Yoram Mizrachi
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Syrian expatriates in Europe, for example groups in London, say that a diplomatic-smiling attack by Damascus, which seeks to improve its relations with the West and thus weaken American pressure, is nothing more than a "cheap cosmetic procedure aimed at presenting a pseudo-democracy in a country that from the beginning of its independence has known one dictatorship after another and since 1970 has been controlled by a family Assad"
The political attack includes statements made during the tenth conference of the Ba'ath party that convened in early June. During the conference, statements were made in the area of Syria's ambition to improve its relations with the countries of the common market, the countries of the Mediterranean basin, and well-publicized promises "that the administration of President Dr. The Iraqi Party, with the difference, usually referred to as regional or local, practically presents a rigid and less pragmatic Syrian mechanism than that of the Iraqi Party, even though both parties believe in a national mission for all Arabs. The Party's slogan is "unity, freedom, socialism, one Arab nation bearing eternal mission").
In the background of the statements related to the war on terror, there are news about the subversive-Jihadist organizations that threaten the regime in Damascus. The phenomenon is not a new Syrian "phenomenon". The Ba'ath is inherently opposed to religious organizations of any kind and in the past there have been quite a few violent clashes between the regime and extremist Islamic groups. Among other things, the case of the June 1979 massacre carried out by the "Moch'bara't" (intelligence) of members of the "Muslim Brotherhood" organization belonging to the Sunni faction in Islam (the Syrian branch is sometimes called "Al Akwan al Shaami" after the traditional Arabic name of Damascus) stands out.
The massacre was preceded by an attack by Muslim extremists on the school for artillery officers, which ended in the massacre of sixty cadets and commissars of the Ba'ath party. The regime responded with brutal acts of brutality and, among other things, massacred hundreds of political prisoners, most of them members and suspects of the Muslim Brotherhood who were held in the Laid concentration camp and Palmyra prison (Tadmor). Unverified rumors say that President Assad and his friends at the top of the party participated in the massacre.
As the terrorist-jihadi operations continued, as we observed in 1981, President Assad ordered, on the advice of the leaders of the Ba'ath, to eliminate the centers of power of the Muslim Brotherhood in the city of Hama. According to various estimates, between 15 and 20 thousand civilians were slaughtered in the operation that included the use of artillery, armor and planes. An exact number of victims has never been published. The massacre raised to new heights Muslim-Arab criticism against the Damascus regime, which was accused by various circles, in particular expatriates or members and supporters of the Iraqi Ba'ath, of "killing Muslim Arabs", accusations that took on special meaning among the Sunnis in Lebanon and even in the Palestinian camp.
The prolonged Syrian involvement in Lebanon and especially its visible military presence, ended a few weeks ago, but since its beginning in 1977, it further aggravated Damascus' relations with the neighboring but different Iraqi Ba'ath. The intelligence division of the Iraqi branch and the "Arabic side" bureau overseen by Sadam Hussein have developed Lebanese branches since the XNUMXs that operate to this day, mainly on the northern coast near Tripoli. Damascus' relations with Islamic extremists in general were further aggravated. The facts are that the Syrian government regularly deals with manifestations of jihadist violence and tries to monitor ad hoc organizations that serve its goals. Damascus usually keeps secret the various underground operations, their successes as well as the ways of its response.
Against the background of the Ba'ath conference and the diplomatic campaign to improve Syria's image in the West, President Assad decided to release some information about terrorist-jihadi activity in his country, for example: bombing attacks against Hamas operatives attributed without proof to Israel, attacks against the Yemeni embassy, detonation of explosive devices that were discovered at Western and Arab embassies, arson, murder of officers and activists of the company and more. At the same time, pieces were released - information about clashes between the security forces and Kurdish nationalists in the Qamishli area, and recently information was given sparingly about the exposure of the "Syrian Organization (SHA)" underground for Jihad and Tawheed. On June 9, for example, it was reported about a shootout that took place in the suburbs of Damascus, where a jihadist from the leaders of the underground organization was killed and others were arrested.
