Re: [Marxism] Northern Syria: Massive ethnic cleansing, humanitarian catastrophe, foreign intervention and betrayal

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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I quoted Loubna Mrie's article because it gave a good account of the process of 
Turkey coopting rebel groups.


I disagree with some other points in the article.


- I disagree with Mrie's interpretation of what happened in Rojava in July 
2012.  In fact there was a largely peaceful uprising in Kurdish areas.  People 
surrounded military posts and called on the soldiers to surrender, which in 
most cases they did.  (See Revolution in Rojava, by Michael Knapp, Anja Flach 
and Ercan Ayboga, Pluto Press, 2016, p. 54-56)

The Assad regime, with its hands full elsewhere, accepted this as a fait 
accompli for the time being, though making it clear it wanted to eventually 
regain control of the Kurdish areas.


- Regarding events in Aleppo city in 2016, the conflict between the SDF and 
Turkish-backed rebels in Aleppo had a long history.  See for example the 
Amnesty International report entitled "Syria: Armed opposition groups 
committing war crimes in Aleppo city":


https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/05/syria-armed-opposition-groups-committing-war-crimes-in-aleppo-city/


Chris Slee





From: Marxism <marxism-boun...@lists.csbs.utah.edu> on behalf of Louis Proyect 
via Marxism <marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, 24 January 2018 12:41 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: Re: [Marxism] Northern Syria: Massive ethnic cleansing, humanitarian 
catastrophe, foreign intervention and betrayal

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On 1/23/18 8:12 PM, Chris Slee via Marxism wrote:
> An article by Loubna Mrie explains the cooption process (without using that 
> term) as follows:

You have the AUDACITY to quite Mrie's article, one that states:

The Democratic Union Party (PYD) which currently controls several
Kurdish areas never supported the revolution. In July 2012, it reached
an agreement with the regime to consolidate control over its territories
in return for rejecting the opposition. It later physically fought FSA
units.

Revolutionary Kurdish forces such as those in East Aleppo also turned on
the FSA. By the end of 2016, Kurdish militias were actively helping the
Damascus regime reconquer East Aleppo.
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Re: [Marxism] Northern Syria: Massive ethnic cleansing, humanitarian catastrophe, foreign intervention and betrayal

[Louis Proyect via Marxism]

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On 1/23/18 8:12 PM, Chris Slee via Marxism wrote:

An article by Loubna Mrie explains the cooption process (without using that 
term) as follows:


You have the AUDACITY to quite Mrie's article, one that states:

The Democratic Union Party (PYD) which currently controls several 
Kurdish areas never supported the revolution. In July 2012, it reached 
an agreement with the regime to consolidate control over its territories 
in return for rejecting the opposition. It later physically fought FSA 
units.


Revolutionary Kurdish forces such as those in East Aleppo also turned on 
the FSA. By the end of 2016, Kurdish militias were actively helping the 
Damascus regime reconquer East Aleppo.

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Re: [Marxism] Northern Syria: Massive ethnic cleansing, humanitarian catastrophe, foreign intervention and betrayal

[Louis Proyect via Marxism]

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On 1/23/18 8:12 PM, Chris Slee via Marxism wrote:


"One of the Syrian opposition's greatest mistakes was to buckle to Turkish 
pressure and exclude the Kurdish opposition from the Syrian National Council (SNC). 
This, in turn, led to the political under-representation of Kurds, even though there 
was a robust Kurdish political opposition that was eager to join the SNC.



The Irish Times
June 11, 2012 Monday
Syrian opposition elects Kurd to top role

BYLINE: MICHAEL JANSEN

SYRIAN FORCES yesterday shelled rebel strongholds across the country as 
the expatriate opposition Syrian National Council, meeting in Istanbul, 
elected as its leader Abdelbasset Sieda, who promised to unite all 
external and internal factions under the council umbrella.


Declaring the regime is on its last legs , Mr Sieda, a Kurd who has 
lived for many years in Sweden, said multiplying massacres and shellings 
show that [the government] is struggling . He pledged to reform and 
restructure the council, which has been sharply criticised by the 
international community and by Syrians in the country for factionalism 
and ineffectiveness.


