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Line 249: − − ===Fall of Assad regime=== − In December 2024, following a campaign − by various rebel forces, a mixture of diverse ideologies,<ref>When "The two groups leading the assault, HTS and the SNA, are now focused on their common foe, Bashar Assad." [https://www.timesofisrael.com/who-are-the-rebels-battering-syrias-regime-and-do-they-pose-a-risk-to-israel/ Who are the rebels battering Syria’s regime, and do they pose a risk to Israel?] ''Times of Israel'". Dec 2, 2024</ref> have toppled the Assad regime. − Iran was weakned for its attacks on Israel since post its backed Oct 7 2023 war, subsequently its Hezbollah has been beaten too, and Russia threw Assad's regime under the bus. Though, reportedly, the dictator and his family has been given refuge in Russia. Line 293:
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Line 342: − ==Pro-Nazism for decades== − After [[WW2]], in the 1950s', [[Egypt]] and Syria became a haven for Nazi war criminals.<ref>[https://www.harif.org/event/germans-and-nazis-in-the-middle-east/ Germans and Nazis in the Middle East - Harif]</ref> Most notorios, monstruos, Alois Brunner - Eichmann’s ‘best man’ sent 128,000 Jews to camps, then advised Assad regime on SS torture methods.<ref>Marissa Newman, − [https://www.timesofisrael.com/alois-brunner-most-wanted-nazi-died-unrepentant-in-syria/ Alois Brunner, most-wanted Nazi, died ‘unrepentant’ in Syria], ''Times Of Israel'', 30 Nov, 2014.<blockquote><small> − Nazi hunter says Eichmann’s ‘best man’ sent 128,000 Jews to camps, then advised Assad regime on SS torture methods.</small></blockquote> − [https://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2014/11/30/most-wanted-nazi-dies-in-syria Most-Wanted Nazi Died in Syria], ''The Daily Beast'". Updated Apr. 14, 2017. − Published Nov. 30, 2014.</ref> − − A Syrian born explains in 'Swastikas in Damascus':<ref>A. Khattab, [https://newlinesmag.com/essays/swastikas-in-damascus/ Swastikas in Damascus], New Lines, March 17, 2021.</ref> − <blockquote>Syria under the Assads has long harbored a soft spot for Nazism. The revolution is changing that... − − Those around me who sported some vague admiration for Hitler almost always supported the Assads, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, or Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Some of them sought to join the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), established by Antoun Saadeh, a 20th century politician who spoke of the superiority of Middle Eastern Arabs over Africans and Syrians over neighboring peoples. Unlike the Assads’ Arab Socialist Baath Party and the many other political and social movements that called for a unity of Arab nations, the SSNP believed in the Syrian nation, a Greater Syria that would include modern Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, and Jordan. Saadeh himself was Lebanese. − The anthem of the SSNP, its flag, and its own version of Führerkult around Saadeh seem to some as the closest one could get to a Nazi ideology that is alive and well in the region, though today’s SSNP tries to distance itself from some of Saadeh’s right-wing racial theories. − I’ve tried understanding where some of this right-wing sentiment, of a seemingly Nazi-esque flavor, may have originated. In 1939, Hitler and his Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbles, launched the Radio Berlin Arabic-language program. The program broadcast across the Middle East and North Africa and told Arab listeners that everything they had heard about Hitler hating Arabs and assigning them a low “racial status” was wrong. It even broadcast Quran recitations, in what seemed to have been an attempt to steal listeners from the BBC’s Arabic-language radio service. − − The Nazis also developed relations with Muslim public figures, most notably Hajj Mohammad Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem at the time. Husseini knew Hitler personally. And, despite what Radio Berlin used to say, Arabs suffered because of Nazism too. Hundreds of Arab nationals, Muslims, Christians, and Jews alike, were led to concentration camps under Hitler... − We were never taught this. And yet at some point, I began hearing a startling number of Syrians quoting Hitler and discussing his views and political career. Some would mutter the common, and not altogether accurate, claims that Germany “rose from the ashes” of World War I and from the confines of the Treaty of Versailles and that the lives of German citizens greatly improved under Hitler before World War II began in September 1939. − Those were mostly teenagers who had seen a clip of the dictator delivering a tirade and went about glorifying him without any real knowledge of who he was. Some might have heard a quote out of context and went about repeating it. Others, perhaps, were filtering their world through a warped understanding of anti-imperialism and anti-Zionism, cornerstones of the ruling Baath Party, whose ideologies we learned at school. − “I could have killed all Jews, but I left some of them alive in order...” Hitler never once said these words, but I remember the made-up quote circulating on Facebook since the site gained popularity among Syrians around 2009. It was usually paired with a black background and a photo of Hitler himself. − </blockquote> − − − Related: [[Nazism at Arab Palestinians]] − + − + Line 362:
