Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect

by Reese Erlich

  Saudi officials deny that the government encouraged youth to fight in Syria. They point to a religious decree (fatwa) issued by Saudi Arabia's grand mufti, Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al ash-Sheikh. He urged youth not to fight in Syria, noting that aid to rebels should be sent through “regular channels.” But Saudi authorities also admitted they have no control over people who legally leave the country and later join the rebels. Fighting with the rebels in Syria is illegal, declared Major General Mansour al-Turki, a spokesperson for the Saudi Ministry of Interior. “Anybody who wants to travel outside Saudi Arabia in order to get involved in such conflict will be arrested and prosecuted,” he told me. “But only if we have the evidence before he leaves the country.”50 That position gave the Saudi government plausible deniability, according to Randa Slim, a scholar with the Middle East Institute in Washington. The Saudi government purged the country of young troublemakers while undermining a hostile neighbor, she said to me. “In the name of a good cause, they are getting rid of a problem.”51

  Qahtani argued that Saudi support for extremist rebels resembled their aid to the mujahedeen fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. Back then Osama bin Laden was a scion of a Saudi construction magnate who transferred his inherited wealth out of Saudi Arabia and into what came to be called “The Base,” English for al-Qaeda. Both the United States and Saudi Arabia encouraged the flow of Arab fighters and arms to Afghanistan, part of a proxy war against the Soviet Union.

  Saudi authorities set up networks to support the mujahedeen. “They recruited kids to fight there,” Qahtani said. “They financed them and provided them with [airplane] tickets.” When the Soviet-backed regime fell and the fighters returned to Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, some engaged in terrorist bombings and assassinations in an unsuccessful effort to overthrow the government. A nascent form of al-Qaeda began to take shape, metastasizing throughout the region and eventually lining up against the Saudi and US governments. Qahtani said he hoped history was not repeating itself in Syria.52

  At the beginning of the uprising, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey cooperated to fund and arm the rebels. For example, in May 2012, a Saudi- and Qatar-financed shipment of small arms landed in Turkey and was trucked to the Syrian border without interference from Turkish authorities. The shipment included AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and small-caliber machine guns.53

  Initially all three countries, along with the United States, helped supply militias led by the Muslim Brotherhood and similar conservative Islamist groups. But the funders complained that the brotherhood's leadership was out of touch with activists inside Syria. Its brand of populist Islam also conflicted with the austere, promonarchy views of the Saudi princes. They saw the brotherhood as a threat. Vali R. Nasr, dean of the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, wrote: “Since Saudi identity is wrapped tightly around a puritanical interpretation of Islam, and Saudi nationalism draws on the centrality of Mecca and Medina to the Islamic faith, secular democracy has yet to find a large Saudi following. But the Brotherhood's populist Islamism, which promises justice and equity, and empowerment of the individual in religion and politics, does resonate with the many unemployed and restless young Saudis.”54

  So, for both ideological and practical reasons, Saudi Arabia shifted support from the brotherhood to ultraconservative groups such as Ahrar al-Sham. By the end of 2013, Saudi leaders threw their support behind the newly formed ultraconservative Islamic Front, led by Ahrar al-Sham. And by the spring of 2014, the government had officially declared the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, al-Nusra, and the Muslim Brotherhood to be terrorist organizations.55 The change would have a profound impact in both Syria and the entire region. The US and Saudi governments couldn't agree on which moderate groups to support, or, indeed, who the moderates were.

  Qatar, on the other hand, continued to support the brotherhood. With only 200,000 citizens and some two million expatriate workers, Qatar is a small nation. It juts out on a peninsula bordering Saudi Arabia. The country's leaders had played no significant international role until recently. It was mainly known as a staunch US ally, home for an important US military base. Qatar is the world's third-largest producer of natural gas and perhaps most importantly, home to the Al Jazeera TV network. Since 2011 Al Jazeera Arabic became an unapologetic supporter of the Arab Spring uprisings and of the Muslim Brotherhood parties in Syria and Egypt. Qatar leaders combined the news outreach of Al Jazeera with fabulous wealth to become a significant regional player.

