Monday 29 August 2016

Who should rule Syria? Nobody

The best article I've seen on the mess in Syria. Understand this article and you have some grasp about what is, and what could be, in Syria. 
For a change the West has hooked up with the right guys, according to Spyer -- the Kurds. And we should keep supporting them.
I'm right on board with that, as the Kurds seem to be the only sane minimally group around, with clear and reasonable aims to have their own homeland. Of course our alleged ally, Turkey, is busy bombing them, as they fear Kurdish separatism. (The Kurds are the largest ethnic group in the world without their own homeland). While Iran supports Assad, because he's kind of non Sunni, an Alawite, kind of like almost a Shia. And everyone hates ISIS. 
This clip sets out the four main players. Who should be reduced to three by the dismemberment of ISIS, says Spyer -- an aim that seems to be the only thing that the other three agree on.
These four players are:
Assad government
Rebels
Kurds
ISIS
/Snip
First of all, it is important to understand that 'Syria' as a unitary state no longer exists. A rebel commander whom I interviewed in the border town of Kilis in June told me: 'Syria today is divided into four projects, none of which is strong enough to defeat all the others. These are the Assad regime, the rebellion, the Kurds and the Islamic State.' This is accurate.So the beginning of a coherent Syria policy requires understanding that the country has fragmented into enclaves, and is not going to be reunited in the near future, if at all.
Who should rule Syria? Nobody, Jonathan Spyer, The Spectator, 20 August 2016