An opinion piece by Shimon Briman, an Israeli historian and journalist
What’s happening in Syria: Sunni jihadists, successors of Al-Qaeda and ISIS, with support from Türkiye, Ukraine, and Israel, are advancing on Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Russia, Hezbollah, and Iran.
This is weakening the control of the Shiite-Russian axis of evil.
Naturally, Israel is “not involved,” but Syrian rebels “coincidentally” launched their attack two hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech that called for a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon and his comments that “Syria is playing with fire,” as it helps Hezbollah with arms shipments via Iran.
The timing of the attack was nearly perfect: it came when Assad’s ally Hezbollah was stretched thin after Israel’s massive strikes, and when Iran urgently needed Syria for weapons convoys to replenish Hezbollah’s arsenal.
The more chaos and instability in Syria, the weaker Assad’s regime becomes—and the less influence Iran and Russia have in the region. Let the Sunni-Shia conflict rage on—relentless and unforgiving.
Ukrainian military intelligence has been training Syrian Sunni rebels in drone operations and supplying them with drones for a long time. If airstrikes can reduce the number of Russian and Iranian forces in Syria, why not take advantage of this opportunity?
Assad is once again pleading with Putin to save his Alawite dictatorship in Damascus. Any redeployment of Russian troops and equipment from the Ukrainian front to Syria would also benefit Kyiv.
In the context of the Syrian civil war, Ukraine and Israel are once again on the same side.
https://www.ukrainianworldcongress.org/situation-in-syria-ukraine-and-israel-stand-together
Comment: A couple of weeks ago, Ukrainian special ops reportedly a struck Russian position in the Aleppo area. This was part of a series of strikes against Russian targets in Syria. They’ve done the same in Africa. Given this and the success the HTS/rebels/jihadis have had with drones so far, I would not be surprised if Ukraine was behind the training of HTS drone operators. In this opinion piece by Shimon Briman, he states this is so rather matter of factly. He also strongly hints that Israel is involved in all this. At the very least they are benefiting from the HTS/jihadi offensive. As is Ukraine in a more roundabout way and for her own reasons.
TTG
https://www.israelhayom.com/2024/09/17/ukraine-says-it-hit-russian-base-in-syria/
Interesting to note that Uighur PMCs are a thing and operating in Syria too.
https://t.me/yurtugh_tactical1
https://t.me/muhojirtactical1/
https://t.me/wartactical
Kudos to Zelensky for realizing the way to get Moscow to evacuate all the territory they have occupied is by going through the soft underbelly of Idlib Provence Syria. Now, to the Axis of weevil, or, as I call it, round up the usual suspects!
Russia, Iran, Jihadis, Assad. Did I miss anybody?
Who are the ‘good’ guys?
Rebels! Hooray, just like Star Wars episode ad nauseam.
HTS, uhm really?
Jihadis? Uhm AYFKM?
Israel? Why not. Why did the IDF stop short of the tabouleh line (Lang reference) if they really need to remove Assad. And replace him with….. Not what’s in Libya, no no not that. Kumbayah will happen, maybe. What needs to be done?
Intervene now! Guess who has to do that. Especially before Trump comes into office.
Special thanks to Ukraine special forces for all the drone training to the anti-“axis of evil” people who definitely won’t use that training to attack the USN anywhere or train anyone else who would do so. Like “jihadis”. They are forever loyal. So are jihadis.
So, Budanov strikes again! Got to wonder if those Ukrainian special ops guys were Crimean Tatar Muslims to blend in with the locals?
I’m not so sure about Shimon Brimon’s comment about Israeli involvement. Maybe, or maybe not? HTS the rebel group that took Aleppo and is now threatening Hama is led by Abu Mohammad al-Julani (AKA al-Golani) whose family was evicted from the Golan Heights by the IDF. Sure, I understand enemy-of-my-enemy but would that be too much for him to accept? And Briman normally writes for Haaretz, which is anti-Netanyahu and the current regime in Israel is trying to shut Haaretz down. Netanyahu is more worried about antagonizing Russia, and has not yet lifted a finger to help Ukraine. I don’t believe he would help Ukraine to target Russians in Syria.
“This is weakening the control of the Shiite-Russian axis of evil”
And a strengthening of the Takfiri caliphate of evil that has no love for Israel. How does having a bunch of jihadists gaining Syria help Israel? It doesn’t. Maybe Israel is just all in for endless war. The jihadis take out Assad and then the jihadis get taken out by who? A neocon US? Seems like a big gamble on Israel’s part. I’m far from convinced.
“Naturally, Israel is “not involved,” but Syrian rebels “coincidentally” launched their attack two hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech that called for a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon”
A cease fire allows Hizballah to go fight for Assad. It helps Assad. So this opinion seems like addled, low grade, conspiracy theory thinking.
Maybe Israel and Hizbollah have made a deal. A cease fire so Hizballah can go defend both Lebanon and Israel from the head choppers – of course a lot of Hezbollah fighters might get killed, which will make them even weaker, which benefits Israel. Such a deal. It’s all upside for Israel, but they always were the more intelligent party. Americans are too mentally bovine, and too stuck in culturally biased, near cartoonish, thinking to understand how the region works.
“A couple of weeks ago, Ukrainian special ops reportedly a struck Russian position in the Aleppo area”
I can see that sawed-off punk, Zelensky, thinking himself clever by greenlighting that sort of “strategy”. It is unfortunate that the Russians proved themselves incompetent at peer to peer war fighting. I hope that the deals Trump makes to end all of this foolishness includes an ugly end to indefinite, unquestionable, but oh so democratic, Saint Zelensky. I can’t decide if the runt is like a drowning man who, in his flailing panic, will drown anyone who comes near enough to help; or if he is straight up psychopath dictator. Or both.
