Turkish Strategy in Northern Syria: Military Operations, Turkish-backed Groups and Idlib Issue

Turkish Strategy in Northern Syria: Military Operations, Turkish-backed Groups and Idlib Issue

GENERAL ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION In order to understand Turkey’s approach toward the conflict in Syria, one first needs to explain the military situation there as of September 2018. There are localized clashes between militant groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA)…

War or Peace: New Developments Will Determine Syria’s Future

War or Peace: New Developments Will Determine Syria’s Future

ISIS has been reduced to insignificance and the rebels have been defeated in the south and everywhere else in Syria, except in the province of Idlib. This is a big step forward toward stability in the country. Although there are still many problems and contradictions between major actors that remain unsolved, there are signs that…

The “Manbij Model” Is Promising, But It’s Still Far from Perfect

The “Manbij Model” Is Promising, But It’s Still Far from Perfect

The so-called “Manbij Model” that the US and Turkey agreed to in jointly administering the strategic city following the YPG’s withdrawal is promising but nevertheless imperfect because it fails to address the Kurdish-led “deep state” that controls the SDF’s political and military activities in northeastern Syria. The US and Turkey finally reached a deal to…

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are Scaling Up Their Activities Against Iran

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are Scaling Up Their Activities Against Iran

A military delegation of high-ranking officers from Saudi Arabia and the UAE recently visited a Kurdish SDF base in Aïn al-Arab (Kobani) on the Syrian border with Turkey. They discussed practical questions connected with replacing the US military presence there with troops from several Arab nations, who would represent the League of Arab States. There…

The Ethnic Cleansing of Sunni Arabs in North Eastern Syria Will Come Back to Haunt the United States

The Ethnic Cleansing of Sunni Arabs in North Eastern Syria Will Come Back to Haunt the United States

From “De-Ba’athification” in Iraq to “De-Shi’afication” in Syria Of the dozens if not scores of tactical, strategic and fundamental mistakes the US made in Iraq after illegally invading and occupying the country in 2003, was a strategy which sought to inflict a punitive socio-political and economic disenfranchisement of the Sunni Arab population of the Arab…