  For a time, Turkey also supported the brotherhood, which had close ties to its ruling Justice and Development Party. Both groups shared common roots in political Islam and had a similar populist ideology that separated them from the Saudi sheiks. But Turkey eventually soured on the brotherhood's lack of success and shifted its support to more conservative rebels.

  The regional divisions came to a head over developments in Egypt. In June 2012, the Muslim Brotherhood won presidential elections and also gained a plurality in parliament. Brotherhood leader Mohammad Morsi became president. When the West balked at continuing to finance the Egyptian government, Qatar pledged $8 billion. The brotherhood was unable to resolve the country's severe economic problems, however, and Morsi adopted authoritarian policies that angered ordinary Egyptians. Mass demonstrations broke out in June and July of 2013, which the military used as an excuse to seize power.

  Qatar and Turkey denounced the coup. Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Bashar al-Assad all supported the military because it removed the brotherhood from power. In November 2013, Turkey and Egypt reduced their diplomatic relations. In March 2014, the regional divisions deepened as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt withdrew ambassadors from Qatar. The machinations and divisions among the various foreign powers have only made resolving the Syrian crisis more difficult.

  In the course of writing this book, I reported from Washington, DC, and ten countries in the Middle East. I met with leaders, rebels, analysts, and ordinary people. Most agreed on the basic facts about the Syrian uprising. Spontaneous, popular demonstrations broke out against Assad as part of the wider Arab Spring. Harsh repression followed; Syrian opposition forces turned to armed rebellion. The longer the fighting continued, the more foreign powers interfered. Russia sent massive amounts of arms and provided diplomatic cover for Assad's repression. Iran sent arms and military advisors, and it facilitated the entry into Syria of Hezbollah and Iraqi militias. The United States, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel all backed the rebels. The CIA trained selected rebels in Jordan. Foreigners bolstered the ranks of al-Qaeda-affiliated and other extremist rebels, further complicating matters.

  At the time of this writing, Syria remained in a military and political standoff, with neither side strong enough to prevail. Foreign powers seem determined to fight to the last Syrian. Israeli analysts were perhaps the most cynical, but by no means unique, when they hoped the war would go on indefinitely to take Arab minds off Israel.

  But the Syrian war will end. Lebanon experienced a horrific civil war from 1976 to 1990. Despite the carnage, the Lebanese were able to resolve their civil war and rebuild their country. The Taif Accords, which ended that war, offer some interesting insights for a possible future settlement in Syria. The accords called for a cease-fire, disarming of all militias, withdrawal of all foreign troops, and establishment of a parliamentary system to include protections for minorities.56 However, the accords were never fully implemented and Lebanon is certainly no model. Lebanon shows, however, that horrific civil wars can eventually end despite outside meddling.

  Palestinian leader Hannan Ashrawi told me Palestinians stand in solidarity with the people of Syria. That makes sense to me. The people of Syria—with their tradition of tolerance—will ultimately prevail.

  Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, known as Lawrence of Arabia, was a British liaison officer who helped the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. He was a leadi
ng advocate for Arab independence under British neocolonial control. Photo by Lowell Thomas, 1919.

  This map shows how the Sykes-Picot Agreement proposed to divide up the Middle East between the French (area A) and the British (area B). The agreement was signed in secret in 1916 without any concern for local peoples. This map is signed by Sykes and Picot. Map from the National Archives, MPK 1/426, 1916.

  British diplomat Sir Mark Sykes negotiated the Sykes-Picot Agreement with France. The agreement split territory between imperialist powers and helped cause decades of turmoil in the Middle East. Lithograph by Leopold Pilichowski, 1918.

  French diplomat François Georges-Picot signed the Skyes-Picot Agreement in 1916. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, 1918.