” If airstrikes can reduce the number of Russian and Iranian forces in Syria, why not take advantage of this opportunity?”
Err, because it is an act of aggression against a country with which you are not at war?
Such things used to matter once upon a time. Apparently not any more.
Russians also sending drones and drone operatives to Syria. Looks like they’re needed. Badly.
I’m surprised the SAA still exists as a modern fighting force. Covid and the Ceasar sanctions pretty well gutted the place. If there’s one thing the Washington crazies put heart and soul into it’s “Sanctions Architecture”. The US military little more than boondoggle, the economy a barely walking disaster, US diplomacy a lost art and US Intel more useful for faction fighting than spying out the enemy – but when it comes to starving entire nations the crazies are first in class. The sanctions ghouls have come a long way since the crude old Madeleine Albright days.
https://www.newsweek.com/watch-madeleine-albright-saying-iraqi-kids-deaths-worth-it-resurfaces-1691193
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T5JRVR53Eo&ab_channel=MiddleEastEye
Oh well. Just another of the central European vampires the US has subbed its foreign policy out to for so long. And “As long as it takes” still the rallying cry and Brzezinski still their prophet.
Damn. The auto-correct in this little box I’m typing in has caught me out on Brzezinski again. Must remember, “i” for Polacks and “y” for Vatniks.
Brzezinsky – shut up, spell check – being the Ur-Vampire and still held in reverence by the crazies:-
“”Dr. Brzezinski also believed that one of his most enduring contributions to international affairs was shaping America’s rising scholars and practitioners – including President Carter, who described himself as “an eager student” of Zbig; and Ian, Mark, Mika – all of whom have strived to bring us closer to what Zbig called the pragmatic fusion of American power with American principle.”
https://www.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-remarks-to-the-johns-hopkins-school-of-advanced-international-studies-sais-the-power-and-purpose-of-american-diplomacy-in-a-new-era/
I read Blinken’s encomium a while back and thought, what happened to “my” America? Where’s the Little House on the Prairie got to?
At least the vampires are more or less sentient when they’re running American foreign policy. For the Europoodles, it’s the walking dead pretending to run ours in Europe.
So, the Syrians. Those the vampires haven’t starved to death must now cope with another assault from the crazies. It’s not going to work, you know, Ukrainian drone operators or no. The Syrians’ll come through. The crazies and the walking dead are not as potent as they were. Proxy warfare and starving the enemy to death is getting to be so yesterday, on Zbig’s Grand Chessboard.
Up the coast.time for a roast
There is a LONG history of Israel supporting the head choppers in Syria. Years of it covered across the media. There is a reason why there are so few attacks by the head choppers in Syria on Israel. The Israelis figure a state run/destabilized Islamic extremists will be less of a threat than Assad who nominally supports Hizb’Allah and Iran.
Ukrainian forces supporting Islamic extremists? I guess the portion of the Ukrainians who supported the Nazis during WW2 would be happy about supporting another group of genocidal maniacs. It really hurts their cause from a purely moral/philosophical stance when you partner up with those known for the killing and ethnic cleansing of ethnic and religious minorities not to mention carrying on modern day slavery.
Stefan,
Nominally supports? Hizb’Allah and Iran are staunch allies of Assad’s Syria. Syria is the life line between Iran and Hizb’Allah. If Assad didn’t allow weapons to transship Syria, I doubt Israel would be lifting a finger to help the jihadis.
There is an opportunity for Tulsi to go back to Syria and make a deal. Stop being a weapons route and regime change policy will cease.
IMO, Israeli assistance of jihadis is exaggerated.
TTG,
When did Hezbollah cease to be an integral part of the Lebanese state? Do all those Shia in Lebanon not have a say in that governance or do we need to regime change them too, in keeping with the Borg ideology?
Eric,
Tulsi isn’t cutting any deals. Even if confirmed as DNI she won’t have the influence or power to do so. As TTG alludes to, Jerusalem, not Damascus, is the place to make a deal. Though London might be more appropriate since this wonderful little war has all the hallmarks of the UK.
On the use of the Sunni/Shia split by outside powers Craig Murray, former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, has this to say of a nineteenth century example:-
“But as a historian I do know that the western colonial powers have consciously and explicitly used the Sunni/Shia split for centuries to divide and rule. In the 1830’s, Alexander Burnes was writing reports on how to use the division in Sind between Shia rulers and Sunni populations to aid British colonial expansion.
“On 12 May 1838, in his letter from Simla setting out his decision to launch the first British invasion of Afghanistan, British Governor General Lord Auckland included plans to exploit Shia/Sunni division in both Sind and Afghanistan to aid the British military attack.
“The colonial powers have been doing it for centuries, Muslim communities keep falling for it, and the British and Americans are doing it right now to further their remodelling of the Middle East.”
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2024/12/the-end-of-pluralism-in-the-middle-east/comment-page-1/#comment-1073118
Murray’s take on the current conflict is I believe unrealistically gloomy. At least I hope it is! But his history is accurate. He himself has a good background, if one is to judge from his Wiki entry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Murray
As mentioned to James earlier, “divide and rule” was also used, though in different circumstances, in the earlier period of British colonial expansion in India itself. Still seems to work quite well, in the Muslim countries in particular.