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Improve
The Obama policy of arming Kurds has led to improved relations between Russia and Turkey, threatening the reliability of a key member of the NATO alliance.<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2016/12/22/how-the-obama-administration-pushed-turkey-into-russias-arms/?noredirect=on </ref>
The Obama policy of arming Kurds has led to improved relations between Russia and Turkey, threatening the reliability of a key member of the NATO alliance.<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2016/12/22/how-the-obama-administration-pushed-turkey-into-russias-arms/?noredirect=on </ref>
==Economy==
==Economy==
====French occupation====
====French occupation====
In 1920, an independent Arab Kingdom of Syria was established under King Faysal of the Hashemite family, who later became King of Iraq. However, his rule over Syria ended after only a few months, following the clash between his Syrian Arab forces and regular French forces at the battle of Maysalun. French troops occupied Syria later that year after the League of Nations put Syria under French mandate. With the fall of France in 1940, Syria came under the control of the Vichy Government until the British and Free French occupied the country in July 1941. Continuing pressure from Syrian nationalist groups forced the French to evacuate their troops in April 1946, leaving the country in the hands of a republican government that had been formed during the mandate.
In 1920, an independent Arab Kingdom of Syria was established under King Faysal of the Hashemite family, who later became King of Iraq. However, his rule over Syria ended after only a few months, following the clash between his Syrian Arab forces and regular French forces at the battle of Maysalun. French troops occupied Syria later that year after the League of Nations put Syria under French mandate. With the fall of France in 1940, Syria came under the control of the Vichy Government until the British and Free French occupied the country in July 1941. Continuing pressure from Syrian nationalist groups forced the French to evacuate their troops in April 1946, leaving the country in the hands of a republican government that had been formed during the mandate.
====Pro-Nazism for decades since post WW2====
After [[WW2]], in the 1950s', [[Egypt]] and Syria became a haven for Nazi war criminals.<ref>[https://www.harif.org/event/germans-and-nazis-in-the-middle-east/ Germans and Nazis in the Middle East - Harif]</ref> Most notorios, monstruos, Alois Brunner - Eichmann’s ‘best man’ sent 128,000 Jews to camps, then advised Assad regime on SS torture methods.<ref>Marissa Newman,
[https://www.timesofisrael.com/alois-brunner-most-wanted-nazi-died-unrepentant-in-syria/ Alois Brunner, most-wanted Nazi, died ‘unrepentant’ in Syria], ''Times Of Israel'', 30 Nov, 2014.<blockquote><small>
Nazi hunter says Eichmann’s ‘best man’ sent 128,000 Jews to camps, then advised Assad regime on SS torture methods.</small></blockquote>
[https://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2014/11/30/most-wanted-nazi-dies-in-syria Most-Wanted Nazi Died in Syria], ''The Daily Beast'". Updated Apr. 14, 2017.
Published Nov. 30, 2014.</ref>
A Syrian born explains in 'Swastikas in Damascus':<ref>A. Khattab, [https://newlinesmag.com/essays/swastikas-in-damascus/ Swastikas in Damascus], New Lines, March 17, 2021.</ref>
<blockquote>Syria under the Assads has long harbored a soft spot for Nazism. The revolution is changing that...
Those around me who sported some vague admiration for Hitler almost always supported the Assads, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, or Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Some of them sought to join the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), established by Antoun Saadeh, a 20th century politician who spoke of the superiority of Middle Eastern Arabs over Africans and Syrians over neighboring peoples. Unlike the Assads’ Arab Socialist Baath Party and the many other political and social movements that called for a unity of Arab nations, the SSNP believed in the Syrian nation, a Greater Syria that would include modern Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, and Jordan. Saadeh himself was Lebanese.
