→State-sponsorship of terrorism: This section is a mess. Clean-up; removal of undue irrelevant information (eg: Assad's opposition and critique of Western foreign policy, questioning the existence of al-Qaeda, etc.) I will make further edits soon. Tags: Reverted nowiki added Visual edit |
→Alleged state-sponsorship of terrorism: Undue weight being given to politicians who accuse the Syrian state of supporting ISIS vs academics who say that there is no Syrian state support. Tags: Reverted Visual edit |
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According to journalist [[Peter R. Neumann]], during the [[Iraq War]], "in the years that preceded the uprising, Assad and his intelligence services took the view that jihad could be nurtured and manipulated to serve the Syrian government's aims".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Neumann |first=Peter |date=3 April 2014 |title=Suspects into Collaborators |url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n07/peter-neumann/suspects-into-collaborators |journal=London Review of Books |volume=36 |issue=7 |access-date=8 March 2015}}</ref> Iraqi leaders such as former national security advisor [[Mowaffak al-Rubaie]] and former Prime Minister [[Nouri al-Maliki]] have accused Assad of harbouring and supporting jihadist militants during the Iraq War.<ref name="Iraq asked Syria's Assad to stop aiding 'jihadists': Former official2">{{cite web |date=20 October 2015 |title=Iraq asked Syria's Assad to stop aiding 'jihadists': Former official |url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iraq-asked-syrias-assad-not-aid-jihadists-former-official-1553468312#sthash.R54u7MXw.dpuf |access-date=}}</ref><ref name="Maliki blames Syria for attacks, Assad denies claim2">{{cite web |date=4 October 2009 |title=Maliki blames Syria for attacks, Assad denies claim |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20090901-maliki-blames-syria-attacks-assad-denies-claim- |access-date=}}</ref> [[United States Army|US Army]] General [[David Petraeus]] would claim that "Bashar al-Asad was well aware that his brother-in-law [[Assef Shawkat|'Asif Shawqat]], Director of [[Military Intelligence Directorate (Syria)|Syrian Military Intelligence]], had detailed knowledge of the activities of [<nowiki/>[[al-Qaeda in Iraq]]] facilitator [[Abu Ghadiya]], who was using Syrian territory to bring foreign fighters and suicide bombers into Iraq", with later cables adding that Petraeus thought that "in time, these fighters will turn on their Syrian hosts and begin conducting attacks against Bashar al-Assad's regime itself".<ref>{{cite news |last=Joscelyn |first=Thomas |date=24 July 2012 |title=Slain Syrian official supported al Qaeda in Iraq |work=The Long War Journal |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/07/slain_syrian_officia.php |access-date=3 February 2016}}</ref> |
According to journalist [[Peter R. Neumann]], during the [[Iraq War]], "in the years that preceded the uprising, Assad and his intelligence services took the view that jihad could be nurtured and manipulated to serve the Syrian government's aims".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Neumann |first=Peter |date=3 April 2014 |title=Suspects into Collaborators |url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n07/peter-neumann/suspects-into-collaborators |journal=London Review of Books |volume=36 |issue=7 |access-date=8 March 2015}}</ref> Iraqi leaders such as former national security advisor [[Mowaffak al-Rubaie]] and former Prime Minister [[Nouri al-Maliki]] have accused Assad of harbouring and supporting jihadist militants during the Iraq War.<ref name="Iraq asked Syria's Assad to stop aiding 'jihadists': Former official2">{{cite web |date=20 October 2015 |title=Iraq asked Syria's Assad to stop aiding 'jihadists': Former official |url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iraq-asked-syrias-assad-not-aid-jihadists-former-official-1553468312#sthash.R54u7MXw.dpuf |access-date=}}</ref><ref name="Maliki blames Syria for attacks, Assad denies claim2">{{cite web |date=4 October 2009 |title=Maliki blames Syria for attacks, Assad denies claim |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20090901-maliki-blames-syria-attacks-assad-denies-claim- |access-date=}}</ref> [[United States Army|US Army]] General [[David Petraeus]] would claim that "Bashar al-Asad was well aware that his brother-in-law [[Assef Shawkat|'Asif Shawqat]], Director of [[Military Intelligence Directorate (Syria)|Syrian Military Intelligence]], had detailed knowledge of the activities of [<nowiki/>[[al-Qaeda in Iraq]]] facilitator [[Abu Ghadiya]], who was using Syrian territory to bring foreign fighters and suicide bombers into Iraq", with later cables adding that Petraeus thought that "in time, these fighters will turn on their Syrian hosts and begin conducting attacks against Bashar al-Assad's regime itself".<ref>{{cite news |last=Joscelyn |first=Thomas |date=24 July 2012 |title=Slain Syrian official supported al Qaeda in Iraq |work=The Long War Journal |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/07/slain_syrian_officia.php |access-date=3 February 2016}}</ref> |
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[[File:Syrian_civil_war_01_08_2015.png|thumb|250x250px|Military situation in the Syrian civil war in July 2015]]The [[Syrian opposition]] have accused Assad of strategically releasing ISIS prisoners during the start of the Syrian crisis in 2011,<ref>{{cite web |last=Speakwell Cordall |first=Simon |date=21 June 2014 |title=How Syria's Assad Helped Forge ISIS |url=http://www.newsweek.com/how-syrias-assad-helped-forge-isis-255631 |access-date=8 March 2015 |work=Newsweek}}</ref> having intelligence operatives within the ranks of ISIS,<ref>{{cite web |date=24 April 2014 |title=Has Assad infiltrated rebel forces inside Syria? |url=http://www.channel4.com/news/is-assad-isis-rebel-forces-iraq-syria |access-date=8 March 2015 |publisher=Channel Four News}}</ref> and directing ISIS attacks.<ref>{{cite web |date=20 January 2014 |title=AlQaeda detainees reveal ties with Assad |url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/01/21/Al-Qaeda-detainees-reveal-ties-with-Assad.html |access-date=8 March 2015 |publisher=[[Al Arabiya News]]}}{{better source needed|date=October 2019}}</ref> According to "Western intelligence agencies, rebels and al-Qaeda defectors", the Syrian government paid "al-Nusra to protect oil and gas pipelines under al-Nusra’s control in the north and east of the country, and is also allowing the transport of oil to regime-held areas".<ref name="ISIS_Nusra_oil">{{cite web |last1=Kelley |first1=Michael, B |date=21 January 2014 |title=It's Becoming Clear That Assad Fueled The Al-Qaeda Surge That Has Kept Him in Power |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/assad-helped-build-al-qaeda-in-syria-2014-1 |access-date=8 March 2015 |work=Business Insider}}</ref> A businessman operating in both government and ISIL-controlled territory has claimed that "out of necessity" the Assad government has "had dealings with ISIS."