iNSIGHTS | VOL 2 | ISSUE NO. 1 | JANUARY 2020 “ROJAVA - THE UTOPIA OF A DEFEATED WESTERN LEFT” THE HIDDEN TRUTHS OF THE KURDISH “DEMOCRATIC EXPERIMENT” IN NORTH EASTERN SYRIA DR ALAIN GABON VOL 2 | ISSUE NO. 1 | JANUARY 202001 “ROJAVA – THE UTOPIA OF A DEFEATED WESTERN LEFT” SERIES EDITORS: iNSIGHTS | VOL 2 | ISSUE NO. 1 | JANUARY 2020 Dr Anas Altikriti “ROJAVA - Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Faliq THE UTOPIA Editor & Managing Director H. D. Foreman OF A DEFEATED Louise Mellor Sandra Tusin WESTERN LEFT” DESIGN & ART DIRECTION: Abdullah S. Khan THE HIDDEN TRUTHS OF THE KURDISH “DEMOCRATIC EXPERIMENT” IN NORTH EASTERN SYRIA COPYRIGHT DR ALAIN GABON © The Cordoba Foundation 2020. All rights reserved. DISCLAIMER Views and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of The Cordoba Foundation. [email protected] VOL 2 | ISSUE NO. 1 | JANUARY 2020 01 Published in London VOL 2 | ISSUE NO. 1 | JANUARY 2020 Available online: www.thecordobafoundation.com THE CORDOBA FOUNDATION The Cordoba Foundation (TCF) is an independent strategic think-tank that works to promote intercultural dialogue and positive coexistence through a range of activities including research and publications, training and capacity building, policy briefings and dialogues. The Foundation takes its name from the city of Cordoba – the European metropolis which was once a symbol of human excellence and intellectual ingenuity, where cultures, civilisations and ideas thrived. Embodying this spirit, TCF today facilitates the meeting of minds to advance understanding and respect for one another. Our activities include: • Structured consultation and advisory services • Face-to-face interaction with decision-makers and figures of authority • In-house research • Workshops, seminars and debates on pertinent issues • Consultancy • Training and capacity-building • Publications, Periodicals and Journals • Resourceful website and knowledge database www.thecordobafoundation.com 02 iNSIGHTS | VOL 2 | ISSUE NO. 1 | JANUARY 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS 04 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN SYRIA 06 FINALLY AN EXIT STRATEGY? 07 WINNERS AND LOSERS 09 ROJAVA FOREVER! 11 “ROJAVA”: THE LATEST UTOPIA OF A DEFEATED WESTERN LEFT 14 DEBUNKING THE ROJAVA MYTH 15 HIDDEN REALITIES OF “ROJAVA” 18 MISREADING THE IDEOLOGICAL ROOTS AND NATURE OF ROJAVA 23 FROM THE START, A DOOMED ENTERPRISE 24 CONCLUSION: WHAT NEXT FOR THE KURDS? 26 AUTHOR PROFILE 27 ENDNOTES 03 “ROJAVA – THE UTOPIA OF A DEFEATED WESTERN LEFT” “ROJAVA - THE UTOPIA OF A DEFEATED WESTERN LEFT” THE HIDDEN TRUTHS OF THE KURDISH “DEMOCRATIC EXPERIMENT” IN NORTH EASTERN SYRIA DR ALAIN GABON or several years, Western media, RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN SYRIA politicians, and many public In October 2018, President Donald intellectuals and academics have Trump announced he was finally pulling the Fpraised, even glorified the Kurdish “experiment one thousand American ground troops out of in direct democracy” taking place in the northern Syria as part of his larger campaign northeastern Syrian region of Rojava as a promise to withdraw from the Middle East and model for the democratisation of that region. end American participation in those “useless This paper seeks to first offer an overview wars,” as he has kept repeating in his serial of the recent developments in the Syrian tweeting since his election. situation with an assessment of the new Yet it soon became obvious that rather situation as of today, including the winners than a departure from the Middle East, this and losers of those recent changes. Following already limited withdrawal was more of that background, we will explain the various a relocation of American troops to other reasons for that rather sudden interest, on strategic parts of the region like Iraq. Trump the part of Western groups as different as had barely finished announcing that the US our military-political establishments and the would leave Syria and he was already changing radical Left(s), for the Syrian Kurds in general course and sending or redeploying troops and the short-lived Rojava “laboratory” to protect the oil fields, in a swift and highly in particular. We will refute the myth and confusing, even chaotic series of completely dominant discourse on Rojava as a utopian contradictory declarations and maneuvers. and novel “democracy-in-the-heart-of-a-non- These confusions, reversals and contradictory democratic-region” and show that the realities statements reflect the grave tensions and of that experiment in ethnic, social, and antagonistic policy orientations within the political engineering are extremely different U.S. administration, and more particularly and much more problematic than what we between the U.S. military-industrial- have heard about it for years. To conclude, intelligence complex (whose top command we will draw some lessons from the failure of seemed violently and vocally opposed to the “Rojava” regarding the future of the Kurds. withdrawal) and its Commander-in-Chief, 