So, as you might’ve heard, Israel has carried out major strikes in Syria, including in Damascus itself.
Which has briefly put Syria back in the news for basically the first time in six months – since the fall of the old regime during a strange sequence of events.
Let’s examine three things here: (1) Why Israel is doing what it’s doing, (2) Why Syria has barely been talked about in six months, and (3) What it’s all really about.
Vanessa Beeley has published a thorough analysis of the current dynamics in the region, including the possibility that al Julani (al Sharaa’s) ‘New Syria’ will be used by the Israelis to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon. I recommend reading her analysis over at The Wall Will Fall.
But let’s straight away establish an obvious thing: this is why Israel and its allies wanted the collapse of the Syrian regime: to bring an end to a strong Syrian state and national identity and to create violent sectarianism and factionalism instead – simultaneously allowing Israel itself to pursue its own interests in Syria without opposition.
The sight of Druze men from inside Israel entering Syria and raising the Israeli flag is highly instructive as to what’s going on here.
But for the larger precedent, we look to what happened in Libya after the fall of Gaddafi: total loss of national cohesion or identity, perpetually feuding factions and agendas, and a country that relinquished its sovereignty to foreign interests, criminal enterprises, and terrorist entities.
And no coherent national government – after 14 years now.
What that did was leave a now non-functioning country entirely open to exploitation, theft and domination, and with no one capable of representing the national interest after Gaddafi.
Notice that they barely report on Libya anymore.
So too will coverage of Syria disappear again soon: very little that goes on in post-Ba’athist Syria will be reported on or discussed.
In fact, that’s already been happening since the strange and sudden collapse of the regime in December: international coverage has quietly fallen away.
Internal fighting, sectarian violence and alleged massacres have barely garnered any notice.
The same mass media apparatus that dutifully pushed for regime change in Syria for over a decade, with constant coverage (coverage always neatly aligned with Western foreign policy objectives)… is strangely quiet about anything happening in Syria now that their long-time objective has been accomplished.
The subject of Syria has only come up now because of Israel’s attacks on Damascus: in a day or two, it’ll go quiet again.
The thing that the new regime in Syria needs to understand: Syria doesn’t have sovereignty anymore. It doesn’t have the rights of, say, a Western nation.
The same way Lebanon doesn’t. Or Iraq. Or Libya.
The prevailing imperialist mindset does not see these as real or legitimate countries or peoples. That’s why they can be violated on a whim.
I wrote that about Lebanon in this article some time ago, saying ‘a country like Lebanon isn’t afforded the true respect of a sovereign state by colonial or supposedly post-colonial powers. The Middle East is still seen as a playground…’
The violation of Syria didn’t begin with Israel’s current attacks, but with years of foreign plotting, interference and proxy warfare involving multiple foreign interests.
But what Israel is presently doing is the ultimate embodiment/culmination of what the collapse of the former Syrian state always meant in geo-political terms: which is the final loss of independence and sovereignty.
In effect, what Israel is doing is the same as what Turkey has been doing in Syria for years. But Turkey never attacked the capital so brazenly.
Israel can attack Damascus, obliterate Syrian military capabilities, in violation of international law, and no one in Syria (and apparently no one outside of Syria) is able to do or say anything about it.
Is anyone in this new Syrian government even going to take this up with the UN? I suspect not.
But this was the whole point of the regime collapse (from the foreign agenda perspective): to leave Syria devoid of cohesion, clarity or defense.
After Saddam Hussein‘s regime was toppled, there was no one able to defend Iraq’s sovereignty, represent Iraq’s national or cultural identity, or keep Iraq a coherent entity.
After Saddam, Iraq really had nothing: it became a playground for foreign interests, first the US and co and then the Iranian regime. And for Shia militias and then the Islamic State terror group.
It’s historical or cultural artefacts and treasures were desecrated or looted. Uncoincidentally, Syria’s historic sites have also been subject to the same desecration and ransacking, such as occurred in Palmyra.
And Iraq was bombed by all kinds of countries for all kinds of stated reasons for years to come.
How come? Because: no sovereignty. No rule of law.
The same basic model was played out in Libya after Gaddafi’s downfall.
And the same is liable to play out in Syria, which has already been happening. Rival factions, loose militias, sectarian skirmishes, the threat of rampant extremism… and yes, casual attacks from a foreign state pursuing its own interests.
Just as Iran was able to move into Iraq after the overthrow of the regime, Israel is moving into Syria for its piece of the pie.
Of course, the Israelis were attacking Syria literally the day after the Assad regime collapsed, so this isn’t new: and their intention was always clear.
Why is Israel attacking Syria? Well, it’s not to do with protecting minorities as some Israeli spin doctors have claimed. It isn’t ‘protecting the Druze’ or any other minority: if that was a concern, then leaving the Assad regime in place would’ve been the best option.
It’s two things. First, it’s to secure Israel’s captured and occupied territory in Southern Syria, making it clear they intend to stay and won’t tolerate any potential threats to their presence.
And secondly, it’s to reinforce the message: Israel is the new and unopposed hegemonic power in the region and can do whatever it wants. ‘Syria’ isn’t a real nation anymore and has no sovereignty.
In other words, this is Netanyahu’s ‘New Middle East’ in action. More ‘Promised Land‘ stuff. Deal with it.
As I’ve been doing since the fall of Damascus in December, I make some distinction between the groups on the ground in Syria and their foreign backers/manipulators. I tried to maintain some minor optimism, despite having spent years debunking the narrative against Syria and examining the regime change operations and deceptions.
I wrote in December: ‘Maybe these guys will be different. Maybe, now that the fighting is over and the goal of liberation from the regime accomplished, there might be a softening of ideology, a reduction of radicalisation. Maybe the need for acceptance and legitimacy will encourage a more inclusive, conciliatory outlook. We really should hope for positive outcomes and possibilities. The Syrian people deserve peace and stability.’
The groups on the ground, including the former Al-Qaeda man and new ruler Mohammed al-Sharaa (or al-Julani), had their own agenda and ideologies – they wanted to overthrow a dictatorship, and they were always going to take whatever help they could get from whichever foreign power in order to accomplish that.
And I assume they’re not overly enjoying being bombed by Israel.
But it’s the foreign orchestrators and plotters who had the overarching agenda: the various Syrian rebel groups were merely tools to facilitate the desired change.
The so-called ‘liberators of Damascus’ may be waking up to that reality now. It was never truly their ‘revolution’: they were pawns in the schemes of greater powers, just as Libya’s rebels were in their ‘revolution’.
As it currently appears to stand, there’s a new sheriff in town: and it’s clothed in the Star of David.
See SYRIA Archive here.