<ref name="Newsweek_March26">{{cite magazine |last=Baker |first=Aryn |date=26 February 2015 |title=Why Bashar Assad Won't Fight ISIS |url=http://time.com/3719129/assad-isis-asset/ |magazine=Time |access-date=7 March 2015}}</ref> <!--Rising fuel prices were exacerbated by the airstrikes of the U.S.-led intervention in Syria on ISIS-controlled oil fields, as the government was no longer able to buy oil from ISIS at favourable rates, thus forcing the Syrian government further into survival mode.<ref name="SurvivalMode"/> ISIS established trade lines with Syrian rebels in northern [[Aleppo Governorate]], with fuel and oil being sent from ISIS territory in exchange for food and basic supplies. These supply lines came temporarily under a blockade in June 2015, before a new agreement was reached between the rebels and ISIL and they were reopened.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://aranews.net/2015/06/syrian-islamist-rebels-in-aleppo-reach-agreement-with-isis-to-open-supply-routes/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613051105/http://aranews.net/2015/06/syrian-islamist-rebels-in-aleppo-reach-agreement-with-isis-to-open-supply-routes/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 June 2015 |title=Syrian Islamist rebels in Aleppo reach agreement with ISIS to open supply routes |work=ARA News}}</ref>--> At its height, ISIS was making $40 million a month from the sale of oil, with the majority of the oil, according to the [[United States Department of the Treasury|US Treasury Department]], being sold to the Syrian government.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ensor |first1=Josie |date=25 April 2016 |title=How Isil colluded with Assad to make $40m a month in oil deals |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/25/isils-deal-with-bashar-al-assad-and-the-40m-a-month-oil-profits/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 April 2016 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/25/isils-deal-with-bashar-al-assad-and-the-40m-a-month-oil-profits/ |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> |
[[File:Syrian_civil_war_01_08_2015.png|thumb|250x250px|Military situation in the Syrian civil war in July 2015]]The [[Syrian opposition]] have accused Assad of strategically releasing ISIS prisoners during the start of the Syrian crisis in 2011,<ref>{{cite web |last=Speakwell Cordall |first=Simon |date=21 June 2014 |title=How Syria's Assad Helped Forge ISIS |url=http://www.newsweek.com/how-syrias-assad-helped-forge-isis-255631 |access-date=8 March 2015 |work=Newsweek}}</ref> having intelligence operatives within the ranks of ISIS,<ref>{{cite web |date=24 April 2014 |title=Has Assad infiltrated rebel forces inside Syria? |url=http://www.channel4.com/news/is-assad-isis-rebel-forces-iraq-syria |access-date=8 March 2015 |publisher=Channel Four News}}</ref> and directing ISIS attacks.<ref>{{cite web |date=20 January 2014 |title=AlQaeda detainees reveal ties with Assad |url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/01/21/Al-Qaeda-detainees-reveal-ties-with-Assad.html |access-date=8 March 2015 |publisher=[[Al Arabiya News]]}}{{better source needed|date=October 2019}}</ref> According to "Western intelligence agencies, rebels and al-Qaeda defectors", the Syrian government paid "al-Nusra to protect oil and gas pipelines under al-Nusra’s control in the north and east of the country, and is also allowing the transport of oil to regime-held areas".<ref name="ISIS_Nusra_oil">{{cite web |last1=Kelley |first1=Michael, B |date=21 January 2014 |title=It's Becoming Clear That Assad Fueled The Al-Qaeda Surge That Has Kept Him in Power |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/assad-helped-build-al-qaeda-in-syria-2014-1 |access-date=8 March 2015 |work=Business Insider}}</ref> A businessman operating in both government and ISIL-controlled territory has claimed that "out of necessity" the Assad government has "had dealings with ISIS."<ref name="Newsweek_March26">{{cite magazine |last=Baker |first=Aryn |date=26 February 2015 |title=Why Bashar Assad Won't Fight ISIS |url=http://time.com/3719129/assad-isis-asset/ |magazine=Time |access-date=7 March 2015}}</ref> <!--Rising fuel prices were exacerbated by the airstrikes of the U.S.-led intervention in Syria on ISIS-controlled oil fields, as the government was no longer able to buy oil from ISIS at favourable rates, thus forcing the Syrian government further into survival mode.<ref name="SurvivalMode"/> ISIS established trade lines with Syrian rebels in northern [[Aleppo Governorate]], with fuel and oil being sent from ISIS territory in exchange for food and basic supplies. These supply lines came temporarily under a blockade in June 2015, before a new agreement was reached between the rebels and ISIL and they were reopened.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://aranews.net/2015/06/syrian-islamist-rebels-in-aleppo-reach-agreement-with-isis-to-open-supply-routes/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613051105/http://aranews.net/2015/06/syrian-islamist-rebels-in-aleppo-reach-agreement-with-isis-to-open-supply-routes/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 June 2015 |title=Syrian Islamist rebels in Aleppo reach agreement with ISIS to open supply routes |work=ARA News}}</ref>--> At its height, ISIS was making $40 million a month from the sale of oil, with the majority of the oil, according to the [[United States Department of the Treasury|US Treasury Department]], being sold to the Syrian government.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ensor |first1=Josie |date=25 April 2016 |title=How Isil colluded with Assad to make $40m a month in oil deals |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/25/isils-deal-with-bashar-al-assad-and-the-40m-a-month-oil-profits/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 April 2016 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/25/isils-deal-with-bashar-al-assad-and-the-40m-a-month-oil-profits/ |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> According to a ''[[Jane's Defence Weekly]]'' analysis, only a small percentage of the Syrian government's attacks were targeted at ISIS in 2014.<ref name="Assad_ISIL_Stats">{{cite web |last1=Vinograd |first1=Cassandra |last2=Omar |first2=Ammar Cheikh |date=11 December 2014 |title=Syria, ISIS Have Been 'Ignoring' Each Other on Battlefield, Data Suggests |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/syria-isis-have-been-ignoring-each-other-battlefield-data-suggests-n264551 |access-date=8 March 2015 |publisher=NBC}}</ref> Mario Abou Zeid of the [[Carnegie Middle East Center]] claimed that the recent Hezbollah offensive "has exposed the reality of the ISIL in Qalamoun; that it is operated by the Syrian regime's intelligence", after ISIS in the region engaged in probing attacks against FSA units at the outset of the fighting.<ref>{{cite web |last=Abou Zeid |first=Mario |date=11 May 2015 |title=Assad's Last Battle |url=https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/assads-last-battle-121228488.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518091443/https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/assads-last-battle-121228488.html |archive-date=18 May 2015 |access-date=11 May 2015 |publisher=Yahoo News Maktoob}}</ref> |
