Will Turkey attack the Kurds in eastern Euphrates?

By Ramin Hossein Abadian

TEHRAN - The eastern Euphrates, which is under the control of the U.S. allies, has taken the attention of most regional actors in Syria. 

The region has the largest and most important oil fields, particularly al-Omar filed, which before 2011 produced around 300 barrels of oil per day.

Al-Raqqah, alone, has 70 percent of Syria’s water resources, not to mention its fertile land for agricultural products. The area accounts for one-third of Syria’s fertile land and plays a big role in Syrian food and economy. 

Al-Raqqah, also called Raqqa, is a city in Syria located on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about 160 kilometres east of Aleppo. It is located 40 kilometres east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. 

The area also contains 90 percent of Syria’s gas and oil revenue and over half of the country’s wheat and cotton. Deir ez-Zor province, in eastern Euphrates, is the second most prominent Syrian province in terms of area (about 33,000 square kilometers). Most of the Syrian oil production comes from these areas, and it also is the richest source of Syria's gas. 

After the Syrian army defeated terrorists in various parts of the country, especially on the outskirts of Damascus and in the south, and made advances in the depths of As-Suwayda, two regions are still not in the control of the Syrian government. One is the province of Idlib that based on Putin and Erdogan agreement it is kept a weapons-free area, despite the attacks carried out on the Syrian army's positions there by the terrorists. Some Syrian military experts, including the Brigadier General Hamdan believe that the Syrian army will soon embrace Idlib too. 

General Hamdan said, “Terrorist activities that resulted in the deaths of 18 Syrian soldiers and the failure of other players to subside terrorism have put a halt to the ceasefire in Idlib. Thus, the final operation by the Syrian army is approaching fast.

Syrian army, as we have repeatedly said, continues on the path of self-restraint, but it seems the purpose of the moves is to bring all parties to war in Idlib, be it with a political reason, for exploiting the military movements of the Syrian army politically or with the aim of targeting more Syrian army personnel, militarily.  

The goal of the Russian moves in the next few weeks before the coming New Year is to gain more international support for the region in bringing an end to the daily activities of terrorists.  And that is only possible when everyone takes responsibility for their own action. In a clearer sense, provokers must be put in a bottleneck and pushed aside. 

The U.S., the greatest supporter of terrorism, is the only actor that gets benefit from terrorist acts in Idlib, and therefore is seeking to defeat the military victories of the Syrian army and the political achievements of Damascus.”

Syrian actors’ view of eastern Euphrates 

The other area, out of the Syrian army’s control, is the eastern Euphrates that all actors of the Syrian affairs are keeping an eye on. This region has its own story. The other day, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President warned the U.S. and said “no one can turn Turkey into their own backyard.”

Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, who was attending Halifax International Security Forum in Canada, expressed indignation at photos showing U.S. troops dining with Kurdish militants near the Turkish border in Syria and said, “We expect U.S. to stop cooperation with the YPG terror group as promised.”

“These photos have found wide coverage in our media and disturbed our people. They tarnished the image of the U.S. and its army... for the Turkish public. It is unacceptable for the U.S. to provide arms and ammunition by plane and trucks to the YPG terrorist group even when Daesh has been neutralized to a large extent. We will not allow the formation of a terrorist corridor on our southern border,” Akar said.

It seems that north-east of Syria, where the U.S.-backed Kurds are present, will face new developments, as Ankara has threatened to intervene in the area, and Damascus has announced to send the Syrian forces to east of Euphrates after the liberation of Idlib. 

The Syrian newspaper Al-Watan has quotes the Syrian opposition as saying, “Turkey intends to attack the Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, in Tel Avia, located on the southern border of Turkey, where these Kurds are supported by the U.S.”

Turkey has told armed groups in Idlib, and in the western and northern Aleppo that they are ready to move to the east of Euphrates to confront the Kurdish forces who are in control of the area. Erdogan is seeking an invasion of Kobai as a starting point for moving to other parts of eastern Euphrates to dominate the border areas in the second phase.

In October, the Turkish army struck Kurdish positions in eastern Euphrates, coinciding with the statement made by Turkish President Erdogan on the determination of his country to overcome Kurdish forces in eastern Euphrates.
This is while the U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, SDF, in northern Syria also stepped in and patrol the area which invited Erdogan criticism, saying that that joint U.S.-Kurdish patrols just over the Turkish border with Syria were unacceptable and that he expected U.S. President Donald Trump to stop them. 