  Sultan Pasha al-Atrash led the 1925–1927 nationalist revolt against French occupation of Syria. That revolt helps inspire today's rebels fighting Bashar al-Assad. Photo by American Colony (Jerusalem) Photo Department, 1926. From Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-M32-3398-A [P&P].

  Unless otherwise specified, all images in the photo insert are by Reese Erlich.

  Bashar al-Assad, who began his rule with much-needed reforms, proved to be a brutal dictator when he repressed the 2011 uprising.

  This revolutionary poster shows an image of Mohammad Bouazizi in his hometown of Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia.

  This sculpture commemorates street vendor Mohammad Bouazizi in Tunisia, whose death sparked the Arab Spring.

  Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians rally against the Mubarak dictatorship and the Egyptian military, Tahrir Rally, Cairo.

  Shia Muslims pray at the holy Rukaya shrine in Damascus. Shia youth wave flags during a holiday celebration; outside, Hezbollah stands guard along with Syrian troops.

  Muslims pray at the Omayyad Mosque in Damascus. While proclaiming support for religious freedom, the Syrian regime laid siege to Sunni neighborhoods suspected of supporting the rebels.

  Sheik Abdul Salaam al-Harash, a progovernment cleric, echoes the widely held view that Muslims must “protect” Christians. Christians say that's a condescending view.

  Minister of Justice Najm al-Ahmad denies that the Syrian government ever used chemical weapons, claiming they were used only by the rebels.

  Dr. Wafaa Dieb stands in front of a statue of Hafez al-Assad in Tartus. At the beginning of the uprising, the mainly Alawite residents of Tartus rallied in favor of the government and against tearing down Hafez al-Assad's statue.

  A Mukhabarat (secret police) member worried that photographing this breadline in western Syria would show the regime in a negative light. The government provided subsidized bread, and sometimes the lines got long.

  Rana Isa, owner of a public-relations company in Damascus, says big-business men strongly supported the government because Bashar al-Assad had adopted probusiness policies since the early 2000s.

  During a 2011 visit to Damascus's famous souk, or marketplace, business had dried up.

  In the Damascus souk, this shopkeeper displays his inlaid boxes but says foreign customers, his usual clients, have stopped coming.

  Bishop Armash Nalbandian of the Armenian Orthodox Church says protestors originally had legitimate democratic demands but extremist rebels have taken over. He supports the Assad government.

  Clerics attend the funeral of Armenian children killed by a rebel mortar that hit a Christian school in Damascus.

  Iranians gather for Friday prayers in Tehran. Iran strongly supports Assad because of his opposition to the United States and Israel.

  A young girl in Moqebleh, a Kurdish refugee camp in northern Iraq. Kurds have long opposed the Assad regime but are also wary of the Islamist opposition.

  Author Reese Erlich interviews Syrian Kurdish refugee Barkhodan Balo in the Moqebleh camp in northern Iraq. Balo and most Kurds want greater rights for Kurds within the Syrian state.

  A watchtower overlooks the Golan. Arabs living in the occupied Golan overwhelmingly support its return to Syria, although the civil war has put any future settlement on the back burner.

  Mustafa Barghouti, Palestinian political leader, says the Israel lobby had a significant defeat in 2013 when it couldn't pressure Congress to support bombing Syria.

  While writing is a solitary task, producing a book is a collective effort. Numerous people helped me shape the original proposal, provided vital research, read over draft chapters, and offered moral encouragement as the deadline loomed.

  Laura Gross, my book agent, offered invaluable suggestions on how to take a good idea and turn it into a book people might want to actually read. Steven L. Mitchell, editor in chief at Prometheus Books, offered a fresh perspective and made important suggestions for the manuscript. I offer special thanks to Noam Chomsky, who took time out of his busy schedule to write the foreword.

  Charlie Sennott and Kevin Grant at Global Post published my writings from ten countries in the Middle East and helped deepen my understanding of the complex religious conflicts in the region. Tom Hundley and Nathalie Applewhite of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting were quite patient with my sometimes-last-minute phone calls asking for travel grants. The center enabled me to report from six countries in the Middle East, including two trips to Syria.