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[[Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi]] has disputed such assertions, arguing that "ISIS has a record of fighting the regime on multiple fronts", many rebel factions have engaged in oil sales to the Syrian regime because it is "now largely dependent on Iraqi oil imports via Lebanese and Egyptian third-party intermediaries", and while "the regime is focusing its airstrikes [on areas] where it has some real expectations of advancing" claims that it "has not hit ISIS strongholds" are "untrue". He concluded: "Attempting to prove an ISIS-regime conspiracy without any conclusive evidence is unhelpful, because it draws attention away from the real reasons why ISIS grew and gained such prominence: namely, rebel groups tolerated ISIS."<ref>{{cite web |last=Al-Tamimi |first=Aymenn Jawad |date=11 February 2014 |title=The Assad Regime and Jihadis: Collaborators and Allies? |url=http://www.meforum.org/3786/assad-jihadis-collaborators-allies |access-date=8 March 2015 |publisher=Middle East Forum}}</ref> Similarly, Max Abrahms and John Glaser stated in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' in December 2017 that "The evidence of Assad sponsoring Islamic State... was about as strong as for [[Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda link allegations|Saddam Hussein sponsoring Al Qaeda]]."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Abrahms |first1=Max |last2=Glaser |first2=John |date=10 December 2017 |title=The pundits were wrong about Assad and the Islamic State. As usual, they're not willing to admit it |url=http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-abrahms-glaser-isis-assad-20171210-story.html |access-date=11 January 2018 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> |
[[Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi]] has disputed such assertions, arguing that "ISIS has a record of fighting the regime on multiple fronts", many rebel factions have engaged in oil sales to the Syrian regime because it is "now largely dependent on Iraqi oil imports via Lebanese and Egyptian third-party intermediaries", and while "the regime is focusing its airstrikes [on areas] where it has some real expectations of advancing" claims that it "has not hit ISIS strongholds" are "untrue". He concluded: "Attempting to prove an ISIS-regime conspiracy without any conclusive evidence is unhelpful, because it draws attention away from the real reasons why ISIS grew and gained such prominence: namely, rebel groups tolerated ISIS."<ref>{{cite web |last=Al-Tamimi |first=Aymenn Jawad |date=11 February 2014 |title=The Assad Regime and Jihadis: Collaborators and Allies? |url=http://www.meforum.org/3786/assad-jihadis-collaborators-allies |access-date=8 March 2015 |publisher=Middle East Forum}}</ref> Similarly, Max Abrahms and John Glaser stated in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' in December 2017 that "The evidence of Assad sponsoring Islamic State... was about as strong as for [[Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda link allegations|Saddam Hussein sponsoring Al Qaeda]]."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Abrahms |first1=Max |last2=Glaser |first2=John |date=10 December 2017 |title=The pundits were wrong about Assad and the Islamic State. As usual, they're not willing to admit it |url=http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-abrahms-glaser-isis-assad-20171210-story.html |access-date=11 January 2018 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> |
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In October 2014, U.S. Vice President [[Joe Biden]] stated that [[Turkey]], [[Saudi Arabia]] and the [[United Arab Emirates]] had "poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Al-Assad, except that the people who were being supplied were [[Al-Nusra Front|al-Nusra]], and al Qaeda, and the extremist elements of [[Jihadism|jihadis]] coming from other parts of the world."<ref>{{cite news |date=7 October 2014 |title=Joe Biden Is the Only Honest Man in Washington |work=[[Foreign Policy]] |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/10/07/joe-biden-is-the-only-honest-man-in-washington/}}</ref> |
In October 2014, U.S. Vice President [[Joe Biden]] stated that [[Turkey]], [[Saudi Arabia]] and the [[United Arab Emirates]] had "poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Al-Assad, except that the people who were being supplied were [[Al-Nusra Front|al-Nusra]], and al Qaeda, and the extremist elements of [[Jihadism|jihadis]] coming from other parts of the world."<ref>{{cite news |date=7 October 2014 |title=Joe Biden Is the Only Honest Man in Washington |work=[[Foreign Policy]] |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/10/07/joe-biden-is-the-only-honest-man-in-washington/}}</ref>[[File:Syrian_civil_war_01_11_2018.png|thumb|250x250px|Military situation in January 2019]] |
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[[Mark Lyall Grant]], then [[Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations|Permanent Representative of the UK to the UN]], stated at the outset of the [[American-led intervention in Syria]] that "ISIS is a monster that the Frankenstein of Assad has largely created".<ref>{{cite web |last=Hullah |first=Henry |date=29 August 2014 |title=New leader of the Free Syrian Army: We warned the Americans about ISIS |url=http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2014/08/29/new-leader-of-the-free-syrian-army-we-warned-the-americans-about-isis/ |access-date=8 March 2015 |publisher=CNN}}</ref> French President [[François Hollande]] stated, "Assad cannot be a partner in the fight against terrorism, he is the de facto ally of jihadists".<ref>{{cite web |date=28 August 2014 |title=French leader calls Assad a 'jihadist ally' |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/08/french-leader-calls-assad-jihadist-ally-201482891950519751.html |access-date=8 March 2015 |publisher=Al Jazeera}}</ref> Analyst Noah Bonsey of the [[International Crisis Group]] has suggested that ISIS are politically expedient for Assad, as "the threat of ISIS provides a way out [for Assad] because the regime believes that over time the U.S. and other countries backing the opposition will eventually conclude that the regime is a necessary partner on the ground in confronting this jihadi threat", while Robin Wright of the Middle East Program at the [[Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars]] has stated "the outside world's decision to focus on ISIS has ironically lessened the pressure on Assad."