Iraq

Joseph Daher — Faced with the violence of the Israeli occupying army and supported by its Western imperialist allies, the people of Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon face the growing risks of a more deadly regional conflagration.
Sarah Glynn — Turkey, Iran, and President Assad’s government are in competition for control over the land of Syria, but there is one thing they all agree on: control should not be in the hands of the people who live there, especially if they are Kurds with dangerous ideas about radical democracy.
A collection of statements from Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), Women's Defense Units (YPJ), YPG/YPJ International, Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and Democratic Union Party (PYD) condemning the latest wave of Turkish attacks on North-East Syria and northern Iraq.
Image removed.
By Chris Slee A Road Unforeseen: Women Fight the Islamic State
By Meredith Tax
Bellevue Literary Press
New York 2016 April 3, 2018
— Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal When Meredith Tax saw pictures of gun-toting Kurdish women defending the northern Syrian town of Kobane against Daesh (so-called "Islamic State") in 2014, she was inspired to find out more. This book is the eventual outcome of her research. The female fighters of the YPJ (Women's Protection Units) are part of a movement aimed at radical change in Syria and the broader Middle East. Tax explores the history of this movement in the context of the history of the Kurdish people.
 
Image removed.
 

By Tony Iltis

February 27, 2017 — Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal — Since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, the US has been involved, at first, through arming and supporting groups opposing the dictatorship of Bashar Assad, and supporting allies in the region doing likewise; and since 2014, through its direct involvement in leading an international coalition in an air war against ISIS.

Small numbers of US Special Forces and CIA operatives are also in Syria, supporting different, mutually antagonistic groups in the multi-sided conflict.

The US role in Syria often appears confused and contradictory. This seems set to increase under the new US administration.

Image removed.
January 18, 2017 –– Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal reposted from ANF English –– YPJ (Women's Defense Units) Spokeswoman Nesrin Abdullah described Raqqa operation that was launched at the end of 2016 and led by the YPJ as the operation to avenge all women, and said “Raqqa’s liberation is also the liberation of mentalities. Because as the women of the YPJ, we aim not only liberation from ISIS but also a liberation of mentality and thoughts. Democratic culture and fraternal life must be deepened because war is not only the liberation of land. We are also fighting for the liberation of women and men. If not, the patriarchal system will prevail once again.