And next, Syria?

[teqniq]

Once upon a time Syria had thousands of jews of its own. Now it has nearly zero, if not actually zero. Guess where they (nearly all) went?

There is absolutely no excuse whatsoever in Israel laying claim to yet more land which isn't theirs regardless of how many jews may have at one time been living in Syria.

 

[mojo pixy]

There is absolutely no excuse whatsoever in Israel laying claim to yet more land which isn't theirs regardless of how many jews may have at one time been living in Syria.

Well no, but that's got nothing to do with how Israel will ultimately act under these circumstances. Damascus isn't much more than 100 miles from Jerusalem and they definitely consider Syria their backyard. Many Israeli eyes and no doubt (in civvies) hands and boots are no doubt tilting towards Syria just now.

 

[teqniq]

Well no, but that's got nothing to do with how Israel will ultimately act under these circumstances. Damascus isn't much more than 100 miles from Jerusalem and they definitely consider Syria their backyard. Many Israeli eyes and no doubt (in civvies) hands and boots are no doubt tilting towards Syria just now.

Speaking of how Israel will act, they seem to have heavily bombed the port of Latakia this evening, there's Russian bases nearby. I wonder what the actual reason is though.

@aisha_c10
Israel is massively bombing Latakia in Syria right now, a city that has stood for over 4,000 years.

Israel is literally annihilating Syria,
Is if really a “liberation”.?

View attachment ssstwitter.com_1733773488774.mp4

 

[mojo pixy]

Speaking of how Israel will act, they seem to have heavily bombed the port of Latakia this evening, there's Russian bases nearby. I wonder what the actual reason is though.

@aisha_c10
Israel is massively bombing Latakia in Syria right now, a city that has stood for over 4,000 years.

Israel is literally annihilating Syria,
Is if really a “liberation”.?

View attachment 454372

It'll obviously be some kind of self interest. I don't suppose Israel wants a heap of Russian munitions heading into who-knows-who's hands. If that was the reason for the strikes.

 

[zahir]

From a pro-Kurdish account raising the possibility of hostilities breaking out between HTS and the SNA.

Tensions between HTS and the Turkish led SNA continue:

Al Jazeera reports that HTS-Prime minister of the Syrian Salvation Government in Idlib (SSG) Mohammed al Bashir will head the transitional administration of Syria. He will become the Syrian prime minister basically.

The Turkish led SNA have a government of their own which they call Syrian Interim Government - none of the SNA officials were present at the meeting nor invited.

Remains to be seen how SNA will react - there is a possibility that this move has been approved by them but I doubt it.

I estimate that the SNA were simply excluded from any form of establishing the new-Syrian government under the authority of the HTS.

What makes it so interesting is that the Turkish led SNA under direct control of the Turkish government - they were established to guarantee and expand Turkish influence in Syria.

Erdogan and the Turkish government will fear for their influence in Syria and a potential exclusion from Turkish-factions in Syria. If that scenario comes true, then you can be assured that the tensions between HTS and SNA will turn into hostilities.

Already Ahrar Al Sharqiya of the SNA is in talks with the HTS with rumours of a possible switch of allegiance. But that is just a rumour for now.

 

[mojo pixy]

Yeah, between the turks and the israelis and the islamists, I'm not sure the immediate future looks too bright. Let alone Russia and the USA

I hope I'm wrong.

 

[zahir]

I'm actually cautiously optimistic, but then my track record of predictions isn't great.

 

[mojo pixy]

Yeah the constant tension between hope and expectation, it's gone up another notch.

 

[zahir]

This isn't great though.

YPG

Turkish media is sharing footage of their militias at checkpoints outside of Manbij, some of them wearing ISIS patches, so you can see what kind of people they are.

 

[The39thStep]

From a pro-Kurdish account raising the possibility of hostilities breaking out between HTS and the SNA.

The ironic thing is that HTS wouldn't be in the position it is now without Erdogan

 

[mojo pixy]

A Palestinian wrote this eight years ago.

Syria, my love - +972 Magazine

The Syria that was once an icon of enlightenment and education has been erased, crushed under barrel bombs and proxy power struggles, as the world watches and waits to see how it will all end. What, after all, have we learned from history? Run, run away all you strong and invulnerable...

www.972mag.com

I wonder how much has changed?

 

[xenon]

Can anyone recommend a reasonably accessible book on the history of Syria leading up to these times? I’ve read a bit some pieces here over the years. Obviously. I don’t have any kind of handle on the history the nation. And feel remiss commenting on it other than good riddance to Asad. Something that presents an overview. I’ve read various bits, books about Isis.

 

[The39thStep]

For the flower bringers

 

[zahir]

Can anyone recommend a reasonably accessible book on the history of Syria leading up to these times? I’ve read a bit some pieces here over the years. Obviously. I don’t have any kind of handle on the history the nation. And feel remiss commenting on it other than good riddance to Asad. Something that presents an overview. I’ve read various bits, books about Isis.

