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by Eric S. Margolis
December 7, 2024
Syria is the mother of all mysteries. Not even the Romans could unravel the intrigues, conspiracies, factions, coups, and killings that were common there. They could not even understand or face the hearth of strange religions and sects swarming in Syria.
Two thousand years later, very little has changed. This week, irregular forces of a former al-Qaeda faction called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) left the villages and invaded Syria's second most important city, Aleppo. Syria's 14-year-old civil war, which seemed to be asleep, suddenly became critical. A few days later, the reborn Tahrir suddenly attacked the important Syrian city of Hama. In both cases, Syrian government forces, led by the al-Assad family, simply and inexplicably disbanded after 14 years of war with the jihadists.
I have a personal interest in this conflict. In 2017, my foundation, Eric S. Margolis Foundation for Animal Protection joined the Four Paws group from Vienna to organize the daring rescue of an entire zoo in Aleppo. Poor animals, bears, big tigers, lions, dogs and chimpanzees, were left trapped in the city's private zoo for years of war. While starving, fighting between various jihadist factions and government troops continued, while Aleppo, once Syria's second city, was destroyed mercilessly.
Also, visited Hama while trying to see the gorgeous crusaders castle, Krak des Chevaliers. There, the troops of President Hafez al-Assad (father of the current ruler, Bashar) were confronting jihadists. Tens of thousands of people died in that fight. Many parts of Hama were also reduced to ruins.
A considerable part of Syria's 23 million inhabitants are Alawi, a mysterious sect separated from Shiite Muslims, whom many Sunni Muslims call heretics. Turkey's Alevi Muslims often confuse the Alauits, who they also consider heretical. Poor Alauits joined the army, where they eventually took power, led by Iron General Hafez al-Assad. The Lebanese Druze, a mysterious mountain sect, are sometimes close to the Alawi. Maroon Christians are also very influential, as are Druzes and Armenians. The Lebanese civil war, which I covered as a journalist, lasted from 1975 to 1990, until the Syrian Army ended the bloody conflict.
As an experienced war correspondent, it seems to me that many foreign powers are now backing HTS. The US and Israel have been attempting to overthrow Assad's regime since 2011. Israel aims to consolidate control over the Golan Heights, which it has conquered Syria. The US, which currently controls one-third of oil-rich northeastern Syria, has at least 9,000 troops there and, along with Israel, aids jihadists while publicly punishing them.
Turkey, whose leader hates Assad, is also very active in Syria and is likely to provide logistical support to HTS and other jihadist groups while fighting Kurdish leftist groups. Add here Russian air units near Latakia, occasional assistance from Hezbollah groups and small operations by Iranian forces. In short, the war going on in Syria looks more and more like the Thirty Years War of the 17th century.
Interesting that Israel’s far-right coalition leaders continue to talk about their ambition to “remodel the face of the Middle East”. This obviously refers to the genocide in Gaza, an open-air prison camp for Palestinians expelled in 1948 from their homes in what is now called Galilee. But Israel’s far-right has also set its sights on Lebanon around the Litani River, the region’s last free water source. It also has long been targeting southern Syria, including Damascus, and the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad, a staunch supporter of the Palestinians. Also remember that large parts of Iraq is currently being occupied by US ground forces and air bases. So a "new face" of Levant seems to be able to emerge from the current chaos.
© Eric S. Margolis 2024