Mr Sieda took over from Burhan Ghalioun, an academic teaching in Paris 
who headed the body since its establishment last September. By 
appointing a Kurd, the council hopes to reassure members of Syria's 
minority communities they will not suffer if the secular regime is 
ousted. The Kurds have been divided over the council's activities, and 
those who had joined the council withdrew.


Many Syrians are wary of the council, on which the Muslim Brotherhood 
has strong representation.


Fighting against government troops supported by helicopter gunships took 
place at a rebel base near Haffa in the mountains, opposition activists 
reported. The Britain-based opposition Syrian Observatory for Human 
Rights said at least 58 soldiers had been killed and 200 wounded since 
the operation began on Tuesday. The official news agency Sana reported 
terrorist groups in Haffa had attacked civilians, set fire to the public 
hospital and forced families to flee their homes.


At least 35 people were said to have been killed during army barrages on 
rebel-held areas in the city of Homs and the nearby towns of Qusair, 
Talbiseh and Rastan, from which the renegade Free Syrian Army has 
mounted attacks on army patrols and checkpoints, the opposition said.


British foreign secretary William Hague warned the situation resembled 
that in Bosnia in the 1990s, when the former Yugoslavia was embroiled in 
a sectarian civil war. He urged Moscow to use the leverage it has with 
Damascus to end the violence, and said the only option was to adopt the 
peace plan put forward by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.


To promote implementation of his plan, Mr Annan has called for the 
creation of a contact group representing all countries involved in the 
Syrian crisis, but the US, Britain and France have rejected the 
inclusion of Iran, Syria s main regional ally. On Saturday, Russian 
foreign minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated his country s rejection of 
external intervention but indicated Moscow would not block the exit of 
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad if the Syrians agree [on his] departure.


His remarks coincided with news of shelling of the city of Deraa that 
reportedly killed 17.

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Re: [Marxism] Northern Syria: Massive ethnic cleansing, humanitarian catastrophe, foreign intervention and betrayal

[Louis Proyect via Marxism]

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On 1/23/18 8:12 PM, Chris Slee via Marxism wrote:


"One of the Syrian opposition's greatest mistakes was to buckle to Turkish 
pressure and exclude the Kurdish opposition from the Syrian National Council (SNC). 
This, in turn, led to the political under-representation of Kurds, even though there 
was a robust Kurdish political opposition that was eager to join the SNC.


Exclude the Kurdish opposition? The opposition to what? The Kurds never 
had the slightest interest in joining the revolution against Assad. In a 
way, they were the "good" ISIS, taking advantage of chaos to create 
their own Caliphate based on the teachings of Murray Bookchin rather 
than Salafist texts.

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Re: [Marxism] Northern Syria: Massive ethnic cleansing, humanitarian catastrophe, foreign intervention and betrayal

[Chris Slee via Marxism]

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Michael Karadjis condemns the participation of some Syrian rebels in Turkey's 
invasion of Afrin.  He gives various reasons why they are doing it - for 
example:  "For some, it may be revenge for what the YPG did two years ago..."

But he misses the main reason: the cooption of some rebel groups by the Turkish 
state.  

An article by Loubna Mrie explains the cooption process (without using that 
term) as follows:

"We cannot understand the root causes of such divisions without looking closely 
at the proxy powers and their funding of Sunni Arab rebel forces. Turkey, which 
has long backed the FSA, is the chief country through which support has been 
channelled. Unfortunately, Turkey's suppression of its own Kurds has coloured 
the way it views Syrian Kurds, and thus has aggravated ethnic divisions in 
Syria.

"Because the Syrian opposition desperately needs Turkey's support, it has been 
compelled to embrace Ankara's stance - which is sometimes at odds with the 
greater good of the Syrian people.

"One of the Syrian opposition's greatest mistakes was to buckle to Turkish 
pressure and exclude the Kurdish opposition from the Syrian National Council 
(SNC). This, in turn, led to the political under-representation of Kurds, even 
though there was a robust Kurdish political opposition that was eager to join 
the SNC. 

"It is very important to note here that Turkey was not only supporting the 
armed opposition, but was also the only country that offered a safe space for 
the Syrian political opposition to meet. This dynamic forced the Syrian 
opposition to give up on a Kurdish role in the political opposition, or rather, 
to turn a blind eye to the Kurdish struggle because they did not want to risk 
their relationship with Turkey. 