<ref>{{cite news |last=Boghani |first=Priyanka |date=27 February 2015 |title=New Reports Detail Assad's Brutal Tactics in Syria |publisher=PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/foreign-affairs-defense/syrias-second-front/new-reports-detail-assads-brutal-tactics-in-syria/ |access-date=8 March 2015}}</ref> In May 2015, Mario Abou Zeid of the [[Carnegie Middle East Center]] claimed that the recent Hezbollah offensive "has exposed the reality of the ISIL in Qalamoun; that it is operated by the Syrian regime's intelligence", after ISIS in the region engaged in probing attacks against FSA units at the outset of the fighting.<ref>{{cite web |last=Abou Zeid |first=Mario |date=11 May 2015 |title=Assad's Last Battle |url=https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/assads-last-battle-121228488.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518091443/https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/assads-last-battle-121228488.html |archive-date=18 May 2015 |access-date=11 May 2015 |publisher=Yahoo News Maktoob}}</ref> |
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[[File:Syrian_civil_war_01_11_2018.png|thumb|250x250px|Military situation in January 2019]] |
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On 1 June 2015, the U.S. stated that the Assad government was "making air-strikes in support" of an ISIS advance on Syrian opposition positions north of Aleppo.<ref>{{Cite tweet|number=605471087422488579|user=USEmbassySyria|title=Reports indicate that the regime is making air-strikes in support of #ISIL's advance on #Aleppo, aiding extremists against Syrian population|author=U.S. Embassy Syria|date=1 June 2015|access-date=2 June 2015}}</ref> Referring to the same ISIS offensive, the president of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) Khaled Koja accused Assad of acting "as an air force for ISIS",<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barnard |first1=Anne |date=2 June 2015 |title=Assad's Forces May Be Aiding New ISIS Surge |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/world/middleeast/new-battles-aleppo-syria-insurgents-isis.html |access-date=5 June 2015}}</ref> with the Defence Minister of the SNC [[Salim Idris]] claiming that approximately 180 Assad-linked officers were serving in ISIS and coordinating the group's attacks with the [[Syrian Arab Army]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Bar'el |first=Zvi |date=3 June 2015 |title=Assad's cooperation with ISIS could push U.S. into Syria conflict |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.659340 |access-date=4 June 2015 |work=Haaretz |quote=Salim Idris, defense minister in the rebels' provisional government, said approximately 180 Syrian Army officers are currently serving with ISIS and coordinating the group's military operations with the army.}}</ref> Christopher Kozak of the [[Institute for the Study of War]] claims that "Assad sees the defeat of ISIS in the long term and prioritizes in the more short-and medium-term, trying to cripple the more mainline Syrian opposition [...] ISIS is a threat that lots of people can rally around and even if the regime trades … territory that was in rebel hands over to ISIS control, that weakens the opposition, which has more legitimacy [than ISIS]".<ref>{{cite news |last=Engel |first=Pamela |date=4 June 2015 |title=Why Assad's air force is now a force multiplier for ISIS |work=Yahoo Finance |agency=Business Insider |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-assads-air-force-now-191616721.html |url-status=live |access-date=6 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605122540/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-assads-air-force-now-191616721.html |archive-date=5 June 2015}}</ref> In 2015, the [[al-Nusra Front]], [[al-Qaeda]]'s Syrian affiliate,<ref>{{cite news |date=28 May 2015 |title=Gulf allies and 'Army of Conquest |newspaper=[[Al-Ahram Weekly]] |url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/12392/21/Gulf-allies-and-%E2%80%98Army-of-Conquest%E2%80%99.aspx |url-status=dead |access-date=30 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919055514/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/12392/21/Gulf-allies-and-%E2%80%98Army-of-Conquest%E2%80%99.aspx |archive-date=19 September 2015}}</ref> issued a [[Bounty (reward)|bounty]] worth millions of dollars for the killing of Assad.<ref>{{cite news |date=13 October 2015 |title=Bounty For Bashar Assad? Al Qaeda Nusra Front Offers $3.4M For Syrian President, $2.3M For Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah, Leader Says |newspaper=[[International Business Times]] |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/bounty-bashar-assad-al-qaeda-nusra-front-offers-34m-syrian-president-23m-hezbollahs-2139793}}</ref> |
On 1 June 2015, the U.S. stated that the Assad government was "making air-strikes in support" of an ISIS advance on Syrian opposition positions north of Aleppo.<ref>{{Cite tweet|number=605471087422488579|user=USEmbassySyria|title=Reports indicate that the regime is making air-strikes in support of #ISIL's advance on #Aleppo, aiding extremists against Syrian population|author=U.S. Embassy Syria|date=1 June 2015|access-date=2 June 2015}}</ref> Referring to the same ISIS offensive, the president of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) Khaled Koja accused Assad of acting "as an air force for ISIS",<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barnard |first1=Anne |date=2 June 2015 |title=Assad's Forces May Be Aiding New ISIS Surge |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/world/middleeast/new-battles-aleppo-syria-insurgents-isis.html |access-date=5 June 2015}}</ref> with the Defence Minister of the SNC [[Salim Idris]] claiming that approximately 180 Assad-linked officers were serving in ISIS and coordinating the group's attacks with the [[Syrian Arab Army]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Bar'el |first=Zvi |date=3 June 2015 |title=Assad's cooperation with ISIS could push U.S. into Syria conflict |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.659340 |access-date=4 June 2015 |work=Haaretz |quote=Salim Idris, defense minister in the rebels' provisional government, said approximately 180 Syrian Army officers are currently serving with ISIS and coordinating the group's military operations with the army.}}</ref> Christopher Kozak of the [[Institute for the Study of War]] claims that "Assad sees the defeat of ISIS in the long term and prioritizes in the more short-and medium-term, trying to cripple the more mainline Syrian opposition [...] ISIS is a threat that lots of people can rally around and even if the regime trades … territory that was in rebel hands over to ISIS control, that weakens the opposition, which has more legitimacy [than ISIS]".