User:Pbfreespace3/Article Refutation 3

This is a point-by-point refutation of an Independent opinion article written by Robert Fisk about the US's role in the Syrian Civil War.

Robert Fisk

Pbfreespace

A small strip of land?

I’m getting a bit tired of reading about the “US-backed alliance of Syrian militias” and their advance against Isis. The ‘alliance’ is largely Kurdish – which is why, I suppose, the Americans talked about northern Syria when they announced the visit of General Joseph Votel, the head of US Central Command, to the little Kurdish enclave.

Civil War

It’s interesting to see a US commander crossing the border to cheer on participants in a civil war. That’s also what the American military has been doing in Iraq, where forces have been encouraging Shia militias fighting on the outskirts of Fallujah, and even providing air support to the forces of the perilously weak government in Baghdad.

The US is backing Shia militias. So? They're trying to secure their country. Fallujah has been used as a base by ISIS to launch suicide bombings in Baghdad that have killed hundreds of innocent people, so its liberation could be reasonably considered a logical course of action. I love the way Fisk just assumes Shia militias must be bad, even though they aren't compared to ISIS. The government in Baghdad is also not "perilously weak" as Fisk claims. They control most of the damn country, and have a fighting force capable of liberating large amounts of territory with outside help.

CAUTION: Bullshit begins here

For Iraq now meets many of the definitions of civil war. Yet in Syria, the Americans started by supporting “democratic” forces fighting to overthrow Bashar al-Assad and mysteriously supported the same men (and women) when they were ready to fight Isis for Ain al-Arab (or Kobani for those who prefer the Kurdish version of the name).

What the actual fuck?!?! The people the US supported against Assad were Arabs in the northwest and southwest. They called themselves the Free Syrian Army, and names like "Islamic Front". Those were who we gave guns and missiles to. Who are we backing in the fight against ISIS in Syria? The Kurdish People's Protection Units, which is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces. Where is this group? The northeast and northcenter. They are separated from the rebels by ISIS and the Syrian Army. How the hell can Fisk claim these are the same group? What the fuck! The People's Protection Units defended Kobani, not the Arab rebels! This guy is massively ignorant of what is actually going on on the ground.

An agreement

I suspect that the Assad-must-go campaign is going to be gently dropped – thanks to Isis, of course, which is even more hateful for the Americans than the Syrian government in Damascus.

Wow, I actually agree with you on one point. Assad's territory has been permanently diminished to the Shia region and a Sunni buffer zone, and it will likely remain that way for a long, long time. I think the US should stop giving weapons or any supplies to the rebels.

Who goes where

How did this transfer of allegiance come about? Are the Kurds supposed to fight their way into Raqqa and when Isis has turned tail and run across the Iraqi border, to fight on against the Syrian government army and its Lebanese militia allies and its Iranian allies? Has anyone in northern Syria looked at any maps? And do the Kurds think that Turkey will allow their mini-state to survive?

Yes, the Kurds are supposed to fight their way to Raqqa. They've taken 7 villages in the past 3 days, and they're still rolling. They're not actually going for Raqqa city just yet however; instead they want to liberate all of the northern countryside and food-producing areas that feed ISIS gangsters. The Kurdish force would also conceivably fight the Syrian Army with US support, although this is unlikely given that they both are fighting the common enemy, the rebels. Turkey has so far let this state survive because the United States told Turkey not to destroy it. To be honest, I'd be interested to see how the Turkish Army handles a battle-hardened force of eighty thousand trained soldiers, especially seeing how they've already handled the PKK. The PKK has about 33,000 fighters according to Turkey, and Turkey has fought the PKK on Turkey's own (supposed) territory for over 30 years and still not triumphed. So how would they do against a force over twice that size from a country that already hates Turkey? Not too well, I imagine.