Iran-Syria-Russia axis 

Meanwhile, Damascus considers the military presence of the U.S. and Turkey illegitimate in the country. The Syrian army has announced that the next step will be eastern Euphrates after the liberation of Idlib. If the area east of the Euphrates were not given to the Syrian government, this will led to the confrontation between the Syrian army and U.S.-backed.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned U.S.-backed Kurdish forces. “We're going to deal with it by two options: the first one we started now opening doors for negotiations, because the majority of them [SDF] are Syrians. If not, we're going to resort ... to liberating those areas by force”, Assad said.

Moscow, on the other hand, considers the U.S. actions in eastern Euphrates to be an attempt to create a region separate from Syria, and considers it unacceptable. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Oct. 12, 2018: “In eastern Euphrates, the situation is such that there are inevitable actions. And the United States seeks to exploit this land through its Syrian allies, in particular the Kurds, to create a region similar to that of the country.”

But Iran has consistently stated that the presence of the United States is in the eastern Euphrates as an occupation. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani during the Tehran summit saw the post-Idlib phase against the Syrian army as the U.S. forces in the east of Euphrates.

Syria, allies’ right to end the war

In a time of hypocrisy, duplicity and hysterics, let’s keep focused on the right thing to do, which is for the Syrian government and its allies to end the war, by finally defeating the terrorist gangs holding out in their last stronghold of Idlib Province.

The Syrian government of President Assad has the sovereign legal and moral right to vanquish the terror groups that have marauded and brutalized Syria for the past eight years. These terrorists are not some kind of “pro-democracy uprising” that the Western governments and their news media have been absurdly lionizing. “The last rebel-held area,” is a lie that Western media continue to spin, albeit with ever-increasing transparency as a lie.

Such spinning is a travesty of the truth. The terrorists in Idlib are the assorted terrorist gangs that the Western powers, primarily the United States, have been arming as their criminal proxies to overthrow the Syrian government. There are no so-called “moderate rebels”; the militants are vile terrorist mercenaries, who tried to turn Syria into another failed state for the sordid satisfaction of Western powers and their imperialist machinations in the Middle East.

The principled military intervention by Russia three years ago to aid the Syrian state averted the catastrophic fate that befell other countries where the US and its allies have despoiled for regime change. The Syrian army is now in a position to finally eradicate from its country the Western-backed terrorists.

Syria and its Russian ally must now proceed to finish the task of ridding the country of the terrorist disease that Washington and its criminal partners infiltrated. All the sound and fury from the US, Britain and France, amplified by the Western media, should be ignored with contempt. Their protests against the looming offensive to retake Idlib is rank hypocrisy.

Washington and its allies are decrying a “humanitarian crisis” ahead of the Syrian offensive. This grotesque hypocrisy is uttered by Western powers which have fomented a covert war by weaponizing terror groups. Their weasel words also come as US-backed Saudi warplanes relentlessly carry out a slaughter of civilians in Yemen.

The double-think and moral duplicity is astounding and should be repudiated. The criminal Western governments have no authority whatsoever to pontificate to Syria and allies about “humanitarian casualties”.

In any case, the Syrian and Russian forces have operated to relieve humanitarian suffering in Syria by breaking siege after siege imposed by heinous terror groups holding civilians under a reign of terror.

The clearest example of this so far was in the liberation of East Aleppo in December 2016. Tens of thousands of civilians were relieved from the head-chopping “moderate rebels” when the Syrian and Russian forces retook Aleppo. Today, the people of Aleppo have begun to repair their lives in peace.
Prior to the liberation of Aleppo, Western governments and media were hysterically condemning the Syrian army and the Russian air force for what they refer to as “war crimes” and creating an alleged “bloodbath”. That hysteria was shown to be lie. Aleppo, like many other cities and towns, was liberated and restored to peace. The Western governments and media say nothing now about Aleppo because the reality totally disproves their deceitful posturing.

The same lies are being spun today about Idlib. Although there is a sense that the Western powers know their mendacious narrative of “bloodbath” is wearing thin. Syria and Russia would do well to shun the hypocritical protests, and proceed to do the right thing, which is to destroy the last remaining terrorist bases in that country, and thus permit a comprehensive peace to be established.

It is incumbent to mention the odious role of the United Nations here. UN chiefs have indulged the Western powers by talking up the charade of humanitarian concern. Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, and his special envoy Staffan de Mistura have been deploring the planned Syrian offensive. They are calling for “talks”. This is while Turkey is this week reportedly increasing the supply of weapons to the militants in Idlib, and the US, Britain and France are threatening military attacks on Syria.