<ref>{{cite news |last=Engel |first=Pamela |date=4 June 2015 |title=Why Assad's air force is now a force multiplier for ISIS |work=Yahoo Finance |agency=Business Insider |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-assads-air-force-now-191616721.html |url-status=live |access-date=6 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605122540/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-assads-air-force-now-191616721.html |archive-date=5 June 2015}}</ref> In 2015, the [[al-Nusra Front]], [[al-Qaeda]]'s Syrian affiliate,<ref>{{cite news |date=28 May 2015 |title=Gulf allies and 'Army of Conquest |newspaper=[[Al-Ahram Weekly]] |url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/12392/21/Gulf-allies-and-%E2%80%98Army-of-Conquest%E2%80%99.aspx |url-status=dead |access-date=30 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919055514/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/12392/21/Gulf-allies-and-%E2%80%98Army-of-Conquest%E2%80%99.aspx |archive-date=19 September 2015}}</ref> issued a [[Bounty (reward)|bounty]] worth millions of dollars for the killing of Assad.<ref>{{cite news |date=13 October 2015 |title=Bounty For Bashar Assad? Al Qaeda Nusra Front Offers $3.4M For Syrian President, $2.3M For Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah, Leader Says |newspaper=[[International Business Times]] |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/bounty-bashar-assad-al-qaeda-nusra-front-offers-34m-syrian-president-23m-hezbollahs-2139793}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 07:21, 15 September 2023
Syrian foreign policy during the presidency of Bashar al-Assad is based on the continuation of Cold War-era policies of his father and predecessor, Hafez al-Assad, who allied Syria closely to the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, adopting an anti-Zionist strategy in the region by strengthening the the Syrian military; integrating it with the Ba'ath Party by packing its officers with Ba'athist loyalists of Alawite backgrounds.
Upon his succession in 2000, Assad maintained his father's foreign policies, maintaining close ties with Iran and supporting Lebanon's Hezbollah. Syria is also a prominent ally of Russia and its president Vladimir Putin.
Following its crackdown on protests and riots in 2011, Syria became globally isolated and numerous sanctions were imposed by the European Union, the United States, the Arab League, and others. From the early stages of the conflict in Syria, major Western countries such as the US, France, and the United Kingdom, as well as regional Sunni states allied with the US such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have provided political, military and logistic support to the opposition and its associated rebel groups in Syria. On the other hand, the Syrian government is politically and militarily supported by Iran, Russia, and Lebanon's Hezbollah. Since 30 September 2015, Russia, the only foreign power that has its military assets openly and legally stationed in Syria, has waged an intensive air campaign against anti-government forces in Syria, on the side of and at the request of the Syrian government. The military activity of the governments of Syria, Iran, and Russia during the war has been criticized by the US and its regional allies.
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Relations with countries
Egypt
At the outset of the Arab Spring, Syrian state media focused primarily upon Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, demonising him as pro-U.S. and comparing him unfavourably with Assad. This tactic created the proliferation of anti-regime slogans and sentiments amongst Syrians disenchanted with Assad dynasty and Ba'ath party rule, eventually resulting in the Syrian revolution.[1] Assad told The Wall Street Journal in this same period that he considered himself "anti-Israel" and "anti-West", and that because of these policies he was not in danger of being overthrown.[2]
Following the election of Muslim Brotherhood politician Mohamed Morsi as the next Egyptian president, relations became extremely strained. The Muslim Brotherhood is a banned organisation and its membership is a capital offence in Syria. Egypt severed all relations with Syria in June 2013.[citation needed] Diplomatic relations were restored and the embassies were reopened after the Morsi government was deposed weeks later by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. In July 2013, the two countries agreed to reopen the Egyptian consulate in Damascus and the Syrian consulate in Cairo.[3]
In late-November 2016, some Arab media outlets reported Egyptian pilots arrived in mid-November to Syria to help the Syrian government in its fight against the Islamic State and Al Nusra front.[4] This came after Sisi publicly stated he supports the Syrian military in the civil war in Syria.[5] However, several days later, Egypt officially denied it has a military presence in Syria.[6]
Although Egypt has not been vocal in support for any sides of Syria's ongoing civil war, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said in 2016 that his nation's priority is "supporting national armies", which he said included the Syrian Armed Forces.[7] He also said regarding Egypt's stance in the conflict: "Our stance in Egypt is to respect the will of the Syrian people, and that a political solution to the Syrian crisis is the most suitable way, and to seriously deal with terrorist groups and disarm them".[7] Egypt's support for a political solution was reaffirmed in February 2017. Egypt's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Ahmed Abu Zeid, said that Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry, "during his meeting with UN Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on Saturday confirmed Egypt's rejection of any military intervention that would violate Syrian sovereignty and undermine opportunities of the standing political solutions."[8]
Egypt has also expressed great interest in rebuilding postwar Syria, with many Egyptian companies and businessmen discussing investment opportunities in Syria as well as participation in the reconstruction effort. Tarik al-Nabrawi, president of Egypt's Engineers Syndicate said that 2018 will witness a "boom and influential role for Egyptian construction companies in Syria and to open the door for other companies — in the electricity, building material, steel, aluminum, ceramics and sanitary material fields among others — to work in the Syrian market and participate in rebuilding cities and facilities that the war has destroyed."[9] On 25 February 2018, Syrian state news reported that an Egyptian delegation composed of "members of the Islamic and Arab Assembly for supporting Resistance and Future Pioneers movement as well as a number of figures", including Jamal Zahran and Farouk Hassan, visited the Syrian consulate in Cairo to express solidarity with the Syrian government.[10][better source needed]
Iran
In 2013, Iran intervened in the Syrian civil war to support al-Assad against the Syrian opposition.
