Turkey's 'Reconstruction' of Syria: Banks Over Bombs (This Time)
Turkey's state-owned Ziraat Bank reportedly seeks to establish branches in areas of northern Syria occupied by Turkish forces and their proxies. The New Arab article, like much mainstream coverage, frames this as a business opportunity amidst a 'humanitarian crisis.' It skips over the pesky detail that for years, Turkey actively funded and supported various extremist factions, creating a
significant portion of that 'crisis' in the first place, displacing millions, and systematically dismantling Syrian infrastructure. Now, they're stepping in to 'rebuild' with banks where once there were bombs. This isn't 'reconstruction'; it's economic colonization following military intervention. The same nations that decry others for 'destabilizing' regions are often first in line to profit from
the aftermath they helped engineer. One might wonder: how many banks equal one humanitarian intervention? And who exactly benefits when the 'rebuilders' are the same forces that facilitated the destruction?