The anthem of the SSNP, its flag, and its own version of Führerkult around Saadeh seem to some as the closest one could get to a Nazi ideology that is alive and well in the region, though today’s SSNP tries to distance itself from some of Saadeh’s right-wing racial theories.
I’ve tried understanding where some of this right-wing sentiment, of a seemingly Nazi-esque flavor, may have originated. In 1939, Hitler and his Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbles, launched the Radio Berlin Arabic-language program. The program broadcast across the Middle East and North Africa and told Arab listeners that everything they had heard about Hitler hating Arabs and assigning them a low “racial status” was wrong. It even broadcast Quran recitations, in what seemed to have been an attempt to steal listeners from the BBC’s Arabic-language radio service.
The Nazis also developed relations with Muslim public figures, most notably Hajj Mohammad Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem at the time. Husseini knew Hitler personally. And, despite what Radio Berlin used to say, Arabs suffered because of Nazism too. Hundreds of Arab nationals, Muslims, Christians, and Jews alike, were led to concentration camps under Hitler...
We were never taught this. And yet at some point, I began hearing a startling number of Syrians quoting Hitler and discussing his views and political career. Some would mutter the common, and not altogether accurate, claims that Germany “rose from the ashes” of World War I and from the confines of the Treaty of Versailles and that the lives of German citizens greatly improved under Hitler before World War II began in September 1939.
Those were mostly teenagers who had seen a clip of the dictator delivering a tirade and went about glorifying him without any real knowledge of who he was. Some might have heard a quote out of context and went about repeating it. Others, perhaps, were filtering their world through a warped understanding of anti-imperialism and anti-Zionism, cornerstones of the ruling Baath Party, whose ideologies we learned at school.
“I could have killed all Jews, but I left some of them alive in order...” Hitler never once said these words, but I remember the made-up quote circulating on Facebook since the site gained popularity among Syrians around 2009. It was usually paired with a black background and a photo of Hitler himself.
</blockquote>
Related: [[Nazism at Arab Palestinians]]
====Independence to 1970====
====Independence to 1970====
Tensions between Syria and the United States intensified from late 2004 to 2007, primarily over issues relating to Iraq and Lebanon. The U.S. Government recalled its Ambassador to Syria in February 2005, after the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri. Sensing its international isolation, the Syrians shored up their relations with Iran and radical Palestinians groups based in Damascus, and cracked down on any signs of internal dissent. There has been little movement on political reform, with more public focus on limited economic liberalizations. The Syrian Government has provided some cooperation to the UN Independent International Investigation Commission, headed by Serge Brammertz, which is investigating the killing of Hariri. Since the 34-day conflict in Lebanon in July and August 2006, evidence of Syrian compliance with its obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 1701 not to rearm the Lebanese group Hezbollah is unpersuasive. On April 17, 2007, the United Nations Security Council welcomed the Secretary General's intention to evaluate the situation along the entire Syria-Lebanon border and invited the Secretary General to dispatch an independent mission to fully assess the monitoring of the border, and to report back on its findings and recommendations.
Tensions between Syria and the United States intensified from late 2004 to 2007, primarily over issues relating to Iraq and Lebanon. The U.S. Government recalled its Ambassador to Syria in February 2005, after the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri. Sensing its international isolation, the Syrians shored up their relations with Iran and radical Palestinians groups based in Damascus, and cracked down on any signs of internal dissent. There has been little movement on political reform, with more public focus on limited economic liberalizations. The Syrian Government has provided some cooperation to the UN Independent International Investigation Commission, headed by Serge Brammertz, which is investigating the killing of Hariri. Since the 34-day conflict in Lebanon in July and August 2006, evidence of Syrian compliance with its obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 1701 not to rearm the Lebanese group Hezbollah is unpersuasive. On April 17, 2007, the United Nations Security Council welcomed the Secretary General's intention to evaluate the situation along the entire Syria-Lebanon border and invited the Secretary General to dispatch an independent mission to fully assess the monitoring of the border, and to report back on its findings and recommendations.