Iraq
Syria was a prominent adversary of Ba'athist Iraq during the Cold War. Syria supported Iran in the Iran–Iraq War and joined the American-led coalition against Iraq during the Gulf War.[11] However by 1997, Syrian president Hafez al-Assad began reestablishing relations with Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.[12] The ascendance of Bashar in 2000 boosted this process.[13] Under Bashar, Syria ignored the sanctions against Iraq and helped Iraq to illegally import oil.[14]
Bashar strongly opposed the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.[13] He sheltered Iraqi Ba'athists and allowed volunteers through Syria to fight the Americans.[14] Syrian pressure for reviewing the de-Ba'athification policy and support for insurgents was despised by the new Iraqi government.[15] As a result, the American-installed government in Iraq suspended oil supplies to Syria.[12] In 2004, The U.S. commander of the coalition forces in Iraq, George W. Casey Jr., accused Syria of hosting Iraqi insurgent leaders who were co-ordinating the anti-American insurgency from their bases in Syria.[16]
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, former Vice Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of Ba'athist Iraq, had close relations with Ba'athist Syria. Despite the historical differences between the two Ba'ath factions, al-Douri had reportedly urged Saddam to open oil pipelines with Syria, building a financial relationship with the Assad family. After the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, al-Douri reportedly fled to Damascus, from where he organized anti-American militant groups and co-ordinated major combat operations during the Iraqi insurgency.[17][18] In 2009, General David Petraeus, who was at the time heading the U.S. Central Command, stated that al-Douri was residing in Syria.[19]
In 2006, Syria recognized the post-invasion Iraqi government and resumed ties.[15] However relations still remained poor until 2011, when American troops withdrew from Iraq and the Syrian revolution erupted, during which hundreds of thousands of protestors took to the streets; demanding the overthrowal of Assad regime.[20] Both governments alongside Iran formed a tripartite regional alliance as both Iran and Maliki government in Iraq were critical of the potential rise of Saudi influence in Syria, a Sunni-majority country.[21] Unlike most of the Arab League countries, Iraq rejected calls for al-Assad to step down.[21]
Lebanon
During his early years, Assad attempted to deepen Syria's control over Lebanese politics by various means. In 2004, he sought the extension of the Presidency of his ally Emile Lahoud, triggering a political crisis. Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri who opposed Assad's plans was assassinated in 14 March 2005, triggering international backlash. Syrian intelligence was widely blamed for orchestrating the killing of Hariri.[22]
On 5 March 2005, Assad announced that Syrian forces would begin its withdrawal from Lebanon in his address to the Syrian parliament.[23] Syria completed its full withdrawal from Lebanon on 30 April 2005.[24] Assad argued that Syria's gradual withdrawal of troops from Lebanon was a result of the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.[25] According to testimony submitted to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, when talking to Rafic Hariri at the Presidential Palace in Damascus in August 2004, Assad allegedly said to him, "I will break Lebanon over your [Hariri's] head and over Walid Jumblatt's head" if Émile Lahoud was not allowed to remain in office despite Hariri's objections; that incident was thought to be linked to Hariri's subsequent assassination.[26] In early 2015, journalist and ad hoc Lebanese-Syrian intermediary Ali Hamade stated before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that Rafic Hariri's attempts to reduce tensions with Syria were considered a "mockery" by Assad.[27]
Assad's position was considered by some to have been weakened by the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon following the Cedar Revolution in 2005. There has also been pressure from the U.S. concerning claims that Syria is linked to terrorist networks, exacerbated by Syrian condemnation of the assassination of Hezbollah military leader, Imad Mughniyah, in Damascus in 2008. Interior Minister Bassam Abdul-Majeed stated that "Syria, which condemns this cowardly terrorist act, expresses condolences to the martyr family and to the Lebanese people."[28]
In May 2015, Lebanese politician Michel Samaha was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail for his role in a terrorist bomb plot that he claimed Assad was aware of.[29]
North Korea
North Korea is alleged to have aided Syria in developing and enhancing a ballistic missiles programme.[30][31] They also reportedly helped Syria develop a suspected nuclear reactor in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. U.S. officials claimed the reactor was probably "not intended for peaceful purposes", but American senior intelligence officials doubted it was meant for the production of nuclear weapons.[32] The supposed nuclear reactor was destroyed by the Israeli Air Force in 2007 during Operation Orchard.[33] Following the airstrike, Syria wrote a letter to Secretary-General of the UN Ban Ki-moon calling the incursion a "breach of airspace of the Syrian Arab Republic" and "not the first time Israel has violated" Syrian airspace.[34]
While hosting an 8 March 2015 delegation from North Korea led by North Korean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Sin Hong Chol, Assad stated that Syria and North Korea were being "targeted" because they are "among those few countries which enjoy real independence".[35]
According to Syrian opposition sources, North Korea has sent army units to fight on behalf of Assad in the Syrian civil war.[36]
In 2018, the UN exposed North Korea for their facilitation of Syria's development of chemical weapons. According to a report by UN investigators, North Korea provided the Syrian government with acid-resistant tiles, valves, and thermometers. Additionally, DPRK missile technicians had been seen inside various Syrian chemical weapons facilities. This series of about 40 unreported shipments between North Korea and Syria, on which were the chemical weapons materials as well as prohibited ballistic missile parts, is said to have occurred throughout 2012–2017.
