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Michael Karadjis says:
'As the SDF advances on Raqqa, US airstrikes (and SDF artillery) are creating
what UN war crimes investigators described as a “staggering loss of civilian
life.” The US is literally carpet bombing Raqqa, “destroying the town to save
it.” '
The UN report does not use the term "carpet bombing", nor say that the US is
"destroying the town to save it". However it is true that the report talks of
a "staggering loss of civilian life" in Raqqa:
www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21741=E
Undoubtedly the aerial bombardment of Raqqa has killed a lot of civilians. The
US air force often bombs with reckless disregard for civilian lives.
The US currently has an agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces on military
cooperation in fighting ISIS. But this does not mean that the US bombing of
Syria is dependent on the consent of the SDF. US bombing began before the
agreement was reached, and would undoubtedly continue to occur if the agreement
was terminated.
The presence of the US air force has been a deterrent to Turkish or Assadist
bombing of SDF-controlled cities. Both Assadist and Turkish planes have
carried out some bombing raids on SDF areas, but only on a small scale.
However, Turkey has carried out frequent ground artillery bombardments of
SDF-controlled areas, and would undoubtedly carry out large-scale aerial
bombardments if not restrained by the US.
It would be preferable if the SDF could defeat ISIS and deter its other enemies
without US aid. But I can understand why a society under siege, such as the
Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, makes use of whatever allies it can
get.
The US is an unreliable ally. As Michael says: "Finally, as the SDF leaders
are no doubt themselves aware, neither the Assad regime, Russia nor the US are
ever going to be reliable allies, and so they will need to constantly watch
their backs. Yet this means the only real ally of the Syrian Kurdish people are
the Syrian Arab people. "
I agree that there is a need for unity between Kurds and Arabs (and other
nationalities). The SDF leaders are certainly aware of this. There are
increasing numbers of Arabs in the SDF. This includes fighters from a Free
Syrian Army background.
However, there are several obstacles to unity between the SDF and most
anti-Assad rebel groups.
Many such groups are dependent on Turkish aid, which would be cut off if they
cooperated with the SDF. Some groups have been coopted into Turkey's war
against the SDF.
In addition, many rebel groups are Sunni-sectarian, or allied with
Sunni-sectarian groups. A democratic revolution must unite people across
religious and ethnic lines. Sectarian groups can't do this, because they
oppress religious minorities. Hence the SDF can not unite with such groups.
But the relative isolation of the SDF creates its own problems. Just as an
isolated socialist state - such as Cuba - is likely to be distorted by the
pressures of a hostile world, so too a democratic revolution that is isolated
in one part of a country - such as northern Syria - is subject to pressures
that are likely to distort it, and may cause it to completely degenerate.
If this happens, the critics will be able to say "I told you so". But the
revolution is still continuing, and has spread to non-Kurdish areas, so we
should not give up hope yet.
An example of a non-Kurdish area that is part of the Democratic Federation of
Northern Syria is Manbij (Minbic), a predominantly Arab town:
http://kurdishquestion.com/article/3941-a-trip-to-liberated-minbic-in-northern-syria-from-hell-to-paradise
Chris Slee
From: Marxism <marxism-boun...@lists.csbs.utah.edu> on behalf of mkaradjis .
via Marxism <marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, 27 June 2017 10:37 PM
To: Chris Slee
Subject: [Marxism] US enforces its No Fly Zone over Rojava, leading to World
War III …
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https://mkaradjis.wordpress.com/2017/06/26/us-enforces-its-no-fly-zone-over-rojava-leading-to-world-war-iii/
US enforces its No Fly Zone over Rojava, leading to World War III …
… well, not quite, just the continuation of six years of genocidal war
as Assad, Russia and the US pulverize Syria
By M