What Raqqa Liberation? Permanent War on Syria Has Only Just Begun

Rasa - ISIL fighters abandoned Raqqa in a withdrawal agreed with US-backed proxy militias.

News ID: 433213

Date: 17 October 2017 - 23:02

RNA - Reports give conflicting accounts on whether foreign fighters would also be leaving the city, where the Qaeda-linked Arab militants and US-backed Kurds have been battling under the umbrella groups of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to defeat ISIL since June.

SDF Spokesman Talal Silo says the foreign fighters would be left behind "to surrender or die", without saying when the evacuation of terrorist fighters would take place.

Last year, when the US-led aerial bombardments began on the pretext of fighting terror, the regime changers claimed they would declare victory within days or weeks, which was wishful thinking. But when the illegal campaign failed, they continued to target schools, hospitals and many other civilian structures in revenge, just to make a point in terror-held areas.

Over a year into the US-led war, however, things have changed, and expectations that the regime changers can produce a total, uncontested military victory have dimmed. That explains why they are now talking liberation. They have no choice. Still, that doesn’t mean they really mean peace and unity for Syria.

Far from it, the colonial campaign to divide and rule Syria still tops the agenda. Any doubters should ask Afghanistan and Iraq. Just like in those countries, the key policy in the so-called Raqqa liberation is to stay and entertain - not end the bloodshed and save the people. It’s just a shift in tactics for permanent occupation of Syria.

The regime changers want to attain through Raqqa what they couldn’t in the failed regime-change campaign: Occupying and dividing Syria into ethnic-sectarian lines, and stopping it from becoming a unitary state – in cooperation between Saudi, Israeli, British, and American intelligence agencies.

Far from being a one-off policy, this is also a high point in systemic collaboration between the Saudi-led and US-backed coalition members to degrade the Syrian government through a combination of international pressure and national dispute over the terms of any future “peace” accord.

This will happen through familiar patterns and amid negotiations: Continuation of Special Forces operations and drone strikes (unilateral US policy and Western counter-terrorism efforts) against Al-Qaeda and ISIL remnants, creation of a no-fly-zone over the Syrian/Iraqi border areas on the pretext of “humanitarian assistance”, adoption of UN Security Council resolutions against the allied forces of Iran, Syria, Russia and Hezbollah in the form of sanctions and arms embargo, as well as many other illegal measures to curb post ISIL-Syria politically, diplomatically, and economically.

Meaning, despite their assertions to the contrary, the occupation of Raqqa has nothing to do with supporting the legitimacy of a political process in Syria. The ultimate goal is to maintain the continuity of the bogus War on Terror in the region by actively repressing the allied forces that threaten to undo the status quo.

To this end, the warmongers will continue to build military bases in and around Raqqa, maintain the trade and arms embargo as well as the blockade against Syria. The policy indicates both their broader strategic goals, and the dangers to positive political, economic and social change they represent.

Expect no permanent ceasefire and peace, and certainly no end to all foreign military attacks and “anti-terrorism” efforts. Expect no US-backed humanitarian assistance either, including international reconstruction aid, resumption of broad national dialogue, and establishment of an inclusive national unity government in Damascus Whatever it is, because the permanent US-led war on the Resistance Front and the people of Syria has only just begun.

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