Russia
Syria also revived its alliance with Soviet Union's successor state Russia, with firm backing from Vladimir Putin, who regularly provides cover for Assad in the Security Council.[37][38] Bashar al-Assad further solidified his regime's alliance with Vladimir Putin by granting Russia permanent access to its Soviet-era naval base in Tartus, the only major Russian naval base in the Mediterranean.[39][40]
United States
Assad met with U.S. scientists and policy leaders during a science diplomacy visit in 2009, and he expressed interest in building research universities and using science and technology to promote innovation and economic growth.[41]
In response to Executive Order 13769 which mandated refugees from Syria be indefinitely suspended from being able to resettle in the U.S., Assad appeared to defend the measure, stating "It's against the terrorists that would infiltrate some of the immigrants to the West... I think the aim of Trump is to prevent those people from coming," adding that it was "not against the Syrian people".[42] This reaction was in contrast to other leaders of countries affected by the Executive Order who condemned it.[43]
Arab–Israeli conflict
The U.S., the EU, the March 14 Alliance, and France accuse Assad of providing support to militant groups active against Israel and opposition political groups. The latter category would include most political parties other than Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine.[44]
In a speech about the 2006 Lebanon War in August 2006, Assad said that Hezbollah had "hoisted the banner of victory", hailing its actions as a "successful resistance."[45]
In April 2008, Assad told a Qatari newspaper that Syria and Israel had been discussing a peace treaty for a year. This was confirmed in May 2008, by a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. As well as the treaty, the future of the Golan Heights was being discussed. Assad was quoted in The Guardian as telling the Qatari paper:
... there would be no direct negotiations with Israel until a new U.S. president takes office. The U.S. was the only party qualified to sponsor any direct talks, [Assad] told the paper, but added that the Bush administration "does not have the vision or will for the peace process. It does not have anything."[46]
According to leaked American cables, Assad called Hamas an "uninvited guest" and said "If you want me to be effective and active, I have to have a relationship with all parties. Hamas is Muslim Brotherhood, but we have to deal with the reality of their presence," comparing Hamas to the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood which was crushed by his father, Hafez al-Assad. He also said Hamas would disappear if peace was brought to the Middle East.[47][48][49]
In his interviews, Assad has indicated that the peace treaty that he envisions may not be the same as Camp David Accords, where there is a legal border crossing and open trade. In a 2006 interview with Charlie Rose, Assad said: "There is a big difference between talking about a peace treaty and peace. A peace treaty is like a permanent ceasefire. There's no war, maybe you have an embassy, but you actually won't have trade, you won't have normal relations because people will not be sympathetic to this relation as long as they are sympathetic with the Palestinians: half a million who live in Syria and half a million in Lebanon and another few millions in other Arab countries."[25] During the visit of Pope John Paul II to Syria in 2001, Assad requested an apology to Muslims for the Crusades and criticised Israeli treatment of Palestinians, stating that "territories in Lebanon, the Golan and Palestine have been occupied by those who killed the principle of equality when they claimed that God created a people distinguished above all other peoples".[50] He also compared the suffering of Palestinians at the hands of the Israelis to the suffering endured by Jesus in Judea, and said that "they tried to kill the principles of all religions with the same mentality in which they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammad".[51][52][53][54] Responding to accusations that his comment was antisemitic, Assad said that "We in Syria reject the term antisemitism. ... Semites are a race and [Syrians] not only belong to this race, but are its core. Judaism, on the other hand, is a religion which can be attributed to all races."[55] He also stated that "I was talking about Israelis, not Jews. ... When I say Israel carries out killings, it's the reality: Israel tortures Palestinians. I didn't speak about Jews," and criticised Western media outlets for misinterpreting his comments.[56]
Outlining his objectives in a 2009 interview to Al-Khaleej newspaper, Bashar al-Assad stated that "peace agreement” is simply "a piece of paper you sign. This does not mean trade and normal relations, or borders, or otherwise."[57] Furthermore, he asserted that returning Golan Heights to Syria was a pre-condition to entering any peace deal. In an interview given to Italian newspaper La Repubblica in May 2010, Assad described the proposed "peace treaty" as a "truce", rather than a comprehensive peace, so long as the Palestinian crisis remained unsettled.[58][59] In February 2011, Assad backed an initiative to restore ten synagogues in Syria, which had a Jewish community numbering 30,000 in 1947, but only 200 Jews by 2011.[60]
Alleged state-sponsorship of terrorism
The US government has designation Syria as a "State Sponsor of Terrorism" since 1979, Syria remains the only government that has been continuously sanctioned under the list.[61]
According to journalist Peter R. Neumann, during the Iraq War, "in the years that preceded the uprising, Assad and his intelligence services took the view that jihad could be nurtured and manipulated to serve the Syrian government's aims".[62] Iraqi leaders such as former national security advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie and former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have accused Assad of harbouring and supporting jihadist militants during the Iraq War.[63][64] US Army General David Petraeus would claim that "Bashar al-Asad was well aware that his brother-in-law 'Asif Shawqat, Director of Syrian Military Intelligence, had detailed knowledge of the activities of [al-Qaeda in Iraq] facilitator Abu Ghadiya, who was using Syrian territory to bring foreign fighters and suicide bombers into Iraq", with later cables adding that Petraeus thought that "in time, these fighters will turn on their Syrian hosts and begin conducting attacks against Bashar al-Assad's regime itself".[65]
The Syrian opposition have accused Assad of strategically releasing ISIS prisoners during the start of the Syrian crisis in 2011,[66] having intelligence operatives within the ranks of ISIS,[67] and directing ISIS attacks.[68] According to "Western intelligence agencies, rebels and al-Qaeda defectors", the Syrian government paid "al-Nusra to protect oil and gas pipelines under al-Nusra’s control in the north and east of the country, and is also allowing the transport of oil to regime-held areas".[69] A businessman operating in both government and ISIL-controlled territory has claimed that "out of necessity" the Assad government has "had dealings with ISIS."[70] At its height, ISIS was making $40 million a month from the sale of oil, with the majority of the oil, according to the US Treasury Department, being sold to the Syrian government.[71] According to a Jane's Defence Weekly analysis, only a small percentage of the Syrian government's attacks were targeted at ISIS in 2014.[72] Mario Abou Zeid of the Carnegie Middle East Center claimed that the recent Hezbollah offensive "has exposed the reality of the ISIL in Qalamoun; that it is operated by the Syrian regime's intelligence", after ISIS in the region engaged in probing attacks against FSA units at the outset of the fighting.[73]