I bought a copy of this when it came out but never actually read it because the subject had got so depressing.

Burning Country

*Shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2017* In 2011, many Syrians took to the streets of Damascus to demand the overthrow of the government of Bashar a...

www.plutobooks.com

In 2011, many Syrians took to the streets of Damascus to demand the overthrow of the government of Bashar al-Assad. Today, much of Syria has become a war zone where foreign journalists find it almost impossible to report on life in this devastated land.

Burning Country explores the horrific and complicated reality of life in present-day Syria with unprecedented detail and sophistication, drawing on new first hand testimonies from opposition fighters, exiles lost in an archipelago of refugee camps, and courageous human rights activists among many others. These stories are expertly interwoven with a trenchant analysis of the brutalisation of the conflict and the militarisation of the uprising, of the rise of the Islamists and sectarian warfare, and the role of governments in Syria and elsewhere in exacerbating those violent processes.

With chapters focusing on ISIS and Islamism, regional geopolitics, the new grassroots revolutionary organisations, and the worst refugee crisis since World War Two, Burning Country is a vivid and groundbreaking look at a modern-day political and humanitarian nightmare.

 

[xenon]

I'm actually cautiously optimistic, but then my track record of predictions isn't great.

I’ve been reading a lot of of your posts on this but not commenting. cheers for the links. I appreciate they are not Twitter and actual good readable articles.

 

[CNT36]

Can anyone recommend a reasonably accessible book on the history of Syria leading up to these times? I’ve read a bit some pieces here over the years. Obviously. I don’t have any kind of handle on the history the nation. And feel remiss commenting on it other than good riddance to Asad. Something that presents an overview. I’ve read various bits, books about Isis.

Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War by Leila Al-Shami and Robin Yassin-Kassab that I haven't read all the way through is highly recommended. Actually written by Syrians.
The oft quoted Charles Lister's The Syrian Jihad is worth a read.
A good book on the origins of the Assad regime is The Struggle for Power in Syria by Nicholaos van Dam.

 

[The39thStep]

I bought a copy of this when it came out but never actually read it because the subject had got so depressing.

Burning Country

*Shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2017* In 2011, many Syrians took to the streets of Damascus to demand the overthrow of the government of Bashar a...

www.plutobooks.com

Thought this book was good on capturing the hope of the revolt and the sense of what if and then what was lost. Also good on the economics which is rarely covered in the media .

 

[The39thStep]

Just checked on my Kindle and can say I enjoyed Charles Gass- Syria Burning : ISIS and the Death of the Arab Spring as well.

I forgot I had started Joseph Darmers - Syria after the Uprisings which I think had some sort of Marxist approach.

​

 

[teqniq]

Having my curiosity piqued by the mention of Maher Assad's wife, Manal I went looking again as to his whereabouts. From a search of Twitter, long story short no-one really seems to know. One person thought he might be in Tehran, another Benghazi and yet another thought he is dead. During my trawl I found this video of the inside of Maher and his wife's house, minimalist luxury is a description that springs to mind. But... beneath the house is a tunnel complex like something out of a Bond movie:

@YavuzSelim23_1
Massive tunnel complex beneath Maher Assad's mansion, wide enough for trucks carrying Captagon and gold to drive through.

View attachment ssstwitter.com_1733708010589.mp4

 

[xenon]

Thought this book was good on capturing the hope of the revolt and the sense of what if and then what was lost. Also good on the economics which is rarely covered in the media .

I’ve just bought an e-book version. Will start reading it tomorrow.

 

[zahir]

thread

The Israeli occupation of Mount Hermon is the first proper foreign policy test for the opposition government in Damascus. It is serious but not urgent. There are a lot of people making rash statements about sending the opposition forces to confront the IDF. That’s a mistake

The Israel government seems to be making a big fuss about its fear of a vacuum and providing security for its citizens. Sure it is a legitimate concern but it is also nonsense when it comes to creating a buffer zone in Israel

The idea that Hezbullah will ever be able to use Syria as a conduit for arms is now virtually nil. The idea that the Opposition will embark on a war to free Palestine is also nil. The priority will be to consolidate power and create a government

Netanyahu’s silly buffer zone is both to shore up his flagging image domestically and also to provoke the Syrian opposition to do something stupid and thereby justify his buffer zone

But Netanyahu has troubles of his own. His coalition is brittle. His time in office likely to be short. And it is very likely he will be going to prison once his term finishes.

The Israelis may also want to negotiate this buffer zone. They do what they can because they can. And it’s important to recognise that they hold all the military cards.

So if I was heading the opposition government in Damascus I would do absolutely nothing. The first priority is a working government and facilities and services for citizens.

Water, security, fuel, electricity and the economy. Schools opened, refugees back. Reconstruction and healing.

Maintain the legal right to this absurd buffer zone and the Golan heights. Wait for a new Israeli government and arrange a just and reasonable peace deal that demilitarises the border and conditioning it on Palestinian statehood first.