"In effect, Turkey played a major role in widening Arab-Kurd divisions."

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/comment/2017/8/22/the-demise-of-arab-kurdish-solidarity-in-syria/

(The New Arab, 22 August 2017)

The cooption of many rebel groups by Turkey meant that most Kurds viewed the 
rebel movement with suspicion.

The revolutionary movement in Rojava, led by the PYD, remained separate from 
both the Assad regime and the Turkish-backed rebels.  The PYD's initial policy 
was to avoid armed conflict if possible, but to fight back if attacked.  

Mrie notes that Kurdish areas were attacked by several groups:

"The Islamic State group, Ahrar al-Sham, some FSA groups, the Nusra Front and 
HTS/al-Qaeda etc all also played an important role in this division. They all 
attacked liberated Kurdish areas as part of a cynical strategy to gain control 
of oil fields. 

"Whenever these groups took control of a Kurdish area, they tried to impose 
their rules and ideology on Kurdish society. They started asking women to cover 
their head, targeted Christians, and even burned churches in cities like Ras 
al-Ayn."

This history of attacks by Turkish-backed groups helps explain why the Syrian 
Democratic Forces went on the offensive against such groups in early 2016.  

Probably also the escalation of Erdogan's war against Turkey's own Kurdish 
population, and against democratic rights in Turkey, heightened the fear of 
Turkey - and of Turkish-backed groups - amongst Syrian Kurds and other 
supporters of the Rojava revolution.

Another factor was growing Arab support for the SDF. The SDF grew out of an 
alliance between the mainly Kurdish YPG/YPJ and the mainly Arab Jaysh 
al-Thuwar, many of whose members were survivors of attacks by Jabhat al-Nusra 
against other rebel groups such as the Syrian Revolutionaries Front.

The growing Arab participation in the SDF provided additional motivation for 
the SDF to advance into predominantly Arab areas. For many Arab SDF fighters, 
it would have been an opportunity to liberate their home towns from the 
oppressive rule of groups such as Nusra.

The 2016 SDF offensive coincided with the Russian-backed Assad regime 
offensive.  If, as Michael claims, there was collaboration between the SDF and 
the Russian air force, that was a response to the situation created by Turkey's 
policy.  The SDF saw Turkey as the biggest threat, and Russia as a potential 
ally in countering this threat (even if it was an unreliable ally and a 
potential enemy).

Chris Slee



From: Marxism  on behalf of mkaradjis . 
via Marxism 
Sent: Tuesday, 23 January 2018 1:29:58 AM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] Northern Syria: Massive ethnic cleansing, humanitarian 
catastrophe, foreign intervention and betrayal

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Re: [Marxism] Northern Syria: Massive ethnic cleansing, humanitarian catastrophe, foreign intervention and betrayal

[mkaradjis . via Marxism]

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And to clarify further on that, that is also the reason I resisted putting
Afrin in the title. I condemn the Turkish attack on Afrin and the
collaboration of some rebel brigades in it. However my point was that there
is a lot more going on in northern Syria,  right in the vicinity of Afrin,
 right now, at levels FAR more catastrophic than what is happening to Afrin
(so far,  at least). I will leave it to you and others to explain why it is
ONLY when the Kurds and/ YPG comes under attack that voices are raised,
 this does not only concern GLW, and not only the entire Rojavasphere,  but
also people like Chomsky who releases a declaratoon "don't let Afrin become
another Kobane",  yes some if my article was a direct reference to such
extraordinarily blatant selective solidarity,  especially as most of those
people (with some noble exceptions) have never said a word about the
ongoing massacres between Kobane 2014 and Afrin 2018. I will leave to you
to explain how GLW  managed to not utter a single word for the entire 2016
about the year-long massacre of Aleppo;  every time the situation got even
more horrific than usual,  GLW would usefully oblige by publishing ... yet
another article about utopia in Rojava,  blissfully undisturbed by what was
going on all around them. I won't bother asking what you thought of the
role of the YPG in Assad"s final capture of Aleppo when they cut the
strategic Castello Rd. Now Nick is not happy  that, despite my CONDEMNATION
of the rebels for taking part in Turkey's attack in Afrin,  I  nevertheless
criticise the YPG, yet somehow Nick manages to forget that 2 years ago,
 when it was the YPG doing the conquering of Arab towns in northern Aleppo
from the rebels in coordination with the bloody Russian airforce,  you and
others never condemned these crimes, you supported them! As I said, the
lessons about solidarity are frankly hilarious.

On 23/01/2018 11:26 AM, "mkaradjis ."  wrote:

> Nick I'll pass for now on "the most progressive force in the Middle East
> "etc, just to note that you're so Rojava-centric that you assume the
> massive ethnic cleansing is about the YPG's uprooting of some Arab
> comminities a few years ago. Read the article Nick. It was referring to the
> expulsion of 200,000 people from their homes in Idlib by Assad/Russia RIGHT
> NOW,  a fsr more massive catastrophe than what is befalking Afrin,  yet one
> that GLW couldn't give a toss about,  so spare me your lessons about
> solidarity comrade.
>
> On 23/01/2018 10:18 AM, "Louis Proyect via Marxism" <
> marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote:
>
>>   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.
>> *
>>
>> On 1/22/18 2:38 PM, Nick Fredman via Marxism wrote:
>>
>>> And apparently by you. The most progressive force in the Middle East is
>>> under existential threat and the solidarity you got is “whatever, they
>>> had
>>> it coming”. That’s peace and out from me.
>>>
>>
>> Maybe it was a mistake for Green Left to publish an article that accused
>> the FSA of being led by warlords and bandits at a time when Assad was
>> trying to annihilate it. That does not encourage the kind of solidarity you
>> are expecting now.
>>
>> 13 years ago I wrote an article about the Kurds that alluded to some
>> deeply engrained weaknesses of a movement whose overall goal is laudable:
>>
>> The most striking example of Kurdish fecklessness, however, occurred in
>> the 1960s and '70s when they aligned themselves with Zionism, the Shah of
>> Iran, and US imperialism against Arab nationalism in general and Iraq
>> particularly.
>>
>> Jonathan C. Randal, a veteran Washington Post reporter strongly committed
>> to the Kurdish struggle, quotes a Mossad veteran: "Put a Kurd atop a
>> mountain with a rifle, pita bread, and onions and he'll stop a whole column
>> of troops for you." (6) The support that Kurdish fighters received from
>> Israel paled in comparison from that originating from Tehran. Using bases
>> in Iran, Barzani's fighters launched bloody attacks on northern Iraqi
>> cities.
>>
>> But ultimately it was the United States that played the Kurdish card.
>> During the course of Pike Committee investigations into covert spying, it
>> was revealed that the Kurds received funding and logistical support from
>> the CIA between 1972 and 1975. Notwithstanding Barzani's foolish illusions
>> in the United States, a 1974 CIA memo 

Re: [Marxism] Northern Syria: Massive ethnic cleansing, humanitarian catastrophe, foreign intervention and betrayal

[mkaradjis . via Marxism]

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Nick I'll pass for now on "the most progressive force in the Middle East
"etc, just to note that you're so Rojava-centric that you assume the
massive ethnic cleansing is about the YPG's uprooting of some Arab
comminities a few years ago. Read the article Nick. It was referring to the
expulsion of 200,000 people from their homes in Idlib by Assad/Russia RIGHT
NOW,  a fsr more massive catastrophe than what is befalking Afrin,  yet one
that GLW couldn't give a toss about,  so spare me your lessons about
solidarity comrade.

On 23/01/2018 10:18 AM, "Louis Proyect via Marxism" <
marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote:

>   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.
> *
>
> On 1/22/18 2:38 PM, Nick Fredman via Marxism wrote:
>
>> And apparently by you. The most progressive force in the Middle East is
>> under existential threat and the solidarity you got is “whatever, they had
>> it coming”. That’s peace and out from me.
>>
>
> Maybe it was a mistake for Green Left to publish an article that accused
> the FSA of being led by warlords and bandits at a time when Assad was
> trying to annihilate it. That does not encourage the kind of solidarity you
> are expecting now.
>
> 13 years ago I wrote an article about the Kurds that alluded to some
> deeply engrained weaknesses of a movement whose overall goal is laudable:
>
> The most striking example of Kurdish fecklessness, however, occurred in
> the 1960s and '70s when they aligned themselves with Zionism, the Shah of
> Iran, and US imperialism against Arab nationalism in general and Iraq
> particularly.
>
> Jonathan C. Randal, a veteran Washington Post reporter strongly committed
> to the Kurdish struggle, quotes a Mossad veteran: "Put a Kurd atop a
> mountain with a rifle, pita bread, and onions and he'll stop a whole column
> of troops for you." (6) The support that Kurdish fighters received from
> Israel paled in comparison from that originating from Tehran. Using bases
> in Iran, Barzani's fighters launched bloody attacks on northern Iraqi
> cities.
>
> But ultimately it was the United States that played the Kurdish card.
> During the course of Pike Committee investigations into covert spying, it
> was revealed that the Kurds received funding and logistical support from
> the CIA between 1972 and 1975. Notwithstanding Barzani's foolish illusions
> in the United States, a 1974 CIA memo revealed his benefactor's true
> intentions: "Iran, like ourselves, has seen benefit in a stalemate
> situation, in which Iraq is intrinsically weakened by the Kurds' refusal to
> relinquish semi-autonomy. Neither Iran nor ourselves wish to see the matter
> resolved one way or the other." (7)
>
> Unfortunately, the Kurds failed to anticipate the Shah's openness to
> diplomatic maneuvers that would leave them out in the cold. In 1976 the
> Shah and Saddam Hussein cut a deal in Algiers that would throw the Kurds to
> the wolves. The March 15, 1975 Economist reported:
>
> Within 24 hours of the Algiers ceremonies, Iraqi tanks and
> infantry launched an offensive from the west that soon had the Kurds in
> retreat from the strategic mountain barriers beyond Rawandiz that they have
> held since the early autumn in the face of successive Iraqi attacks. By the
> time the ceasefire came into effect on Thursday the Iraqis commanded the
> Kurds' main supply route, and Choman itself, the official Kurdish
> headquarters, was exposed to direct artillery fire by the fall of Mount
> Zuzak. Iraqi troops had also made substantial gains in thrusts into
> Kurdistan from the south and the north. The explanation of their sudden
> success is that, on the morning when the Iraqis began their offensive, the
> Iranians pulled out their heavy artillery and anti-tank weapons. They also
> closed the border to all fresh supplies of ammunition to the Kurds, who
> were running badly short by midweek.
>
> full: http://www.swans.com/library/art10/iraq/proyect.html
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Re: [Marxism] Northern Syria: Massive ethnic cleansing, humanitarian catastrophe, foreign intervention and betrayal

[Louis Proyect via Marxism]

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On 1/22/18 2:38 PM, Nick Fredman via Marxism wrote:

And apparently by you. The most progressive force in the Middle East is
under existential threat and the solidarity you got is “whatever, they had
it coming”. That’s peace and out from me.


Maybe it was a mistake for Green Left to publish an article that accused 
the FSA of being led by warlords and bandits at a time when Assad was 
trying to annihilate it. That does not encourage the kind of solidarity 
you are expecting now.


13 years ago I wrote an article about the Kurds that alluded to some 
deeply engrained weaknesses of a movement whose overall goal is laudable:


The most striking example of Kurdish fecklessness, however, occurred in 
the 1960s and '70s when they aligned themselves with Zionism, the Shah 
of Iran, and US imperialism against Arab nationalism in general and Iraq 
particularly.


Jonathan C. Randal, a veteran Washington Post reporter strongly 
committed to the Kurdish struggle, quotes a Mossad veteran: "Put a Kurd 
atop a mountain with a rifle, pita bread, and onions and he'll stop a 
whole column of troops for you." (6) The support that Kurdish fighters 
received from Israel paled in comparison from that originating from 
Tehran. Using bases in Iran, Barzani's fighters launched bloody attacks 
on northern Iraqi cities.


But ultimately it was the United States that played the Kurdish card. 
During the course of Pike Committee investigations into covert spying, 
it was revealed that the Kurds received funding and logistical support 
from the CIA between 1972 and 1975. Notwithstanding Barzani's foolish 
illusions in the United States, a 1974 CIA memo revealed his 
benefactor's true intentions: "Iran, like ourselves, has seen benefit in 
a stalemate situation, in which Iraq is intrinsically weakened by the 
Kurds' refusal to relinquish semi-autonomy. Neither Iran nor ourselves 
wish to see the matter resolved one way or the other." (7)


Unfortunately, the Kurds failed to anticipate the Shah's openness to 
diplomatic maneuvers that would leave them out in the cold. In 1976 the 
Shah and Saddam Hussein cut a deal in Algiers that would throw the Kurds 
to the wolves. The March 15, 1975 Economist reported:


	Within 24 hours of the Algiers ceremonies, Iraqi tanks and infantry 
launched an offensive from the west that soon had the Kurds in retreat 
from the strategic mountain barriers beyond Rawandiz that they have held 
since the early autumn in the face of successive Iraqi attacks. By the 
time the ceasefire came into effect on Thursday the Iraqis commanded the 
Kurds' main supply route, and Choman itself, the official Kurdish 
headquarters, was exposed to direct artillery fire by the fall of Mount 
Zuzak. Iraqi troops had also made substantial gains in thrusts into 
Kurdistan from the south and the north. The explanation of their sudden 
success is that, on the morning when the Iraqis began their offensive, 
the Iranians pulled out their heavy artillery and anti-tank weapons. 
They also closed the border to all fresh supplies of ammunition to the 
Kurds, who were running badly short by midweek.


full: http://www.swans.com/library/art10/iraq/proyect.html
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Re: [Marxism] Northern Syria: Massive ethnic cleansing, humanitarian catastrophe, foreign intervention and betrayal

[RKOB via Marxism]

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"The most progressive force in the Middle East" has acted under US 
command in the last years. No one can deny this. The SDF/YPG is proud of 
this. And the Pentagon also stressed it many times! While I am typing 
these lines, US General Votel is visiting Raqqa and confirms his support 
for the SDF/YPG. 
(https://twitter.com/DefenseBaron/status/955523447479853061) Of course, 
for Washington the SDF/YPG are only useful idiots whom they will sell 
sooner or later for a deal with a more potent ally. But it is difficult 
to understand how any progressive person can praise these merchants of 
US imperialism!



Am 22.01.2018 um 20:38 schrieb Nick Fredman via Marxism:

The most progressive force in the Middle East


--
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(Österreichische Sektion der RCIT, www.thecommunists.net)
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Re: [Marxism] Northern Syria: Massive ethnic cleansing, humanitarian catastrophe, foreign intervention and betrayal

[Nick Fredman via Marxism]

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Yes Mike, the “ethnic cleansing” charge that’s been rejected by the UN,
SOHR, and an SNC-sponsored  investigation, and not used in the relatively
fair criticisms of Human Rights Watch or even the more over the top and
unfounded Amnesty reports. But fine to blithely use by the laughable
conspiracy theorist Roy Gutman.
http://links.org.au/fake-news-rojava-revolution

And apparently by you. The most progressive force in the Middle East is
under existential threat and the solidarity you got is “whatever, they had
it coming”. That’s peace and out from me.

On Tue, 23 Jan 2018 at 1:30 am, mkaradjis . via Marxism <
marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote:

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> Regarding Turkey’s attack on Kurdish Afrin, controlled by the
> Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its militia the Peoples Protection
> Units (YPG): two years ago I wrote this article condemning the YPG’s
> brutal conquest of the Arab-majority Tal Rifaat-Menagh region of
> northern Aleppo province from the democratic rebels (Free Syrian Army
> [FSA] and allies), in direct collaboration with the mass murdering
> Russian imperialist airforce, which had just recently begun its
> Nazi-style Blitzkrieg against Free Syria and thousands upon thousands
> of Syrian civilians.
>
> In that article, I noted in passing how bad what the YPG was doing was
> by posing it in reverse:
>
> “If Turkey were invading and bombing Kurdish Efrin and Syrian rebels
> were acting as ground troops and expelling the YPG from Kurdish areas,
> it should be vigorously condemned, yet this is not happening; the
> exact opposite of that is happening.”
>
> Full:
> https://mkaradjis.wordpress.com/2018/01/22/northern-syria-massive-ethnic-cleansing-humanitarian-catastrophe-foreign-intervention-and-betrayal/
>
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