rebels just gave them their opportunity, unlike in 2014, when they failed.

Turkey: The United States effort in intervening on the rebels side should be applauded, but they should stop supporting the Kurdish people in the region. We invaded northern Syria to stop the Kurds from controlling any areas around our border as this will jeopardize our security. We believe the Syrian government is gassing its own people.

United States/UK/France: We, as the stewards of peace of the world, have warned Syria multiple times, and they still have not listened to us. They are a rogue state, supported by Iran, which supports terrorists. We are fully justified in invading Syria, not only to conquer the capital of Islamic State, but also to help the civilians of Syria who are suffering under their government.

That is basically it in a nutshell. What conclusions you draw from this information is up to you…