The Islamic State of Syria, Iraq and Levante (southwest of Asia)
Ayman al-Zawahiri disallowed at the beginning of February 2014 the use of the brand “al-Qaeda» by the ISSIL. This organization was using that “seal” as «guarantee of terrorism, robbery and anti-Christian unrestraint», in her raids and assaults in these countries and Lebanon. The mentioned managing director of «Terror International Partners» or “The Network” (al-Qaeda, in Arab) reached his incompetence level on having replaced, by premature and unexpected death, the founder of the «Consortium for the Islamic complete Terror». Lacking the charisma and the capacity of action that had Osama Ben Laden, the direction of al-Qaeda is today more an ideological «think tank», that a respectable and respected «strategic conductive command».
The Geographical Stage of the Islamic State.
This organization acts in a band of 100 thousand Km2., that spreads over Iraq and Syria and that forms a rectangle of 800 km length for 125 km width, from Baghdad up to Aleppo and the mountains of the west center of Syria. The width changes along the tour. The pillaged territory begins in Faluya, approximately 60 km west of Baghdad, and includes the nearby cities of Habbaniya and al-Ramadi. And, following the Euphrates towards the northwest, it reaches the riverside cities of Haditha and Âna, before penetrating in Syria by Abu Kemal’s city. In the middle of the desert of the south and east of Syria, only relieved by the river, is the Dayr al-Zawr city. And continuing for the river, we come first to Raqqa, close to the mouth of the river Belikh in the Euphrates. And then to the al-Assad artificial lake n the great meander of the Euphrates, to continue up to Aleppo and the Kurdish mountains of the west center, in the border with Turkey.
It is not easy to move in these lands, which are infertile, beyond the irrigations of the Euphrates and the lake al-Assad, without leaving a «tactical fingerprint of the march». Here are advised and prescribed the Obama’s drones and the profuse collection of information and analyses of his agencies of espionage. That can carry out a continuous exploration and follow-up labor on the human movements in the whole zone we treat. This, completed with the ground labor of collaborators and allied forces, allows to create a sufficient and constant intelligence on the plans, deployments, concentrations of the ISSIL’s forces.
The grounds of this great area lacks concealments and natural covers, like forests, extensive bushes and mountains. This does that the only refuges and stays for the yihadists groups are the villages and populations along its backbone: the river Euphrates and his banks. For their defense and cover they have to disperse in them, forming one or several «squads of muhaidins» of not more than 35 or 40 men each one. This irregular group is the major one that can be coherently commended by a local «arraez» or chief, with poor discipline and military formation.
The Jihadists in Syria and their Contradictions.
The deep crisis of the Syrian civil society and the mismanagement produced by a civil war «in crescendo», that already extends for three years, causing approximately 140 thousand deads, have allowed the jihadists groups in the Near East to settle in Syria. Their refuge zones or influence areas are not big, nor continue. They are rather dispersed, nearby between them, but split. And none of them would resist the serious harassment of the NSA (the National Syrian Army) or of the principal rebel forces: the SFA (Syrian Free Army), the recent “Islamic Front”, the newest “Army of the Syrian Mujahidins” anti al-Qaeda or the Kurdish forces, defending their frontier zone with Turkey. The occupied zones form as amorphous and fluent in evolution «spots», from which they withdraw if the military enemy pressure is strong and continued. To establish in alternative, as nearby as possible, positions, which allow them to keep a minimal operational connection with other temporal regional positions.
Since they do not have enough rooting between the Syrian, to leave their temporal positions does not suppose to abandon their habitants to the military or rebel enemies. The habitants of the occupied areas are not gained for the “Holy War”. These settlers are frightened, threatened and, at least, neutralized, in order that they give cover, subsistence and support to the jihadists bands and neither hinder, nor importune them in their activities. Only those that cooperated with the «Enemies of the Jihad» can be in real danger before them. When the jihadists occupy a population, always prepare their evacuation routes towards the suburbs of her, and of retreat, from those to the meeting points established nearby. To go from them to regional positions of reception and/or of occupation.
