User:Pbfreespace3/Article Refutation 4

This is a point-by-point refutation of a Business Insider article about the push to retake Raqqa, ISIS's capital city.

Business Insider

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Introduction

US-backed forces are finally moving toward Raqqa, ISIS' de facto capital in Syria. But the plan to retake the city and surrounding areas from the militants is burdened by a potentially fatal flaw: The alliance that is leading the effort on the ground, the Syrian Democratic Forces, is dominated by Kurdish fighters with the People's Protection Units, also known as the YPG. Raqqa's population is mostly Arab, and residents of the city are wary of a Kurdish force potentially moving in to control it.

Alright, we're setting up the article here. We're starting to see the point, which is that a fighting force predominantly composed of 1 ethnic group is trying to take a city controlled by another ethnic group.

The Source

"People don't want the SDF to control the city because in general most of the people of Raqqa are not welcoming the YPG," Abu Ibrahim al-Raqqawi, an activist with the group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, told Business Insider.

Aha! Now we see the entire point of this article: a hit piece on the Kurds. Who is the main source? An anonymous Arab living in Raqqa who opposes ISIS but supports the Arab rebels against the Kurds. OK. So the article is already insanely biased, relying entirely on hearsay and not factual evidence. But whatever, there's an article to review.

It's all about that he-said she-said bullshit

"They say, 'At least if we stay under ISIS control and we keep our mouths closed and don't do anything bad, at least we can stay in our homes.' If the YPG controls our city, we cannot go back," said Raqqawi, who uses a pseudonym. Raqqawi noted that the YPG had been accused of exiling Arabs from their homes in towns the Kurdish fighters had liberated from ISIS, which is also known as the Islamic State, ISIL, or Daesh.

Once again, absolutely no physical evidence to support this claim. He said, she said. but let's say the people of Raqqa really are afraid of the Kurds (who by the way are backed up by thousands of Arabs fighters). So what? Fuck 'em. they're living in a city controlled by some of the most barbaric people on Earth right now, who have slaughtered thousands of POWs and innocent people solely due to their religion and ethnicity, and are a terrorist organization. If they are angry their city is being liberated by people who speak a different language and look slightly differently, screw them. They will learn to welcome their new Kurdish overlords. Of course, this is all assuming the narrative promoted by the article is even correct in the first place, which, by the way, it isn't. Kurds barely compose the majority of the force moving on Raqqa as we speak, and by the time the city is reached and stormed, I estimate that the majority of allied fighters will be Arabs.

• The article goes on to provide a good counterpoint, which is great, but not relevant. Read the article if you want to see it.

Crocker of shit

Ryan Crocker, a career US ambassador who has worked across the Middle East including as the ambassador to Syria, told Business Insider that involving Kurdish forces in an offensive against Raqqa would be "dangerously counterproductive." "Your average Sunni Arab would find it hard to choose between domination by Islamic State and domination by the Kurds," Crocker said. "The only way forward, in my view, is to increase a coherent, multifaceted effort to reach out to and work with the Sunni Arab forces that are not affiliated with Islamic State or with [Jabhat] al-Nusra," Al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria. He later added: "Islamic State isn't going to be defeated by the Kurds. As a matter of fact, the Kurds will be a pretty good recruiting tool for them."

If what he says is correct, then the average Sunni Arabs isn't too smart. Here, let me pick, ISIS or SDF? Huh? Hmm... I wonder which? It shouldn't require a philosophical debate. It should be a no-brainer, which is exactly what Sunni Arabs should be good at. Say I give a white American a choice between the KKK and Russia, who would you rather live under? I'd pick Russia, and a good deal of Southern white hicks would pick the KKK. Now you see the kind of Arabs who support ISIS. Ryan also thinks we should defeat ISIS by working with Sunni Arabs who aren't al-Nusra. Well, we tried that in North Aleppo, and it failed. We gave machine guns, missiles, and near-daily air support to them, and they're still losing territory to ISIS, as I write this! The main group on the ISIS frontline, in what is called the Azaz pocket, is composed of less than a thousand fighters, and yet they still can't agree on a unified command. They're split up into like 4 different factions. They're crap. They can't unite, they can't win, they can't govern effectively. How the hell are they supposed to run a city, much less a country? If we can't find enough good Sunni Arabs in Syria to fight ISIS, then we're going to have to support people who aren't Arabs, or aren't Sunni. Also, contrary to Ryan's claim, the Islamic State will be (partially) defeated by the Kurds. Raqqa is gonna fall. Manbij, a major ISIS city and hub, will fall in a few days. Guess who's gonna liberate it? Ahrar al-Sham? The Free Syrian Army? Nope, the Kurds.

Loyalties

A Kurdish offensive on Raqqa could encourage some Sunni Arabs in the city to align with ISIS, which markets itself as a protector of Sunnis. "People are going to the side of ISIS because they are thinking, 'At least they are Sunni Arabs,'" Raqqawi said.

Someone can't read a map

Crocker suggested groups like Ahrar al-Sham and Jaish al-Islam, but both have been associated with extremism. Still, "we need to rethink" working with them, Crocker said. "Neither of those two groups are going for a caliphate," he said, referring to the territory ISIS holds in Iraq and Syria. "Neither of them have a terror track record. Basically, I think the litmus test should be, if they'll work with us, we'll work with them."

Let's take a look at where Jaish al-Islam is. They're in Damascus, and the main piece of land they own is besieged by the Syrian Army. So how are we gonna get those people to the frontline with ISIS? ... airlift? Ahrar al-Sham is a group. It's main ideology is Salafism, so it shares it's main ideology with al-Qaeda and ISIS. Ok. It's allied with al-Qaeda, and has participated in military offensives with it. They're also in bed with every Salafi rebel group ever (seriously, Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, Ansar al-Islam, Harakat Sham al-Islam, Army of Mujahedeen, Ajnad al-Sham Islamic Union, Super-Duper Islamic Jaish al-Muhadineen United Resistance Army). Backed by the oppressive regimes in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. They're many times the distance away from the frontline where we need them to be, and less than a quarter of the size of the fighting force we're currently backing. Great pick, Ryan, great pick. The standard Ryan Crocker sets up, "if they'll work with us, we'll work with them", is exactly the same brilliant thinking that created the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Good going Ryan.