On the last day 10 February an Israeli fighter was shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft defenses when attacking the T-4 airfield. This Israeli operation is the largest since 1982, that in addition to violating the integrity and sovereignty of the Syrian state, demonstrates the extent of Israelis' involvement in this conflict. Far beyond being a NATO “helpline” in the region, Israel has particular interests in the Syrian conflict. The tacit support that the Israeli state has given, according to statements by the Syrian government, to armed groups that fight the Damascus government, demonstrates its option to question Syrian and Iranian support for Hezbollah.
Israeli fears abound., start with Iran's military and mainly nuclear development, one of Al Assad’s main allies. The Israelis know that a military victory for the Syrian president and the subsequent Syrian stabilization, will reinforce the questioning about the usurpation of the Golan Heights, made by Israel in 1967 after the Six Day War. It is feasible that Hezbollah's involvement in the Syrian conflict may have an impact on the Lebanese situation, where the relationship with Israel is explosive. Hezbollah's involvement in the Syrian War will lead to its inevitable improvement, thus increasing its combative capacity, already successfully tested against Israeli forces in 2006 in the Second Lebanon War.
Another Israeli concern is the effective participation of Palestinian groupings in Syria and their connections with Iran., in a post-war scenario, these groupings can spark the fight against Israeli occupation in Palestine. With everything, the worst case scenario for Israel would be a successful articulation between Iran, Syria and Iraq with Russian sponsorship. Getting rid of DAESH and other insurgent forces, these three countries will have a greater political and economic role in the Middle East.
In another part of the Syrian border it is Turkey that fights for its strategic interests. Since the beginning of the conflict in 2013, that Turkey has been violating Syrian borders and sovereignty under the pretext of fighting Kurdish forces. These Kurdish groupings are engaged in a long struggle to found an independent state and are therefore seen as terrorists by the Turkish state.. Some of these Kurds have received support from NATO to fight DAESH, thus displeasing Turkey. Another part of these Kurds has engaged in talks with the Al Assad government in order to work together, also displeasing the Ankara government.
Turkey's involvement in the Syrian conflict is so great, that in November 2015 Turkish forces shot down a Russian fighter that operated in support of Syrian forces in the fight against DAESH near the Turkish border. Even with the Americans, the Turks had problems in the context of the Syrian conflict. Historical allies, Turkey vehemently protested Washington's support for the Kurds and even linked them to the attempted coup d'état that President Erdogan suffered in July 2016. This is, while the Americans armed the Kurds to fight against the Syrian government, had Turkish support, when these same Kurds started to fight for you, became enemies of Ankara.
The relations between Turkey and Syria that are tenuous and already brought about the overthrow of a Turkish fighter by the Syrians in June of 2012, can worsen and turn into a frank conflict. Since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, the Turkish government has taken a stand against President Bashar Al Assad and has had relations with the DAESH terrorists and other fundamentalist groups.. In January 2018 Turkish forces have started military operations against Kurds within Syrian territory, generating severe protests from Damascus. The Olive Branch operation carried out by Turkish forces, aims to fight militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party operating in northern Syria, In contrast, Syria has said it will move its forces to the border city of Afrin, based on new understandings with Kurdish militants fighting DAESH and Turkish state forces. With this scenario, Turkey has already said that the presence of Syrian forces in the region of the city of Afrin may cause an escalation in the border conflict.
Another major player in the Syrian conflict is the United States, with his usual “world police” behavior, has acted against the Al Assad government since 2009, when he supported the beginning of the demonstrations against the Damascus government. Throughout this period, mainly after the advent of the “Arab Spring” (2010), started to lead a coalition of forces that fight DAESH in Syrian territory, in parallel the Americans have also supported the so-called “moderate opposition” to the government of Damascus. In this way, American forces have hurt Syrian sovereignty with attacks on their territory and their military forces., as well as sponsoring armed groups fighting against the government of Al Assad.
