Are you Syria – s?

As I alluded to the Middle East a few weeks ago, I thought it would be appropriate to follow-up by including some details on Syria that you more than likely have not heard about. I apologize if you aren’t interested in this, but it has a global impact and is important even in Iowa. These conflicts shape a great deal of international relationships that can affect the strength of trade and partnerships. In Iowa, this might mean sharing of farming technology, practices, and where Iowa crops are going. For example, China purchases more than $5 billion in soy beans from the U.S. each year.

     Now, before the recent election, riots, and Coronavirus, there was still an ongoing issue in the Middle East (you may have read about it in the papers). As the Trump Administration pulled out of Syria, we heard about the “Kurds” on the news and then it seemed as if everybody was an expert on the area (common theme across most politicized issues today). The thing is, people started saying “now he’s leaving the Kurds high and dry”, and those same people have no idea who the Kurds even are. People sensationalize things based on their political ideology. Although, since we are now getting out of Afghanistan, it seems that we are not sensationalizing that situation. As I have studied the happenings in Syria and the Middle East over the past five years or so, I realized how deeply convoluted the situation is. In that light, I decided to complete a superficial overview of the many hands on Syria. Warning: Be prepared to be slightly confused (and the previous use of the word superficial was not used sarcastically).

     Let’s begin with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). This is a group that was backed by the U.S. and is made up of a secular, multi-ethnic force that fights against ISIS (known as Daesh in Arabic: al-dawla al-islammiya fi Iraq wa al-sham = The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). There were also 100-150 U.S. soldiers embedded and assisting the SDF. The SDF consists mostly of Arabs, Kurds, Syriacs, and Assyrians. The SDF is led by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is listed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. If it seems weird that the U.S. is assisting a listed terrorist organization then please read slowly as I explain this cluster. The Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) was established as the Syrian branch of the PKK, the PYD created the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in 2011 to serve as the militia arm of this party, and the YPG is the military lead for the SDF (following all these acronyms?). By adding the collections of groups under one umbrella (SDF) they were able to legitimize the group and its movement into non-Kurdish areas as well as receive assistance from the U.S. So, change the name and now the group can claim to be working on behalf of all Syrians.

Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) -> Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) -> Peoples Protection Units (YPG) -> Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)

     Turkey has been in battle with the PKK for years and has invaded into Syria at least four times since 2016. As Turkey sees it – they fight the PKK, who is affiliated with the PYD, who is in charge of the SDF, who is backed by the U.S. Yet, supposedly ISIS was the main and common threat to all. It’s easy to see already how these groups could strike each other and claim that ISIS was the culprit. Turkey was bombing PKK positions in its supposed fight with ISIS, which led to retaliation from the PKK. This is how a broken state creates opportunities for terrorists and governments alike, who are seeking to take advantage and gain influence in the area.

     Next, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) is a group that is made up of defected soldiers of the Assad regime (Bashar al-Assad’s regime that is backed by Russia and Iran). Katibas (regional FSA groups) started sprouting up to defend their local areas as rebel militias. More than 1,000 of these groups were fighting in Syria which made for easy infiltration on behalf of terrorists. In 2012, Jabhat al-Nusra li-ahli-as-sham (Nusra) formed and was led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. Al-Jolani was previously in Iraq’s Camp Bucca prison for fighting with the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI), which was an off-shoot of Al-Qaeda of Iraq (AQI). Nusra was funded by Al-Qaeda and ISIS donors, and many in Syria thought that this was just another militia as they attacked the regime as well. ISIS and its’ then “caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi claimed that Nusra was formed at his behest, but Jolani pledged his allegiance (bayet) to Zawahiri and Al-Qaeda. Most rebels fought alongside Nusra during the war as this confusion was clearly evident and many of the militias became corrupted by them.

     The Kurdish National Council (KNC) was divided against the PYD and PKK as they were committed to non-violence. An Erbil Agreement was made in 2012 between the PYD and the KNC which was brokered by the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The PYD took over establishing its own checkpoints, local councils, distributing food/fuel, and often refusing entry to KNC. Distributing food and fuel seems like a wonderful thing but it is done with the goal of controlling influence over the people as their protectors (ISIS and Al-Qaeda utilize this system as well). Now, the FSA and the YPG were soon fighting against each other as the FSA claimed that the YPG was working with Assad (historical ties go back between Assad and the PKK). In addition to this, the YPG was clashing with Nusra as they concealed themselves in among the FSA.

     In 2015, more than 30,000 people from more than 70 different countries were fighting for rebels (FSA regional militias). These militias began to change their identities based on the wishes of donors. An example of this was a changing to Islamic dress to entice support from rich Gulf charities. Iran also got itself in the mix as it desperately wanted influence within this area that is closer to Israel (Iran’s “little Satan” – you may guess who Iran’s “big Satan” is). The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and mainly Hezbollah (Iran’s proxy – Lebanon’s Party of God Terrorist group) was fighting with Assad’s regime in Syria to secure Iran’s interests. Iran’s Suleimani helped create the National Defense Force (NDF) and by 2014 it essentially became a branch of the regime’s military. Additionally, the IRGC Quds force recruited Hazaras (Afghan mix of tribal group and Mongolians forced out or killed by the Taliban) who were Shia and living in Iran as refugees. Many more militias formed an Islamist Salafist Jaysh al-Islam (Islamic Army). (Salafist ideology is that of ISIS and al-Qaeda).           It is understandable if this actually makes things less clear because the situation was and is extremely complex. We could discuss how the U.S. withdrawal of Iraq led to the rise of ISIS, helped increase Iran’s control of Iraq, and paved the road for other mediators like Russia to appear as facilitators of peace instead of us, but that would be a whole book worth of information. The key point is that individuals in the media are oftentimes not experts, never touch on these complexities, but instead politicize everything that is happening at home and abroad. So, we shouldn’t just regurgitate what they say because 1) they probably don’t really know what they’re talking about, and 2) they have an agenda that they get paid to keep in order to influence consumers. To truly understand, one must have a deep knowledge of history, a desire to comprehend the complexities, and the realization that a meme will not give you the information you need. We should all strive to educate ourselves in a positive way so that when we see a “new Syria” happening, we have the benefit of knowledge on our side, and we can move forward with some prudence.