When they are liberated of the jihadist presence, many habitants, specially in the small towns, try to temporarily flee and shelter in the nearby major populations. The reason is that the imperious, inconsiderate and striking despotism of the jihadists, is joined by the heavy fires of their enemies, used during the recapture of the population. Both the military men and the rebel major groups prefer to avoid their losses and hurrying the eviction of the jihadists, using the aviation (only the government) and the artillery, if they have her. Even, the free flight hollow load antitanks missiles RPG-7V type (the poor artillery), launched in double or triple volleys, cause a devastating effect In the masonry or adobe buildings. This already would serve to make withdraw towards the town interior the security jihadists forces from their advanced and of observation positions, placed in the limits of the town or in adjacent points. And already finally, the military men, very occupied now, usually move back in a short time, to realize other missions; so, the constant, fluid and even reversible character of the irregular military operations; then, the jihadists can return and purge responsibilities. Because of it, many civilians think: «once and not more».
In Syria have proliferated the «groups of supporters» or bands of al-Qaeda. The reasons of which they have not been articulated in an only terrorist Syrian group are different. One is the distance and the lack of control and power of al-Qaeda’s «central core». This is the tails of her operational decentralization, which “the Network” is proud of and with what threatens to reach her timid enemies for half planet. The communist parties, specialists verified in the capture of the Power, always exhibited an ideological, operational and military monolithic unity, proper of warlike filled with enthusiasm monks, in their so called «national liberation fights» for three continents. Another reason is that these «separated brothers» hate between them. The egalitarianism derived from the brotherhood in the salafists sunnies doctrines, soon originates between the «equal ones», a purulent and contagious infection of envy, ill-will and rancor. And vice versa, the existence of a capable, just hierarchy, respected and accepted in an organization, favors the emulation and the ascent of many of the most capable members. A reason is also that the ambition, the audacity, the overflowing aggressiveness and the lack of scruples of his arms chiefs, sheiks, local maliks and peeled leaders, only are equalized by their scanty formation, a poor interpretive knowledge of the Koran and the Sunna and their broken military knowledge. Their first bitter enemy is neither the Army, nor the SFA or the self-defense militias of Kurds, Alauits, Christians or Druzes, according to the regions. Their more hated and fearful enemies are the commands of other jihadists groups of Syria. Because they are the most related, their rivals for the control and command, their competitors for the direction of the jihadist movement in Syria. This way, the foolishness (lack in the knowledge that supposes them and they need) of all the jihadists groups leads them to want to distribute the booty of war, before having put, at least, in reasonable conditions to aspire to conquer it.
On the other hand, touching already the strategies of the 2 groups pro al-Qaeda in Syria, the Front al-Nusrah seeks to establish only an «Islamic radical emirate» in Syria. The ISSIL, born in the guerrilla warfares fights in Iraq after 2003, wants to create a more extensive salafist caliphate. And to install it, for the moment, in Syria and Iraq. Though it has already done punishment assaults to the Lebanese Shiites, in response to Hezbola’s support to al-Assad. The first answers and goes in parallel to al-Qaeda’s strategy of favoring the creation and the functioning of national or regional «representative cores». That from his large physical distance and with the structural laxity of the Network, could be controlled by her, as for orders, strategies and operations and the use of the «al-Qaeda brand». But, the ISSIL looks for a functional independence and, probably also ideological, with «head office core» of the Network. Since it would act as a «leader operational command» in a supranational zone, which might include the whole southwest of Asia. This way, an administrator and absentee high headquarters would immediately be in the way to the ISSIL.
Ayman al-Zawahiri confirmed, as we said, the link of the Front al.-Nusrah with al-Qaeda and denied any relation with the ISSIL. And he had to intervene in other occasions to deprive al-Bagdadi of authority. «The ISSIL must be abolished, whereas the Islamic State of Iraq must continue working», al-Zawahiri declared In November, 2013. «Al-Bagdadi committed a mistake on having established the ISSIL without asking us for permission», and, continued, al-Golani the Syrian «has been wrong on having announced his rejection of the ISSIL, without our permission». Al-Zawahiri ordered then that the Islamic State of Iraq should circumscribe his operations to that country, whereas the Front al-Nusrah is “an independent branch of al-Qaeda, that reports before the general command (as a franchisee)». In addition, he recriminated both «brothers groups» for their violence acts against other Muslims. In response, and in spite that the original group «al-Qaeda in Iraq» (AQI) of Musab al-Zarkawi had sworn loyalty to al-Zawahiri, al-Baghdadi declared himself in rebellion towards him. Producing an important crisis of leadership in the Network, which they tried to relieve separating from al-Bagdadi. This could not less that debilitate the fight against al-Assad, as the jihadists groups were spreading in Syria and the army was centering towards the large populations. And during the recent clashes between the rebels, al-Golani offered to a mediation to the groups, which has not come to fruition, in order to give priority to plant face against al-Assad.
(TO BE CONTINUED)