== Protesters 2011 ==
==Under Assad==
=== Protesters 2011 ===
{{Main|Syrian Civil War}}
{{Main|Syrian Civil War}}
The Arabic website "Al-Rai Al-Arabi" has reported that some 600 Libyan "volunteers", who want to participate in the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad, came to Syria through [[Turkey]]. This is not too surprising; the current Transitional National Council (TNC) was the first to recognize the Syrian National Council as the "sole legitimate representative" of the Syrian people. The "Islamic State of the Levant" ([[ISIS]]) in part of a group affiliated with the Libyan rebel movement, which have been linked in the past to Islamic extremist's organizations and al-Qaida of the Islamic Mahgred (AQIM). Their agenda simply put is to establish an Islamic caliphate in Syria, much as they did in [[Iraq]], with the help of [[Saudi Arabia]].
The Arabic website "Al-Rai Al-Arabi" has reported that some 600 Libyan "volunteers", who want to participate in the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad, came to Syria through [[Turkey]]. This is not too surprising; the current Transitional National Council (TNC) was the first to recognize the Syrian National Council as the "sole legitimate representative" of the Syrian people. The "Islamic State of the Levant" ([[ISIS]]) in part of a group affiliated with the Libyan rebel movement, which have been linked in the past to Islamic extremist's organizations and al-Qaida of the Islamic Mahgred (AQIM). Their agenda simply put is to establish an Islamic caliphate in Syria, much as they did in [[Iraq]], with the help of [[Saudi Arabia]].
==Assad regime and ISIS==
===Assad regime and ISIS===
Analysis:<ref>Matthew Levitt, [https://www.lawfareblog.com/assad-regimes-business-model-supporting-islamic-state The Assad Regime’s Business Model for Supporting the Islamic State], 'Lawfate''', September 26, 2021</ref><blockquote>The regime of Bashar al-Assad consistently supported the Islamic State ([[ISIS]]) when the group controlled significant amounts of territory, even as the regime struggled to retake control of Syrian territory from the various rebel groups engaged in the Syrian civil war, including ISIS. One key tactic of the regime’s strategy was to focus its military efforts against the moderate Syrian rebel groups opposing the Assad dictatorship, in particular the Free Syrian Army (FSA), and not the Islamic State group. Assad typically would be involved in any major decisions, and government officials would be wary of the consequences of making sensitive decisions or taking sensitive actions without Assad’s prior approval. It is therefore inconceivable that Syrian intelligence could have assisted, facilitated or tolerated ISIS operatives without prior decision-making at the highest levels of the Syrian government. The Syrian regime made this strategic decision to enable and facilitate the continued survival of the Islamic State in Syria in an effort to paint all of the Syrian opposition as “terrorists.”</blockquote>
Analysis:<ref>Matthew Levitt, [https://www.lawfareblog.com/assad-regimes-business-model-supporting-islamic-state The Assad Regime’s Business Model for Supporting the Islamic State], 'Lawfate''', September 26, 2021</ref><blockquote>The regime of Bashar al-Assad consistently supported the Islamic State ([[ISIS]]) when the group controlled significant amounts of territory, even as the regime struggled to retake control of Syrian territory from the various rebel groups engaged in the Syrian civil war, including ISIS. One key tactic of the regime’s strategy was to focus its military efforts against the moderate Syrian rebel groups opposing the Assad dictatorship, in particular the Free Syrian Army (FSA), and not the Islamic State group. Assad typically would be involved in any major decisions, and government officials would be wary of the consequences of making sensitive decisions or taking sensitive actions without Assad’s prior approval. It is therefore inconceivable that Syrian intelligence could have assisted, facilitated or tolerated ISIS operatives without prior decision-making at the highest levels of the Syrian government. The Syrian regime made this strategic decision to enable and facilitate the continued survival of the Islamic State in Syria in an effort to paint all of the Syrian opposition as “terrorists.”</blockquote>
==Iran in Syria==
===Iran in Syria===
[[Iran]] has for years sought to entrench itself militarily in Syria. It has active military bases in Syria and tenths of thousands of fighters.
[[Iran]] has for years sought to entrench itself militarily in Syria. It has active military bases in Syria and tenths of thousands of fighters.
<ref>[https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-has-10-military-bases-in-syria-two-near-israel-border-analyst/ Iran has 10 military bases in Syria, two near Israel border], TOI, Feb 19, 2018.