Doing the opposite will cripple Syria in a destructive war and the focus now should be on healing and rebuilding. Listening to armchair generals about the sovereignty and pride of Syria is going to lead us to ruin. We need cool heads and patience to prevail. No more wars.

 

[teqniq]

Many reports on Twitter that Israel is conducting airstrikes throughout Syria mainly targeting military sites such as weapons stores and airfields basically rendering the country with no meaningful defence capability at all.

 

[tim]

Once upon a time Syria had thousands of jews of its own. Now it has nearly zero, if not actually zero. Guess where they (nearly all) went?

I met some Syrian Jews on a visit to Danascus, in about 1984. I wad on an 'educational' visit organised by the Ministry of Tourism. We were taken to a Jewish shop in the Souk adorned with pictures of the owner smiling with Jimmy Carter and various other washed up politicians of note.

We also came a group of primary age kids and in a rather shambolic parade to celebrate Rosh Hashanah: too messy to have been organised to impress us, but maybe that was the intention. One of the adults accompanying the group asked if any of us was Jewish, if one of us was they didn't admit it.

And, as in any other country in MENA there will be tens of thousands of people with Jewish ancestry just keeping their heads down.

 

[mojo pixy]

I met some Syrian Jews on a visit to Danascus, in about 1984. I wad on an 'educational' visit organised by the Ministry of Tourism. We were taken to a Jewish shop in the Souk adorned with pictures of the owner smiling with Jimmy Carter and various other washed up politicians of note.

We also came a group of primary age kids and in a rather shambolic parade to celebrate Rosh Hashanah: too messy to have been organised to impress us, but maybe that was the intention. One of the adults accompanying the group asked if any of us was Jewish, if one of us was they didn't admit it.

And, as in any other country in MENA there will be tens of thousands of people with Jewish ancestry just keeping their heads down.

I've been looking for a story that was recent enough to be relevant, but that could still illustrate the point (so that I don't end up getting into a debate about zionism here).I found one...

The Jews Of Syria’s Qamishli: Short History, Lasting Legacy – Analysis

By Sirwan Kajjo The history of Jews in the majority-Kurdish city of Qamishli in northeast Syria is less ancient than in other Kurdish regions across the Middle East. It is not even comparable to that of the Jewish communities in Aleppo and Damascus. However, not only did this small community...

www.eurasiareview.com

...and this story could just as easily be told about Aleppo, Idlib, Homs, Damascus... I keep hearing 'what about christians under the islamists?' which jars slightly, because we should be asking 'what about christians and jews under the islamists?' but we don't, because all the jews are already long gone.

 

[kebabking]

Many reports on Twitter that Israel is conducting airstrikes throughout Syria mainly targeting military sites such as weapons stores and airfields basically rendering the country with no meaningful defence capability at all.

Or, you look at it the other way round, that Israel is taking a cautious approach to the idea of a group - or group of groups - some of which were allied with, or part of AQ, having chemical weapons and fast jets.

The US was battering the shit out of IS last night as well.

It will be genuinely great if this coalition of coalitions hold together, and holds to its PR, but let's not pretend that that's the only likely outcome, or indeed that if it all turns to shit, there not being chemical weapons and the means to deliver them available to various extremely unpleasant groups to get their grubby mitts on, will look like a stroke of fortune.

 

[LakieLady]

Can anyone recommend a reasonably accessible book on the history of Syria leading up to these times? I’ve read a bit some pieces here over the years. Obviously. I don’t have any kind of handle on the history the nation. And feel remiss commenting on it other than good riddance to Asad. Something that presents an overview. I’ve read various bits, books about Isis.

A couple of years ago a friend lent me a book by someone called Granger which was a pretty reasonable read without seeming superficial. I can't recall the title, but I think it may just have been called "History of Syria".

 

[teqniq]

Or, you look at it the other way round, that Israel is taking a cautious approach to the idea of a group - or group of groups - some of which were allied with, or part of AQ, having chemical weapons and fast jets.

The US was battering the shit out of IS last night as well.

It will be genuinely great if this coalition of coalitions hold together, and holds to its PR, but let's not pretend that that's the only likely outcome, or indeed that if it all turns to shit, there not being chemical weapons and the means to deliver them available to various extremely unpleasant groups to get their grubby mitts on, will look like a stroke of fortune.

This would be laughable were it not for the fact that the 'cautious approach' see numerous reports on Twitter of Israel and the US carrying out multiple airstrikes on military and scientific installations. Another report states that IDF ground forces are now 25km from Damascus. And about those chemical weapons:

 

[klang]

I’ve been reading a lot of of your posts on this but not commenting. cheers for the links. I appreciate they are not Twitter and actual good readable articles.

This. Thanks zahir

 

[emanymton]

Perhaps people on here could help HTS organise a book fair?

Steady on now, I'm not sure they are prepared for that level of conflict.

 

[brogdale]

So just how far are the IDF (blue) going along inside the Syrian border to cut off the land bridge to Southern Lebanon?