Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Daesh (Isis/Isil), has died during a US-led raid in Syria.
Amid the news, a journalist presented Donald Trump with the only question really worth asking.
Bittersweet
US ally Turkey recently invaded the largely-Kurdish areas of northern Syria (aka Rojava). These were key in defeating Daesh in Syria. Over 11,000 Rojavan fighters died in the war. In recent weeks, however, Turkish-led invaders have faced accusations of ethnic cleansing and war crimes against these communities, with their attacks killing hundreds of civilians, displacing at least 300,000 people, and allowing hundreds of Daesh supporters to escape detention.
As Trump announced Baghdadi’s death, he also mentioned that Rojavan forces had provided “information that turned out to be helpful” in the raid. And with this in mind, journalist Mehdi Hasan asked a question that was surely on many people’s lips:
Can a reporter right now please ask Donald Trump this:
“To clarify, Mr President, at exactly the same time you were abandoning the Syrian Kurds to be slaughtered, and insulting them and telling us all they weren’t at Normandy, those same Kurds were helping you find Baghdadi?”
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) October 27, 2019
In short, he hit home that Trump has allowed Turkey to attack Rojavan forces even as they were helping to find Baghdadi.
Rojavan involvement
Trump said that, during the raid, Baghdadi ran into a tunnel and killed himself with an explosive vest. He also clarified that the Daesh leader had been under surveillance for several weeks. And the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) of Rojava confirmed this too. Its general commander Mazloum Abdî, for example, said:
For five months there has been joint intel cooperation on the ground and accurate monitoring, until we achieved a joint operation to kill Abu Bakir al-Bagdadi.
Thanks to everybody who participate in this great mission.@realDonaldTrump#SDF#USArmy #Rojava #Baghdadi
— Mazloum Abdî مظلوم عبدي (@MazloumAbdi) October 27, 2019
SDF spokesperson Rêdûr Xelîl, meanwhile, slammed the Turkish invasion for delaying the operation by a month:
SDF spox Redur Khelil speaks at a press conference now in Heseke.
He says the operation to kill Baghdadi was achieved using information from both the SDF and American intelligence services.
"This operation was delayed by a month due to the Turkish invasion of NorthEast Syria." pic.twitter.com/7suo2H1Qlt
— Rojava Information Center (@RojavaIC) October 27, 2019
He also accused Syrian areas under Turkish occupation of harbouring Daesh “elements”:
"Those groups of gunmen who passed into Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad under Turkish sponsorship are a danger not just to this region, but to the whole world."
He says ISIS elements are sheltered and installed in regions under Turkish control.
— Rojava Information Center (@RojavaIC) October 27, 2019
NATO ally Turkey seriously hurting the fight against Daesh
Witnesses of the raid suggested it had taken place “near the town of Barisha, just 5 miles from the Turkish border”. A senior Turkish official reportedly said he had arrived there just a couple of days before the raid. But according to a senior source in the US military: “We long suspected Baghdadi was hiding in Idlib”.
Indeed, Idlib has long been a stronghold of ultra-conservative extremist groups in Syria. And in June 2019, the BBC reported that one group operating there was the Turkish-backed National Liberation Front (NLF), an alliance including “hardline Islamist groups like Ahrar al-Sham” (many of whose “members are sympathetic to Al Qaeda”). The NLF was reportedly “held together by Turkish leadership, as well as Turkish money, weapons and supplies”.
As Xelîl asked:
"What was Baghdadi doing there, in a region under Turkey, close to its border, under its control?", says @RedurXelil.
He says that this operation proves Turkey protects all kinds of terrorist groups, not just Baghdadi.
— Rojava Information Center (@RojavaIC) October 27, 2019
The Rojava Information Center, meanwhile, has highlighted how the Turkish-led invasion of Rojava has negatively affected the fight against Daesh:
– Three months prior to Turkish invasion saw two anti-ISIS raids per day, dropping 75% to one every two days following Turkish invasion
– Prior to invasion, the number and productivity of raids was increasing, with "near-daily" joint SDF-Coalition raidshttps://t.co/n19YGkYAQ5
— Rojava Information Center (@RojavaIC) October 27, 2019
Since 2015, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has sought to repress all of his political opponents while uniting the right by mixing conservative Islamism with right-wing nationalism. His regime has waged war on progressives both in Rojava and Turkey’s own Kurdish-majority communities, committing war crimes in the process. And in this offensive, it has joined forces with fascists and extremist groups similar to al-Qaeda and Daesh. There is also evidence of active Turkish collaboration with Daesh.
For Trump, self-interest is always the priority
Trump will milk Baghdadi’s death as much as he can. But as he does, we all need to remember how his ongoing submission to the hard-right regime in Turkey is seriously damaging the fight against Daesh. And with that realisation, we need to remember that – under his government – elitist US interests will always trump the fight against fascist terror.
Featured image and additional content via Press Association