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi has disputed such assertions, arguing that "ISIS has a record of fighting the regime on multiple fronts", many rebel factions have engaged in oil sales to the Syrian regime because it is "now largely dependent on Iraqi oil imports via Lebanese and Egyptian third-party intermediaries", and while "the regime is focusing its airstrikes [on areas] where it has some real expectations of advancing" claims that it "has not hit ISIS strongholds" are "untrue". He concluded: "Attempting to prove an ISIS-regime conspiracy without any conclusive evidence is unhelpful, because it draws attention away from the real reasons why ISIS grew and gained such prominence: namely, rebel groups tolerated ISIS."[74] Similarly, Max Abrahms and John Glaser stated in the Los Angeles Times in December 2017 that "The evidence of Assad sponsoring Islamic State... was about as strong as for Saddam Hussein sponsoring Al Qaeda."[75]
In October 2014, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden stated that Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had "poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Al-Assad, except that the people who were being supplied were al-Nusra, and al Qaeda, and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world."[76]
On 1 June 2015, the U.S. stated that the Assad government was "making air-strikes in support" of an ISIS advance on Syrian opposition positions north of Aleppo.[77] Referring to the same ISIS offensive, the president of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) Khaled Koja accused Assad of acting "as an air force for ISIS",[78] with the Defence Minister of the SNC Salim Idris claiming that approximately 180 Assad-linked officers were serving in ISIS and coordinating the group's attacks with the Syrian Arab Army.[79] Christopher Kozak of the Institute for the Study of War claims that "Assad sees the defeat of ISIS in the long term and prioritizes in the more short-and medium-term, trying to cripple the more mainline Syrian opposition [...] ISIS is a threat that lots of people can rally around and even if the regime trades … territory that was in rebel hands over to ISIS control, that weakens the opposition, which has more legitimacy [than ISIS]".[80] In 2015, the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate,[81] issued a bounty worth millions of dollars for the killing of Assad.[82]
The head of the al-Nusra Front, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, said he would pay "three million euros ($3.4 million) for anyone who can kill Bashar al-Assad and end his story".[83] In 2015, Assad's main regional opponents, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, were openly backing the Army of Conquest, an umbrella rebel group that reportedly included the al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front and another Salafi coalition known as Ahrar al-Sham.[84][85][86] In the course of the conflict, ISIS has repeatedly massacred pro-government Alawite civilians and executed captured Syrian Alawite soldiers,[87][88] with most Alawites supporting Bashar al-Assad, himself an Alawite. ISIS, al-Nusra Front and affiliated jihadist groups reportedly took the lead in an offensive on Alawite villages in Latakia Governorate of Syria in August 2013.[87][89]
Journalist Jonathan Teperman who interviewed Bashar al-Assad in January 2015 with the Foreign Affairs compared him to "Hitler in his bunker when the Russians were an hour outside Berlin" for setting unrealistic objectives and being remorseless about his crimes, despite losing most of Syrian territories.[90][91] During the interview with Jeremy Bowen in February 2015, Assad alleged that the sources of the extreme ideology of Islamic State (ISIS) and other al-Qaeda affiliate groups are the Wahhabism that has been supported by kingdom of Saudi Arabia.[92]
Assad condemned the November 2015 Paris attacks, but accused France of contributing to the spread of terrorism through its support for the Syrian opposition, and rejected sharing intelligence on terrorist threats with French authorities unless France altered its foreign policy on Syria.[93][94] In 2016, the US district court of Columbia declared that that the financial and logistical support of Syrian government was crucial for establishing a well-structured pathway for the fighters of al-Qaeda in Iraq in carrying out anti-American combat operations throughout the Iraqi insurgency. The court further stated that Syria "became a crucial base for AQI", by hosting several associates of Al-Zarqawi and leading commanders of the insurgency, and stated that Syria's policies "led to the deaths of hundreds of Americans in Iraq". The district court also found Syrian military intelligence of assisting Al-Qaeda in Iraq and giving "crucial material support" to AQI militants who carried out the 2005 Amman bombings.[95][96]
See also
References
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- ^ a b Mansour & Thompson 2020, p. 118.
- ^ a b Mansour & Thompson 2020, p. 117.
- ^ a b Harris 2012, p. 267.
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A top Army general said yesterday that the Iraqi insurgency was being run in part by former senior Iraqi Baath Party officials operating in Syria who call themselves the "New Regional Command."
These men, from the former governing party of deposed president Saddam Hussein, are "operating out of Syria with impunity and providing direction and financing for the insurgency," said Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the U.S. commander in Iraq. "That needs to stop," Casey said at a Pentagon briefing - ^ Nance, Malcolm (18 December 2014), The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq
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- ^ Mansour & Thompson 2020, p. 121.
- ^ a b Mansour & Thompson 2020, p. 122.
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Israel and Syria are holding indirect peace talks, with Turkey acting as a mediator...
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"Territories in Lebanon, the Golan and Palestine have been occupied by those who killed the principle of equality when they claimed that God created a people distinguished above all other peoples," the Syrian leader said.
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Was soll denn das? Wir Araber sind doch selbst Semiten, als Nachfahren von Sem, einem der drei Söhne Noahs. Kein Mensch sollte gegen irgendeine Rasse eingestellt sein, gegen die Menschheit oder Teile von ihr. Wir in Syrien lehnen den Begriff Antisemitismus ab, weil dieser Begriff diskriminierend ist. Semiten sind eine Rasse, wir gehören nicht nur zu dieser Rasse, sondern sind ihr Kern. Das Judentum dagegen ist eine Religion, die allen Rassen zuzuordnen ist.
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{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Syriana". FDD.org. 22 June 2010. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021.
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The project, which began in December, will be completed this month as part of a plan to restore 10 synagogues with the backing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and funding from Syrian Jews.
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{{cite web}}
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