The demand from the Syrian people was loud and clear to live in a democratic, free country that presents its citizens the chance for a better life. Yet, first the countries of the region, and then global powers triggered an almost ever-lasting civil war in Syria, which would, under the present conditions, cease to exist entirely eventually.
The oldest civilization and its oldest settlements in Damascus and Aleppo now appear almost totally destroyed. Abandoning their wrecked homeland, 7 million people are trying to survive in various foreign countries around the world. Syrians have been condemned to the miserable living conditions Palestinians have suffered for decades.
We know thanks to the experience of the Afghan war that if thousands of people around the world try to participate in an armed group fighting in a civil war, that war should be a war directed, if not organized, by global intelligence organizations.
Retrospectively, the fundamentalist religious rhetoric and inhumane war tactics employed by DAESH were to be expected when one considers the terrorist attacks by al-Qaida in Iraq, the work of Shiite militias and the incompetent government of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki trying to extinguish the Sunni population, and the dangerous potential of the Sunni tribes, together with the former Baathists in Iraq whose social base is demographically crumbling after producing a terrorist organization.
Although it is portrayed as a threat against the West, DAESH in the long run stands as a monster directed against Turkey and Russia. From time to time, terrorist organizations like al-Qaida, which were created by global intelligence organizations, get out of control, but, the Turkish idiom: "No loyal dog bites his master," means something different.
The United States declared that the war against DAESH would continue for at least 20 years, while news about DAESH's financial resources in banks in the United Kingdom created controversy worldwide. As DAESH suddenly acquired an infinite source of arms, it launched a so-called jihad against the West.
Currently, various Western newspapers discuss the armament of DAESH through their financial resources in the U.K.
But which countries compose the West? It is clearly absurd to involve non-colonial countries into Western civilization.
Although the Russian and Ottoman Empires aimed at participating in the Western process of modernization, they have always been regarded as "step-members" of the West.
I think that DAESH as a political wrench serves the purpose of destabilizing not only Syria, but also Turkey and Russia. Some 20 million Muslims live in Russia, while the influence of Wahhabism, the radical wing of Salafism, is powerful in the country. As long as Russia takes a fighting stand in Syria, DAESH aggression will turn against Russia instead of the U.S. Although Iran seems to have a temporary advantage after inciting violence in Syria and abusing Russia for their own interests against the legitimate opposition forces, it is obvious that they are playing with fire.
In order to prevent DAESH from attacking Turkey, Russia and Iran, Syria should be emancipated from its destructive civil war and foreign invasion simply because DAESH's maneuvering would be restricted in a stabilized Syria. Therefore, it is imperative for Iran, for their own interests, to support Syria's unity rather than trying to penetrate the region with the flag of Shiite expansionism. In a word, I believe that Turkey and Russia together have the necessary power to reconsolidate the fragmented and tormented Syria.
About the author
İhsan Aktaş is Chairman of the Board of GENAR Research Company. He is an academic at the Department of Communication at Istanbul Medipol University.
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