Together two americans, beyond NATO, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have also been operating in Syria supporting several groups that challenge the government of Bashar Al Assad, inclusive, Saudi Arabia has been accused by Syrians and Russians of sponsoring DAESH terrorists at various times. The explosion of violence and the war promoted by terrorists who promised a "New Caliphate", made Syria and Iraq from 2013, a military stage that concentrates all the tensions and interests that permeate the Arab world, with oil as a backdrop.
US policy towards Syria, would inevitably lead to the disintegration of the Syrian national state if it were not for effective action by the Russian government as of September 2015. The entry of Russian troops in the Syrian theater of operations ensured that Al Assad remained in the government, how he practically defeated DAESH in Syria and committed it in Iraq. Coordination between Russia, Will, Syria and now China, made part of the so-called “moderate” opposition agree to establish a negotiating table, thus thwarting NATO's plans to make Syria a new Libya, where a federation of groups manages Libyan territory based on Western interests after the death of Muammar Al Gaddafi in 2011.
The ongoing process in Syria can be termed a “mini-war”, where the Turks want a “buffer” at the border with Syria to stop the Kurds. Kurds by the way want autonomy to found their state, this against the Turkish will, Syrian and Iraqi. On your part, Israel needs to defeat Al Assad to prevent Iran from physically connecting to Lebanon and Palestine. Even though he lost his role in the conflict, Americans need a military victory against Al Assad to avoid the Russian and Chinese emergency in the region, all this without resenting the Turks, since your Kurdish allies, are Ankara's worst nightmares.
England and France that make up NATO forces in Syria, has increasingly provided information and training for the “Free Syrian Army”, however, they have not yet been able to reap the rewards of costly cooperation. Together with the Americans, the Anglo-French have used the territories of Jordan and Turkey to establish contact with Syrian rebels and create a sustainable base against Al Assad within Syria. This inevitably compromises them with the demands of these two states., that has so much bet on the fall of Al Assad. Westerners and their Arab and Turkish allies effectively hope to profit from imperialist expansion in post-Bashar Syria, just like they did in Iraq and Libya. With the distancing of this perspective thanks to the change of the political and military situation in Syria in favor of Bashar Al Assad, the contradictions between the allies can be evidenced with the distancing of the victory. Saudi Arabia and Qatar, fight the Damascus government in the context of opposition to the Iranians, the latter two being the largest funders of opposition to the Syrian government and the main Western platforms for questioning the Iranian government..
Greater involvement of Israel and Turkey against Syria could turn this regional conflict into a global clash, putting Russia and the United States in a dangerous confrontation dating back to Cold War times. The Damascus government, has an immense challenge until it manages to free its country from all foreign agents that operate in it without your consent, but for so much, Al Assad will need to democratize his actions and make oil a real tool for social promotion. The peace talks with the opposition that emerged in November 2017 are a good opportunity for President Al Assad to move forward in the internal and progressive agendas to pacify the country.
Russia, Iran and China, each with their interest, knows that the Syrian conflict can be an opportunity to become global powers with a strong rise over the Arab world and Asia. The primacy of foreign policy over domestic policy will be another major factor to be observed among these three actors. In the global context we have never had so many atomic powers competing over such a small “corner”, this draws attention to the size of the volatility of this situation.
Another important aspect to consider is that a new political order will emerge in the Arab world with Syria and Iraq free from DAESH, in that regard, the project to privatize terrorism will suffer a setback and will inevitably be discontinued, at least with such intensity in the region. Even the role that Saudi Arabia has played in Yemen will be the subject of further questioning. This will imply an inevitable wave of questions from Arab society about the role that NATO has played in the region.. Destroyed DAESH in Syria, Russia will return to readiness for Afghanistan and nearby regions, since the axis of the “War on Terror” will return to the land of the mujahideen, no act President Donald Trump has already announced that he will send troops back to Afghanistan.
Today Syria is the most dangerous corner in the world, care must be taken when folding it.