Close to the conference, the veteran intelligence officer of the Air Force (the main intelligence branch in Syria) Hisham Ikhtiar, who is considered an "expert on Lebanese affairs", was transferred to manage a new intelligence and internal security organization, the "National Security Bureau", an internal security body attached to the leadership of the Be'at. In Ahityar's place was appointed his deputy, General Ali Mamluk, also an expert in everything related to Lebanon (announcements about the round of appointments included an emphasis on General Mamluk's birthplace in Damascus, in order to reassure Syrian nationalists who see him as an officer of Egyptian Mamluk origin. or slaves. Mamluks ruled Egypt between the 13th and 16th centuries) twinning with Hezbollah and monitoring the pro-Iraqi Ba'ath activists in Lebanon, Jordan, Sudan, Tunisia, Yemen, etc.
The support for Hezbollah and the importance of the organization in the eyes of the Syrian Ba'ath did not change. The connection is important for the continuation of the mutual relations between Syria and Iran, for the covert Syrian involvement in Iraq and especially for the smuggling of jihad volunteers stolen to Iraq on the Lebanon-Syria axis and as a factor in Syria's calculated pressure policy in Lebanon. The relationship with Hezbollah is of particular importance, in the conflict with Israel and Damascus' negotiations with the US and Western Europe. The relationship between the Syrian Alawites to which the Assad family belongs and the Shiites has a deep cultural significance. For example, the Alawites are defined as Shiites in everything related to the Syrian judicial system that deals with personal and family status.
The intelligence appointments that were announced with much fanfare, did not cancel the superior status of General Shauchat, the president's brother-in-law, the secretive man who holds the intelligence nodes and is responsible for the security of the top of the party and the ruling family. In fact, the new appointments come as proof that alongside a so-called conciliatory policy, President Bashar Assad is actually doing an uncompromising strengthening of the broad Ba'athist apparatus and, by the way, is working to crush any sign of Islamic Jihad in Syria. Various relaxations announced at the tenth conference, for example the removal of various authorization powers from the hands of the intelligence and their transfer to so-called "urban civil" bureaus and the relaxation of emergency regulations that have been in force for 42 years, mislead quite a few Europeans and officials in the State Department, who out of innocence, or wishful thinking, see the moves of the Syrian president "A positive sign" without understanding the political background and the history of the not-so-subtle struggles in the mechanisms of the Ba'ath parties of Syria and Iraq or between the two.
The things have an immediate media significance regarding what is happening in Iraq. Observers say that at this stage President Assad is ready to sacrifice Islamic extremist leaders and members of the Iraqi Ba'ath who fled to his country. For example, the case of the Algerian Adil, a man from the "Salafi Struggle Group for Preaching and Fighting" (GSPC), who fled his country to Syria in 2003, where he enjoyed the protection of the "Mukhabarat", stands out. The expected arrest and extradition of the Algerian helps to create a false maxim of the Syrian war on terror while at the same time strengthening the intelligence apparatus, which continues to interfere in what is happening in Iraq.
One of the estimates is that the struggle has spilled over into the terrorist and guerrilla organizations in Iraq and that sources close to the master terrorist Zarqawi and loyal to the overall concept of "Gama'-Islamia" (including the Kurdish-Iraqi Ansar al-Islam) suspect that the Syrian intelligence has planted destructive moles in them. One of the responses to this concern was the interrogation, torture, and execution of dozens of "Islamic volunteers" who were smuggled into Iraq from Syria. At least thirty bodies of suspected "collaboration with the enemy" have been discovered since the beginning of June, mostly near the Iraqi-Syrian border. It is estimated that Zarqawi's people are in possession of several more detainees who are being interrogated regarding their connections with Syrian intelligence and targeted leaks to intelligence agencies in the West, including the CIA. an island. Not the CIA and the Pentagon's intelligence. DIA islands. The actions of the "Shaa'am Organization for Jihad and Tawheed" in Damascus are apparently an attempt to react and warn on the part of Zarqawi and Jama'a-Islamiyya who are ready to punish Bashar Assad's regime.
At this stage it is important to know how to differentiate between Syrian actions "for the benefit of Syria" and subsequent actions within the framework of an international fight against terrorism. Syrian statements, which apparently sound positive, which reinforce opinions in Washington that Syria is indeed changing for the better, deserve a careful, careful and responsible study long before we sit in the system of temporary smiles by the hour as they appeared during the tenth session of the Syrian Ba'ath party.
The article appears at the same time on the Kolmosnet website
A compilation of Yoram Mizrahi's articles on the Hidan website
https://www.hayadan.org.il/BuildaGate4/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~~~194658931~~~184&SiteName=hayadan