<ref>[https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-has-10-military-bases-in-syria-two-near-israel-border-analyst/ Iran has 10 military bases in Syria, two near Israel border], TOI, Feb 19, 2018.
The United States in 2019 designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization for its destabilizing role in the Middle East.</blockquote></ref>
The United States in 2019 designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization for its destabilizing role in the Middle East.</blockquote></ref>
==Massive torture and war crimes==
===Massive torture and war crimes===
Syria's Assad's regime have carried out mass torture in prison, especially in its civil war, as well as various chemical weapons use.<ref>Sirwan Kajjo, [https://www.voanews.com/a/in-syria-documenting-war-crimes-falls-to-journalists-and-citizens-/6261887.html In Syria, Documenting War Crimes Falls to Journalists and Citizens, VOA, October 08, 2021.
Syria's Assad's regime have carried out mass torture in prison, especially in its civil war, as well as various chemical weapons use.<ref>Sirwan Kajjo, [https://www.voanews.com/a/in-syria-documenting-war-crimes-falls-to-journalists-and-citizens-/6261887.html In Syria, Documenting War Crimes Falls to Journalists and Citizens, VOA, October 08, 2021.
<br><i>Torture in prison, chemical weapons, the direct targeting of foreign media, and hundreds of thousands of deaths. Syria's President Bashar al-Assad stands accused of a long list of crimes against his people</i></ref> Despite massive evidence of perpetrating crimes against humanity and war crimes, the Syrian regime seems to be in a state of impunity when it comes to international justice.<ref>Mohamad Kamal al-Labwani, [https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/un-process-and-war-crimes-assad The UN Process and the War Crimes of Assad], Washington Institute, Feb 11, 2021.
<br><i>Torture in prison, chemical weapons, the direct targeting of foreign media, and hundreds of thousands of deaths. Syria's President Bashar al-Assad stands accused of a long list of crimes against his people</i></ref> Despite massive evidence of perpetrating crimes against humanity and war crimes, the Syrian regime seems to be in a state of impunity when it comes to international justice.<ref>Mohamad Kamal al-Labwani, [https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/un-process-and-war-crimes-assad The UN Process and the War Crimes of Assad], Washington Institute, Feb 11, 2021.
Assad and his regime may never be prosecuted for the acts of terror he perpetrated against his own people during Syria's civil war. Scott Pelley reports on the effort to gather and maintain the evidence against Assad...
Assad and his regime may never be prosecuted for the acts of terror he perpetrated against his own people during Syria's civil war. Scott Pelley reports on the effort to gather and maintain the evidence against Assad...
Torture is one of many war crimes committed by Bashar al-Assad's regime...</i></ref>
Torture is one of many war crimes committed by Bashar al-Assad's regime...</i></ref>
==Fall of Assad regime==
In December 2024, following a campaign
by various rebel forces, a mixture of diverse ideologies,<ref>When "The two groups leading the assault, HTS and the SNA, are now focused on their common foe, Bashar Assad." [https://www.timesofisrael.com/who-are-the-rebels-battering-syrias-regime-and-do-they-pose-a-risk-to-israel/ Who are the rebels battering Syria’s regime, and do they pose a risk to Israel?] ''Times of Israel'". Dec 2, 2024</ref> have toppled the Assad regime.
Iran was weakned for its attacks on Israel since post its backed Oct 7 2023 war, subsequently its Hezbollah has been beaten too, and Russia threw Assad's regime under the bus. Though, reportedly, the dictator and his family has been given refuge in Russia.
==See also==
==See also==
* [[Al Saaka]] Syrian-Palestinian ([[Ba'th]] founded, task was to establish Syrian dominance in as many Muslim areas as possible<ref>O'Ballance, E. (1998). Civil War in Lebanon, 1975-92. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan UK. p.10</ref>) group, committed atrocities in [[Lebanon]].
* [[Al Saaka]] Syrian-Palestinian ([[Ba'th]] founded, task was to establish Syrian dominance in as many Muslim areas as possible<ref>O'Ballance, E. (1998). Civil War in Lebanon, 1975-92. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan UK. p.10</ref>) group, committed atrocities in [[Lebanon]].