reSee.it - Tweets Saved By @WVanwagenen

Posted - December 8, 2024 at 12:09 PM

Saved - December 10, 2024 at 6:39 PM

reSee.it AI Summary

I reflect on the belief that Assad's departure would bring peace to Syria, reminiscent of the optimism many had after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. I witnessed firsthand the chaos in Baghdad in 2005, where violence and fear were rampant. The reality is that the US invasion was not about democracy but rather about destabilizing Iraq for Israel's benefit. Now, with Israel's influence in Syria, I worry deeply for all Syrians, especially religious minorities and Sunnis, as history suggests that such interventions lead to further suffering.

@WVanwagenen - William Van Wagenen

'Assad is gone so now Syrians can live in peace and Israel will leave us alone.' Most Iraqis and Americans thought the same after US troops invaded Baghdad in 2003. In 2005, I was in Baghad and the situation had become so bad, with car bombings, kidnappings, and torture, that an Iraqi friend told me, 'We just need some foreign power to come and save us.' One of my colleagues, Tom Fox, was kidnapped an murdered. But Israel did not orchestrate the US invasion of Iraq to bring democracy, or get rid of a dicator, or 'stablize' the country. Israel's goal was to cause the collapse of Iraqi society. Neocons in the Bush Administration immediately initiated polices to destroy the Iraqi army, spark a sectarian war, loot Iraqi oil, and divide the country into weak, ethnic enclaves that could never threaten Israel, including the establishment of an Kurdish State. With Israel and its allies effectively in control of Syria, I am extremely fearful for Syrians. Not just religious minorities but also Syria's Sunnis.