Guterres and the other UN bureaucrats would be better off making unequivocal condemnations of the US-backed genocide in Yemen. But on that charnel house they seem to have little to say in the way of specific condemnation. All the pious, double-dealing concern about Idlib is in reality a reprehensible attempt to buy time for the terrorist gangs holed up in the province. Why aren’t the UN chiefs calling the US, British and French threats to attack Syria what they are, which is a crime of aggression against a sovereign nation?

There are US media reports that the Trump administration is considering launching air strikes on Syrian army and Russian military positions in Syria “if there is an escalation”. What for? To protect civilians? To protect the alleged “rebels”? No, the US-led NATO powers are willing to go to war in Syria to protect remnants of the terror group they deployed covertly over the past eight years for criminal regime change.

Washington and its allies, the Western media and the UN leadership are a disgrace. They have no moral authority. Not a scintilla.

The US seems willing to start World War III if it attacks Syria and its Russian ally in order to defend terrorists in Idlib Province. Former presidential candidate Ron Paul has openly condemned the Trump administration for siding with Al Qaeda. This is in the same week that the US commemorated 17 years after the 911 terror incidents in New York City.

How despicable is that? World War III to support head-chopping terrorists?

Syria and Russia must not be deflected, intimidated or blackmailed by Western governments, their media and UN flunkies – who are no better than the terrorists whom they are, in effect, aiding and abetting. The task to defeat the arrayed nefarious forces assaulting Syria is a righteous one, and must be courageously completed.

That was an editorial that was originally appeared on the Strategic Culture Foundation.

Battle of Idlib: No Mass Flight, Expulsion or Humanitarian Crisis

TEHRAN (FNA)- Syrian President Bashar Assad says “Idlib province is home to tens of thousands of terrorists and the region is among the priority areas for the Syrian military's operations.”

So it makes perfect sense to liberate the terror-held area. After all, the Syrian Army is sending military equipment and ammunition to the borders of Idlib, preparing for a large-scale operation to clear the area of terrorists.

Sadly, most of Idlib province is occupied by a disparate collection of foreign-backed terrorist groups. The region has been home to infighting between Nusra Front (also known as Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at or the Levant Liberation Board)and Ahrar al-Sham as well, a coalition of Salafist, Takfiri and Wahhabi jihadists. And with the liberation of broad areas of Southern Syria this month, Idlib has become one of the last terrorist strongholds in Syria – all armed with US-made weapons, including anti-tank missiles.

The good news is that Turkey has officially designated the Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at jihadist group as a "terrorist" organization, ahead of the operation by the Syrian Army. Turkey, which has already listed Al-Nusra and Al-Qaeda as terror groups, has updated its list of terror groups. It has been keeping a wary eye on the Idlib offensive, as the long-awaited operation is seen as a prelude to efforts to bring peace to Syria. To that end, the presidents of these three countries are scheduled to meet in Iran this week. The talks will include prospects of peace with the opposition groups.

The military operations in Idlib are not designed to cause catastrophe or trigger an influx of refugees across its borders. That’s not the intention. Reconstruction in Syria cannot begin as long as there are still remnants of ISIL and Al-Qaeda in the war-torn country. No international company or bank is willing to build or finance any infrastructure project if parts of Syria are still under the control of militant groups.

For that reason, recapturing the province of Idlib makes sense. It will pave the way for full resumption of reconstruction efforts nationwide. Private companies from Iran have already agreed to build 30,000 homes for the Syrian people. They also say they could only begin work when they feel safe. That safety could be guaranteed with liberation of Idlib.

In between, Western media outlets are free to claim sectarian and ethnic cleansing will be inevitable once Idlib is fully liberated. And even if the war ends, many refugees will find it too dangerous to return to their homes. They can even claim communities which once lived together in peace will be too frightened of each other to return to Idlib.

But guess what? They made the same claims when other regions were liberated by the allied forces and nothing terrible happened afterwards. This means there are no reasons for the civilians to be afraid; there is no sectarian or ethnic and political agenda; and certainly no “displacement, elimination, mass flight and expulsion” plans. Much to the chagrin of “fakestream” media in the West, civilians will be able to return home in safety and with full protection from the central government.

There is no denying that the decision to liberate Idlib has enraged the United States and its rogue partners. They are using their “humanitarian crisis” concerns to prolong the unnecessary conflict, to justify their presence and occupation, and to keep their terror proxies at an arm’s length. Backed by corporate media propaganda, they allege liberation will look like occupation and ethnic cleansing. Other allegations include government forces will be carrying out summary execution of Qaeda sympathizers, looting, and burning homes for the run of it.

