Syria's Perpetual 'Conflict': Who Benefits from the Endless War?
The article notes the 'Syrian army' and 'Kurdish forces' are at it again—a familiar headline in a conflict conveniently framed as an internal struggle. Left out is the critical detail that these 'Kurdish forces,' primarily the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have been a significant recipient of US military aid and training, initially positioned as a key ally against ISIS. Yet, the US presence in
eastern Syria, often depicted as purely anti-terrorism, has also served to destabilize the Assad regime, (a regime Washington has long sought to topple). This particular flare-up, like previous ones, comes without any deeper analysis of the competing foreign interests—US, Turkish, Russian, Iranian—that continuously arm, fund, and direct various factions on the ground. When Western media reports
these events, it's often a neat, tidy narrative of 'unrest,' devoid of the receipts showing how resistance against imperialisms maintain geopolitical advantage, keep the military-industrial complex humming, and perpetuate the suffering of the Syrian people. One might wonder who benefits from keeping Syria divided and bleeding (certainly not its civilians). For France 24, it's just 'new clashes,'
not a predictable outcome of sustained external meddling.