¿Qué es lo que se
juega en Siria? Lo hemos dicho varias veces: la de Siria es una de esas
contiendas que pueden decidir la suerte del Imperio. De ahí la locura asesina
de toda la NATO junta, apoyando embozada o desembozadamente a los “rebeldes”
“sirios”. Y dentro de Siria, ¿qué significa la Batalla de Alepo? Leemos en el
sitio web Strategic Culture Foundation:
Título: The
Significance of the Battle for Aleppo
Texto: In Aleppo
the fierce fighting continues. After the peace agreement was broken by the armed
opposition, Syrian government forces launched an offensive in order to
completely blockade and take control of the western part of the city that had
been seized by militants.
Anti-government
forces regularly shell civilians in Aleppo’s Christian neighborhoods and in the
Sheikh Maqsood district that is inhabited by Kurds. One result of this new
phase in the military campaign has been an increase in the influence of
jihadist groups, especially Jabhat al-Nusra. It is this group and its allies
that Turkey and the US are trying to proclaim the «moderate opposition», which
is supposedly capable of battling the Islamic State. But when it comes to their
methods for disposing of political opponents and Christians, these radical
Islamic groups are indistinguishable.
The leader of
al-Qaeda urges the «moderate» and «radical» militants to unite
Note should be
made of yet another jihadist group that emerged in Syria in March-April of last
year. They are known as Jaish al-Fatah. That group incorporates Ahrar ash-Sham
and Jund al-Aqsa, in addition to Jabhat al-Nusra. Most experts consider Ahrar
ash-Sham to be the same type of Salafi-jihadist group as Jabhat al-Nusra, which
is included in the UN Security Council’s list of terrorist organizations.
In 2015 the
former leader of Ahrar ash-Sham, Hassan Abboud, thus described his differences
with the Islamic State: «Democracy is a sword the West holds over other
nations. It is a way for just a few people to control a nation. In accordance
with Sharia, there are several ways of choosing a ruler. In a monarchy, the
successor inherits his title. In other societies that observe Sharia the ruler
is selected by the wisest and most respectable men after consulting with the
people. All these methods are legitimate. We recognize that ideally there
should be a caliph and his slaves. Our differences with the Islamic State
concern matters of style, not substance. The proclamation of the caliphate was
premature and was not followed by the fulfillment of all the legal procedures».
The former leader
of Ahrar ash-Sham sees countering the «Shiite threat» as the most important
task today. He claims that «the Shiite sickle is being held over the Islamic
ummah. This Persian Safavid sickle is the biggest obstacle to restoring its
glory». The term «sickle» of course is understood to mean the «Shiite crescent»
– Iran’s coalition with Syria and Hezbollah. The interesting adjective
«Safavid» refers to Iran. Shiite Islam became the official religion of Iran
under the Safavid dynasty (1506-1721), and Salafis often use this term when
speaking of contemporary Iran.
In the meantime,
Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, part of
which calls itself Jabhat al-Nusra, has appealed to all opponents of the
legitimate Syrian government with a request to shore up their unity in the face
of the Syrian government army’s offensive near Aleppo. «Either unite or face
death», the terrorist leader has stated Ayman al-Zawahiri has praised the role
of Jabhat al-Nusra and fiercely criticized the Syrian ceasefire. The leader of
al-Qaeda has demanded that «true Muslims» of all countries focus their efforts
on waging jihad in Syria. He claims that «if the Mujahedeen do not unite,
defeat awaits them at the hands of Western and Russian crusaders».
Hamza bin Laden,
Osama bin Laden’s 23-year-old son, has allied himself with the leader of
al-Qaeda in support of Jabhat al-Nusra. He claims that «the Islamic ummah must
concentrate on waging jihad in Syria and tighten its ranks, leaving behind any
momentary disagreements».
Turkey’s pretend
war against the Islamic State
After these
events, Ankara suddenly grew wary of the expanding Islamic State in northern
Syria. Erdogan not only announced his intention to clear IS militants out of
the Syrian side of the border, he also refused to rule out Turkish ground
forces taking part in local operations against that terrorist group. On April
6, a company consisting of armed factions of Syrian Turkmen who are bankrolled
by Turkish intelligence services, in addition to several units of Salafis,
captured the town of al-Rai from Islamic State rebels and threatened to advance
toward Azaz, but on April 11 they were pushed back by jihadists. This was
understandable: Daesh militants take their fighting seriously – when they go
into combat they aren’t bluffing.
According to
information provided by the Turkish journalist Burak Bekdil, after Ankara
formally joined the anti-terror coalition, the flood of weapons and explosives
passing through Turkey to regions controlled by IS not only did not decrease,
it even increased. Last year 2,500 tons of ammonium nitrate, 456 tons of potash
nitrate, and 75 tons of aluminum powder passed from Turkey into regions under
terrorist control. All of these ingredients are used to manufacture improvised
explosive devices.
Despite a string
of terrorist acts committed by IS supporters inside Turkey, on March 24 a
Turkish court freed seven members of IS, including a field commander. Such
leniency leads to irreversible transformations in Turkish society. According to
opinion polls, nearly 10% of Turkish citizens (nearly eight million people!)
see the Islamic State in a positive light and do not consider it a terrorist
organization. This all but guarantees an influx of new fighters from Turkey
into the ranks of Daesh.
What has prompted
these changes in Ankara’s behavior – a country that until recently was
considered the unofficial patron of the Islamic State? First of all, the
Kurdish People’s Protection Units in Syria, which have close ties to the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party, have recently proven successful in their fight
against IS. They have taken control of the northeastern section of the
Syrian-Turkish border and could move west. Erdogan’s government is eager to
prevent Kurdish units from advancing toward the strategically important cities
of Azaz and Jarabulus. They are trying to seize these locations themselves,
hiding behind the rallying cry of «The Battle Against the Islamic State».
Second, after the blows inflicted by Russia’s Aerospace Defense Forces, the
Erdogan family’s oil business deals with Deash are no longer as profitable as
they once were. All this is forcing Ankara to roll back its cooperation with IS
and switch to working with Jabhat al-Nusra and its related groups.
Ankara’s change
of tactics in regard to Syria has Washington’s full support. The Americans’
recent shipment of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems to Turkey is setting
off alarm bells. These systems are capable of firing missiles 90 kilometers deep
into Syrian territory. In his May 10 interview with CNN correspondent
Christiane Amanpour, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Russia of big
problems ahead if it continued to support the Syrian government army’s
offensive in Aleppo. He noted that «Russia has an interest in not being bogged
down forever in Syria... [and] becoming the target of the entire Sunni world
and having every jihadi in the region coming after Russia».
The US is willing
to do anything it takes to prevent Bashar al-Assad’s government from gaining
strength. If the government troops achieve military success in the Aleppo
region, about 90% of Syrian territory would then be under the control of the
legitimate government. And that is not part of the West’s plan. Therefore, John
Kerry is threatening to set an August 2016 deadline for Russia to help form a
«transitional government» in Syria, claiming that otherwise shipments of
American weapons will begin flowing to the «moderate opposition». We know very
well what an American-style «transition period» looks like – we saw it in Iraq
and Libya. That period began in Iraq after the American occupation in 2003 and
it continues to this day, accompanied by constant explosions in Baghdad,
chronic corruption, and a civil war in the country’s northern provinces. In
Libya the «transition period» ended with the collapse of the state. And this is
the future the US has in mind for Syria. The old plans haven’t changed.
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