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The author of this article describes the Syrian Democratic Forces as "counter-revolutionary", whereas the Free Syrian Army are the "real" rebels. He/she does not recognise that some FSA units have been coopted by Turkey and used in its counter-revolutionary military intervention in Syria. Turkey, with the aid of these groups, has seized Syrian territory in the north of Aleppo province. Turkey has always been hostile to Rojava, and more recently to the broader north Syrian federation. This antagonism is motivated by several factors, including hostility to Kurdish self-determination, fear that a Kurdish-led movement in Syria will inspire Turkey's Kurds to rebel, and hostility to the secular leftist politics of the PYD. Since the start of the anti-Assad rebellion in Syria, Turkey has given weapons and other aid to some Syrian rebel groups. But this aid came with strings attached, including a requirement to support Turkey's anti-Rojava policy. The United States initially supported Turkey's policy. Turkey is a NATO member, whereas the PYD shares the political ideas of the PKK, which is on the US's "terrorism" list. The US allowed its allies Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to supply modest amounts of aid to the Syrian rebels - enough to keep the war going but not enough to win. The aim was to apply pressure for a negotiated transition, where Assad would be replaced by a new leadership, but the capitalist state would be preserved. The US approach changed after ISIS captured Mosul. This threatened US efforts to create a stable pro-US government in Iraq. The growth of ISIS also threatened instability in the broader Middle East. A few months after the fall of Mosul, the siege of Kobane occurred. After some hesitation, the US began to cooperate with the YPG/YPJ against ISIS. Turkey had different priorities and followed a different policy. It was still obsessed with the Kurdish threat, and continued to aid ISIS in its war against Rojava. It is only recently that the Turkey-ISIS alliance broke down, leading to fighting in al-Bab (though attempts have been made to patch it up). For the SDF, Turkey and ISIS are the most immediate threats. Hence the cooperation with the US against ISIS, and the recently reported cooperation with Assad forces in the west of Manbij district against the Turkish invasion. Of course, neither the US nor Assad regime is a reliable ally. Chris Slee ________________________________ From: Marxism <[email protected]> on behalf of Michael Karadjis via Marxism <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, 4 March 2017 5:33:06 PM To: Chris Slee Subject: [Marxism] US Arab Spring policy? Third party counter-revolution ******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. ***************************************************************** US Arab Spring policy? Third party counter-revolution by eternispring ................. The “rebel” factions that the US has directly supported in Syria have always been those that do not fight Assad – in other words rebels that don’t rebel. The SDF position on Syria is identical to that of the US – a “third option” theoretically distinguishable from the regime but which ultimately involves indirect support to it. This “regime preservation by proxy” has been US policy in the conflict, helping it to avoid the criticisms which would otherwise arise from unmediated direct support – with other “proxy” US-backed allies of the regime include Iraqi army brigades (who currently form the biggest ground forces of the Assad regime) and the Egyptian al-Sisi regime. Another example of what’s talked about here is the famed “US only found 54 moderate rebels to fight ISIS”. Hundreds of outlets (mainstream and alternative) probably recirculated the original context-less source piece, in turn reaching millions of people. And in only a tiny minority will the crucial detail being missing: that there were only 54 signatories because the US stipulated that those who signed up sign a declaration to use their weapons only to fight ISIS, not Assad. This in turn provides the source material for “alternative media” outlets to repeat the upside-down narrative of a US conspiracy against the Assad regime.The result literally from just one misleading piece failing to add a line is millions of people understanding the issue upside down. This isn’t unique to Syria either; for instance you’ll often find Zionists say “the Palestinians rejected the 1947 UN partition plan which would’ve given a peaceful solution to the Arabs and Israelis”. And whilst this is certainly true, as ever the critical small-print is missing: that the Palestinians rejected a plan which a) divided a country which shouldn’t have been divided and b) even in this division gave away more than half of the territory to a minority largely foreign population. For decades such myths were allowed to expand before being adequately challenged. The reality is that every single faction the US has directly supported in the Syrian conflict have been brigades that have stopped fighting Assad. Whether its the SDF factions, the Mua’atasim Brigade or the New Syrian Army, all of these groups only got US support once they made clear they wouldn’t be fighting Assad. Some, like the NSA which operate on the Syrian-Iraqi border have even collaborated with the pro-Assad Iraqi government. The indirect support has also allowed the US to directly support the regime as well. By pursuing a “third path” the regime was eventually rehabilitated enough and by 2014 the US was bombing Assad’s enemies – “moderate” and extreme – alongside his airforce. Full: https://eternispring.wordpress.com/2017/03/03/us-arab-spring-policy-third-party-counter-revolution/?fb_action_ids=1414757321930172&fb_action_types=news.publishes _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/chris_w_slee%40hotmail.com _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