04 iNSIGHTS | VOL 2 | ISSUE NO. 1 | JANUARY 2020 and the rift between Trump and the U.S. sham, a fiction, a myth designed to prove to Congress, where the opposition to the military Trump’s gullible electorate that he is indeed withdrawal was fierce by both Democrats and fulfilling his campaign promises while he is Republicans. not, and is often doing the opposite, though It is at this point quite obvious he must be given credit for not having started that nothing Trump says can be taken at another war of choice. In that respect, no face value, and his oft-repeated promises commentators to our knowledge have argued (mostly addressed to his isolationist, non- that Trump’s policy, at-least regarding military interventionist core electoral base) to withdraw interventionism in the MENA, is actually very from the Middle East, cease American much continuous with Obama, including the participation in those regional wars, “bring the latter’s concept of “leading from behind” — a boys back home” and refrain from intervening euphemism for “disengagement”. Though in foreign conflicts are no exception. The gap this would need to be verified, it seems that between Trump’s declarations and the realities Trump’s appetite for policies like drone of the continuing, sometimes increased U.S. killing is even lower than that of Obama, who engagement, including military engagement in in that respect outplayed Bush himself by that part of the world, is often dramatic. “surging” those drone wars and secret military As Trita Parsi and Stephen Wertheim interventions to a whole new level. While also compellingly demonstrate in the Foreign participating in the 2011 NATO bombing Policy Magazine, campaign of Libya, which led to the collapse of “The only constant is that Trump claims that state and the extra-judicial assassination of to want to end ‘endless wars’ while doing Colonel Gaddafi, with the consequence that nothing of the sort... Trump’s anti-war the whole country has been plunged into a rhetoric gives cover to his war-making long and agonising bloody chaos that is bound administration… Trump may lambast to last many more years, in the most optimistic endless war in tweets, but he has increased scenario. U.S. troop levels by 30 percent since At-least Trump has so far done nothing May, in addition to nearly of that sort, despite the constant accusations “The “Syria pullout” doubling U.S. forces in of “recklessness,” and he deserves to be Afghanistan since taking congratulated for such restraint, though any is largely a sham, office. The first two years compliment addressed to him is apparently a fiction, a myth of his presidency saw 28 out of the question for our intelligentsia, designed to prove percent more drone including our media and foreign policy strikes in Yemen, Somalia, establishment. to Trump’s gullible and Pakistan compared with On the other hand, as a result of a pretty electorate that he is his predecessor’s first two intensive round of diplomatic negotiations years.” between the U.S. and Turkey, American troops indeed fulfilling his did withdraw from northeastern Syrian areas in campaign promises As is becoming clearer order to avoid standing in the way of Turkey’s now, even in Syria, the U.S. offensive. Given that President Recep Erdogan while he is not, and may actually end up having received the green light from Trump for his is often doing the more troops there today military operation in those Kurdish-held than ever before! On the areas, the White House had to clear the way opposite.” one hand, therefore, the for Turkish troops in order to avoid the risk “Syria pullout” is largely a of a clash between the two countries’ military 05 “ROJAVA – THE UTOPIA OF A DEFEATED WESTERN LEFT” forces. Despite ongoing analysts seem to think. tensions between the two “The deluge of quasi- Despite being utterly men, the October agreement dependent militarily on Russia, (see full text here) seems unanimous Western without which he would never to have been sealed further outrage at both have been able to make his during Erdogan’s November, Trump’s “betrayal of amazing come-back from the 14th visit to Washington situation he was in in 2015 after D.C., a month after the start the Kurdish allies” years of anti-regime uprisings of “Operation Peace Spring,” and at Erdogan’s when few were betting on his which incidentally, is by no survival, Assad has proven means the first, but the third offensive, and the several times that he can resist operation already in northern slew of outlandish Putin and keep a high degree Syria. So there is also a strong of autonomy towards Russia policy continuity here on the accusations against (see for example his visit to part of Turkey. him largely masked his front-line troops in Idlib Despite its volatility, this the same day as the Sotchi entente cordiale between Trump how remarkable, summit), the main reason being and Erdogan (because that and largely that Russia needs Assad as well, is what we really mean when successful the U.S.- including for reasons not often we talk about “the U.S.