The frantic propagandists are in the know that these barbaric acts are what their terror proxies have done in Syria for so many years - and continue to do in Idlib under the horrible campaign of regime-change bloodletting. To be sure, the government-led campaign to liberate Idlib will have the minimum number of civilian casualties. It has nothing to do with sectarian tensions or people and everything to do with the plan to kick start nationwide reconstruction efforts.

In brief, it is the terrorist groups and their enablers that have committed and continue to commit war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Syria. The War Party in Washington and its rogue partners in crime are not fit to judge the sensible conducts of the Syrian government forces and allies in Idlib. One instance is the tens of thousands of former rebels who have all been pardoned by the government in the last several years and are living in peace in their cities. Still better, some of the same are fighting alongside the Syrian army against their former comrades to end the war. The peace agreements signed with numerous militant groups constituted one of the main reasons why the operation in Sweida was wrapped up in a matter of weeks than months.

Predictably, the United States and its allies will still issue statements blaming Syria and its allies for the carnage wrought by ISIL and Al-Qaeda in Idlib, and that includes their sectarian massacres, summary executions, and destruction of public property among others. The reason is obvious. They are unhappy at the reversal of fortunes because the Syrian Army in collaboration with allied forces has liberated the rest of the country from the bloodthirsty demons Washington and partners created. They are now heading towards Idlib where the fate of foreign-backed terrorists is sealed.

Tehran Summit: Putting the Last Nail in the Coffin of Terrorists in Syria

TEHRAN (FNA)- The presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey are meeting for a third summit in Tehran to end the Syrian conflict.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian and Turkish counterparts Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan are also scheduled to have bilateral talks on the sidelines of the tripartite summit on Friday, September 7. The three presidents previously met in the Russian resort city of Sochi and the Turkish capital Ankara, where they discussed developments in Syria, among other things.

A major item on this summit agenda is the terror-held Northwestern province of Idlib which President Bashar al-Assad wants to recapture. Iran and Russia are the main allies of the Damascus and their military support tipped the balance of the seven-year war in government’s favor. Turkey has backed rebels seeking to oust the government but since late 2016 it has been working closely with Iran and Russia to avoid the fate of Qatar and Saudi Arabia who have been excluded from the equation in Syria, and maintain its presence on the stage.

At any rate, the three leaders have agreed to consider further joint efforts to ensure long-term normalization of the situation in the Arab country. This includes bilateral talks and discussing further measures aimed at finally liquidating the hotbed of international terrorism in Syria, where according to the United Nations the conflict has killed more than 400,000 people since 2011, and made millions more refugees.

The discussions further look at promoting the process of a political settlement with the opposition groups (not Salafi, Takfiri, Wahhabi terrorists), including creating the conditions for the return of refugees and the internally displaced. Unlike the United States and its allies which seek to prolong the war, Rouhani, Putin and Erdogan back Syria peace talks based in the Kazakh capital of Astana (Astana Process), aimed at reinforcing, rather than undermining, a parallel UN peace process in Geneva.

On the other hand, Iran and Russia could speed up normalization of the situation in Syria through Turkey's companionship. The good news is that Turkey is looking for new allies and is in the anti-US camp. Turkey has come so close to Iran that it has informed Washington of its defiance of the US sanctions policy against Tehran. Ties are also warming between Turkey and Russia, even though they supported opposing sides in the war and Turkey shot down a Russian warplane before. Now thanks to the Tehran Summit, Erdogan backs an Iranian-Russian truce plan for four areas in Syria, and has sent troops to assist in its execution. All in all, the Friday summit means collaboration because of common interests among Iran, Russia and Turkey happening at the right time and the right place.

They meet at a sensitive time. Defying Trump, Russian air strikes have resumed against Qaeda-allied rebels in Northwestern Idlib province. The Syrian Army is also preparing a phased offensive to regain the "nest of terrorists". The province and surrounding areas is the last major enclave held by Qaeda-allied insurgents fighting the Syrian government, such as the Nusra Front.

With the foreign-backed terrorist groups still operating there, the government cannot start rebuilding the country. Damascus cannot put in place the legal and regulatory authorities to implement its vision of reconstruction as a process of stabilization when the country is still in the midst of various regional and international tensions and rivalries. With its military victory close at hand in Idlib, the government can use reconstruction to re-impose law and order.