  Numerous people were kind enough to read individual chapters and offer helpful suggestions. These include: Professor James Gelvin, UCLA; Professor Muhammad Sahimi, USC; Professor Soraya Fallah, California State University, Northridge; Professor Amir Sharifi, California State University, Long Beach; Kelly Niknejad, editor of Tehran Bureau; Meghan Sayres; and Bisher Alisa, Syrian Non Violent Movement.

  Finally, I want to thank my wife, Liz Erlich, and son, Jason Erlich, for their moral support and encouragement during the researching and writing of this book. As for their concerns about my physical safety, I assured them that I travel only to the safest parts of dangerous countries.

  GROUPS OPPOSED TO ASSAD

  Ahrar al-Sham (Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the Levant): One of the largest rebel militias. Founded in 2011 by ultraconservative, former political prisoners, it operated mainly in the Idlib Governate in northwestern Syria next to the Turkish border. It sought to establish an Islamic state without elections or a parliamentary system. It joined with other ultraconservative rebels to form the Islamic Front.

  Al-Qaeda: The organization founded by Osama bin Laden has fractured into many local groups with no centralized control. In Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) was originally affiliated—as was Jabhat al-Nusra. Al-Qaeda groups commit suicide bombings against civilians, were intolerant of other religions, and killed rebels with whom they disagreed.

  Free Syrian Army: Formed in July 2011 by defectors from the Syrian army. It called for a parliamentary system in which the rights of minorities would be protected. The FSA received money, supplies, and weapons from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar. By the end of 2013, the FSA was losing ground to ultra-right-wing rebels.

  Islamic Front: Formed in September 2013 as a coalition of conservative and ultraconservative rebel groups, led by Ahrar al-Sham. The IF excluded al-Qaeda-affiliated groups and the FSA. Saudi Arabia became its main backer. The Islamic Front charter rejected a representative parliamentary system, saying only “God is sovereign.” By early 2014 the front emerged as one of the strongest rebel alliances.

  Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS): Sometimes called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Originally formed as the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), or al-Qaeda in Iraq, during the sectarian fighting in Iraq in 2007–2008. Led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the ISI began secretly sending fighters to Syria, eventually announced its Syrian presence, and changed its name to ISIS. In early 2014 the leadership of al-Qaeda expelled the ISIS because of its extreme sectarianism and attacks on other rebel groups. In June 2014, the group changed its name to the Islamic State (IS) and declared the existence of an Islamic caliphate in northern Syria and Iraq.

  Jabhat al-Nusra (The Support Front
for the People of the Levant): Affiliated with al-Qaeda, although it operated independently. Al-Nusra is led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, who had fought against both the United States and the Nouri al-Maliki government in Iraq. Rather than support a parliamentary system, al-Nusra advocated a religious regime that would implement a harsh interpretation of Shariah. In December 2012, the US State Department put al-Nusra on its list of terrorist organizations because of its ties to al-Qaeda.

  Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam): Formed from the September 2013 merger of dozens of smaller militias mostly in the Damascus area. It was led by Zahran Alloush. Jaysh al-Islam and the al-Nusra Front participated in a massacre of dozens of civilians just outside Damascus in December 2013.

  Jihadists or Jihadis: Literally, “those who wage jihad or holy war.” Jihadist is the generic term for ultra-right-wing rebels fighting Assad. In general they want to establish an Islamic state with a strict interpretation of Shariah law, led by themselves without elections or a parliamentary system.

  Local Coordinating Committees (LCC): Civil-society and religious activists who came together to coordinate protests in the early days of the uprising. They developed considerable popular support and continued to do humanitarian work in some rebel-controlled areas.

  Muslim Brotherhood: A political organization calling for an Islamic state with elections and a parliamentary system. The brotherhood is conservative on social issues, supports capitalism, and said it will respect minority rights. The brotherhood formed a militia in 2012 called the Shield. It has close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza.