NEW SILK STRATEGIES
  • Home
    • Русский язык
    • Français
    • Deutsch
    • Español
  • Geopolitics
    • International Relations
    • Military Affairs
    • News & Analysis
    • Culture
    • Economics and Finance
  • Language
  • Opinion
  • About
  • Contact

Military affairs.

IS THIS WHY TRUMP PULLED OUT OF SYRIA?

10/19/2019

0 Comments

 
The below article from Southfront supplies a clue as to a possible reason why the current administration was in such a hurry to exit Syria. Commentary is by Vince Dhimos.
 
Turkey seems to have substituted Israel as the US proxy-designate on the front lines of the Syrian regime-change war. (For years, Israel had regularly launched missile attacks on Iranian targets in Syria until Russia politely asked them to stop. Or else).
 
Of course, the anti-Trump Congress made a fuss and many legislators agreed that the surprise pull-out was a bad move. But was this perhaps part of a well-rehearsed show for public consumption? We must back up and consider what the US Establishment hoped to achieve when it entered Syria in the first place. You will recall that by 2011, not only Obama but also major European leaders were shrieking “Assad must go,” while pretending that their main goal in Syria was only to fight terror – which they obviously only pretended to do because the terrorists gained more ground than ever under the US and allied occupation. Then a few months after Russia entered the fray in September 2015, at a moment when the terrorists threatened to push the Syrian army into the sea, the Western shrieking class was forced to tone down the rhetoric a bit, but you can bet they never once backed away from their fond dream of regime change.

I strongly suspect that, at the deepest level of the Deep State, these regime change zealots now see the latest Turkish attacks in Syria (BTW, the Trump Erdogan 5 day ceasefire agreement was already violated within the first 24 hours) as their chance to rid themselves of Assad at last. But why the insane desire to get rid of a popular elected Middle East leader who has never threatened anyone in the West? If you still wonder, then you probably haven’t read our analysis of Washington’s true motivation in foreign policy. Here it is once again, and current events add more proof of its validity.
 
So now the anti-Assad campaign goes into its next, hopefully last, phase. It is unlikely that Russia will allow Turkey to come anywhere near to Damascus. It is in fact likely it will nip Turkish aspirations in the bud. But don’t worry, you probably will never hear about it in the Western media. (Please be sure to read NEAR-TOTAL NEWS BLACKOUT ON SYRIAN WAR http://www.newsilkstrategies.com/military-affairs/near-total-western-news-blackout-on-syrian-war).
 
Thus we think Trump probably knew good and well that Turkey would be the next regime change proxy in Syria. So why, you will ask, would almost every Democrat in Washington and even many Republicans, shriek so loudly in protest of Trump’s pull-out? Firstly, the Democrats want to discredit Trump so they can win the 2020 election. Secondly, they need to pretend they care about the Kurds.
 
Here is the report from Southfront, possibly the only source on this. Please give them a donation if you can. They are the best source for Syrian war news.
 
TURKISH-FUNDED SYRIAN NATIONAL ARMY AND MYTH OF UNITED SYRIAN OPPOSITION
 
Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring once again drew wide attention not only to the so-called Kurdish question, but also to attempts of Ankara to create a unified Syrian opposition as an alternative to the Assad government. According to official Turkish statements, the goal of the operation is to secure the southern Turkish border defeating “the terrorism” and allow up to 2 million of refugees to return to their homes. Nonetheless, there are no doubts that the operation, like previous military actions in the provinces of Aleppo, Lattakia and Idlib, will be used by Turkey to expand its own influence.
 
The Turkish-based Syrian Interim Government headquartered and Turkish-affiliated militant groups would be used as a tool of projecting Turkish military and political influence in the area. The Syrian National Army (SNA) are a brand of militant groups participating in the northeastern Syria offensive. Turkey’s Operations Olive Branch and Euphrates Shield demonstrated that the main goal of such groups is to serve as cannon folder on first line of the battle, while aircraft, battle tanks, artillery and special forces units of the Turkish Armed Forces do the main work. This allows Ankara to pretend that its actions in Syria are not military occupation, but a move needed to return the territory to the moderate Syrian opposition that opposes the ‘illegitimate regime’ of President Bashar al-Assad.
 
In the area of Greater Idlib, Turkish-backed factions formed the National Front for Liberation in May 2018, which was promoted as a moderate opposition coalition that would limit the influence of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other al-Qaeda-linked groups. Despite claiming to have 70,000 fighters (sic), the coalition immediately lost a struggle for power to its al-Qaeda counterparts and became a subordinate to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. In 2018 and 2019, groups from the National Front for Liberation repeatedly participated in al-Qaeda operations against the Syrian Army.
 
In northern Aleppo, Ankara was more successful because the SNA formed in December 2017 operates only in the Turkish Army area of operations and much more depends on the logistical and supply infrastructure created by Turkish special services. Since its creation, the SNA has included 30 groups with lofty names like the Army of Elite or the First Brigade Command and a very few trained personnel. Despite this, the formation, according to different estimates, includes from 15,000 to 25,000 fighters. Its members participated in Operation Olive Branch and successfully continued receiving salaries ($300-400 per month) after it. Now, they are involved in the operation in northeastern Syria.
 
Just a few days ahead of the start of Operation Peace Spring, Turkey attempted to unite the National Front for Liberation and the Syrian National Army. On October 4, the groups even released a statement claiming that they had merged. A few hours after the release, fierce clashes between the groups erupted over properties seized in the Afrin area. This put an end to the unification efforts at least for now.
 
Another problem is that the Turkish-based Syrian Interim Government and especially its Defense Ministry have no real influence on SNA detachments because it had no levers of influence over funds, weapons, ammunition or even orders that they receive. The full control over these sides of the SNA life allows Ankara to successfully manipulate them, when these groups are needed to some military action. At the same time, this approach undermines attempts to create a unified command to manage these groups because commanders of these groups are constantly engaged in an internal struggle for control over weapons and money flow from their Turkish backers.
 
This explains why immediately after the end of the active phase of Operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch, the SNA dispersed into competing armed groups mostly concerned by looting properties in the seized areas and protecting racketeering of local business and markets. Therefore, the Turkey-controlled part of northern Syria was turned into a safe haven for drugs and weapons trafficking, and organized crime. Turkey’s iron hand once again turned competing gangs into a united force under the SNA brand for Operation Peace Spring. However, as soon as, the active phase of operation ends, the Turkish-controlled part of northeastern Syria will experience consequences similar to those faced by territories captured by Turkish-led forces in 2016-2018.
 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
    • Русский язык
    • Français
    • Deutsch
    • Español
  • Geopolitics
    • International Relations
    • Military Affairs
    • News & Analysis
    • Culture
    • Economics and Finance
  • Language
  • Opinion
  • About
  • Contact