For all intents and purposes, the Tehran Summit means the structure, governance and organization of post-conflict reconstruction in Syria are settled issues. The government has consolidated its dominance over the levers of reconstruction, rendering it virtually impervious to external pressure. The American hope, however modest, that its terror proxies in Idlib might someday set the stage for external actors to engage in partition programming in Syria, or through interventions influence the course of reconstruction and political process, is deeply misguided and out of picture now. 

In brief, much has been accomplished this year in the campaign against terrorism in Syria. This struggle will require further vigilance, perseverance and sacrifice on the part of all parties involved. The Tehran Summit will help end the seven-year conflict and liquidate the hotbed of international terrorism in embattled Syria.

At the same time, it will help normalize the situation, promote the process of a political settlement, create the conditions for the return of refugees and internally displaced, herald international reconstruction support and funds, and take away any remaining pretext for the United States and its allies to occupy the country further and destabilize the entire region for some illicit interests and designs.

Trump’s Talking of Trash Will Not Deter Damascus & Allies

By: Kayhan Int’l 

Ignorance, arrogance, insolence, and imprudence, are some of the words to describe the mindset of the US Administration of Donald Trump which the Free World is beginning to view as a psychiatric ward where some of the most deranged elements have been assembled by a dotard.

The other day Trump talked trash when he tweeted against the long overdue military operations by President Bashar al-Assad to clear Idlib – and soon Deir ez-Zore – of terrorists, who by refusing to surrender to the government in Damascus, continue to endanger the lives of three million men, women, and children, living as virtual hostages in that northern Syrian province, thereby inviting necessary military action.

The poor guy who neither knows geography nor history, let alone politics or diplomacy, seems to have confused Idlib for Idaho and Deir ez-Zore for Delaware.

Trump thinking that Syria and its allies – the Islamic Republic of Iran, Russia and Lebanon’s legendry anti-terrorist organization, the Hezbollah – are all set for a grand campaign to liberate the occupied homelands of the persecuted Amerindians from the rule of the Anglo-Saxons in the White House, blurted whatever came to his walnut-sized brain.

It is high time some sane persons in Washington rapped this knucklehead and warned him of the dangerous consequences of meddling in sovereign independent countries where the illegally-based American troops run high risk to their lives by siding with terrorists and supplying them with chemical gasses for use on civilian populations under their control in a bid to cry wolf against the government of Syria.

The US should understand that if it repeats the worn-out tactics of asking the terrorists to gas people and then lay the blame on President Assad – as happened in Homs, Aleppo, Ghoutha and other places – in order to wade into the war to chalk out zones of American influence, this would be a fatal mistake.

The Syrians and their allies are in no mood to tolerate Trump’s theatrics and are serious on liberation of Idlib – and soon Deir ez-Zore – even if it means direct confrontation with any foolhardy US invasion that will entail only body bags for the dead-scared and demoralized 2,000 odd American troops. 

It is the sovereign right of the government of Syria, guaranteed by the UN Charter, to cleanse its terrorist-infested territories, which means any attempt by outside parties to aid, abet, and arm the terrorists, is tantamount to act of war against Damascus, which, with the help of its allies, can take whatever military action it deems necessary.

The Russians are not reckless in supporting the legitimate stand of President Assad, nor will the Iranian advisors who have been invited by Damascus withhold any effort, and neither the battle-hardened militias assisting the Syrian Arab Army in its spectacular victories of the past few years will be cowed down by threats.

The recent visits to Syria by senior Iranian officials, such as Defence Minister Amir Hatemi and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, both of whom met the Syrian President to discuss a wide variety of topics, including reconstruction, defence, and diplomacy, are part of the stabilizing policy of the Islamic Republic to safeguard the security of the whole region from terrorism.

The whole world knows, but for the timely response of Tehran to the urgent requests from Damascus and Baghdad for help, the two countries would have been occupied by macabre head-chopping and raw human-liver-eating terrorists.

In view of this fact, the US, or more properly the Don Quixote in the White House, is advised to come to its/his senses, and instead of destabilizing the region from Lebanon to Yemen, contribute to peace.

We know the American Administration is unable to overcome its inherent traits of ignorance, arrogance, insolence, and imprudence, and will continue to side with terrorists, criminals, and all enemies of humanity.

Therefore, for the safety and security of the people of the region, including the three million odd civilians trapped in Idlib, the government of Syria and its allies are prepared for all eventualities, confident of yet again routing out the terrorists and their dastardly backers.