Analysis

Views on the News – 28 Dec 2019

Headlines:

  • France Contradicts its Values in order to Defend them
  • US Baghdad Embassy Attacked by Protesters Angry at Air Strikes
  • Ankara-Backed Syrian Rebels could Shift to Libyan Fight


France Contradicts its Values in order to Defend them

The French government has started shutting down mosques, schools, and other Islamic establishments in a major nationwide crackdown on “political Islam” in France. French authorities have closed down over 150 closed associations linked to the proliferation of radical Islamist political ideology across fifteen districts throughout France. The government has so far shut down 129 drinking establishments, 12 mosques, four schools, and nine other associations with links to “political Islam and communitarianism,” France’s Secretary of State for the Interior Laurent Nuñez announced. “We fight against political Islamism that suggests that the law of God is superior to that of the Republic,” Nuñez warned as he spoke to members of the French press. The French are resorting to ever more brutal methods to preserve its way of life. It contradicts its values in order to defend them.

 

US Baghdad Embassy Attacked by Protesters Angry at Air Strikes

Demonstrators shouting “Death to America!” smashed their way into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday as protests intensified following U.S. airstrikes that killed 25 fighters of an Iran-backed militia in Iraq. Protesters smashed a door and set fire to a reception area. Smoke and flames rose from the area as a man on a loudspeaker urged the mob not to enter the compound, saying: “The message was delivered.” Several U.S. soldiers were on the roof of the main building, their guns pointed at the protesters. Iraqi forces that guard the usually safe Green Zone where the embassy was located did little to stop the chaos. Protesters smashed a door and set fire to a reception area. Smoke and flames rose from the area as a man on a loudspeaker urged the mob not to enter the compound, saying: “The message was delivered.” Several U.S. soldiers were on the roof of the main building, their guns pointed at the protesters. Iraqi forces that guard the usually safe Green Zone where the embassy was located did little to stop the chaos. This attack comes after US forces carried out a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base that killed at least 25 fighters on Sunday 29 Dec.

 

Ankara-Backed Syrian Rebels Could Shift to Libyan Fight

Turkish-backed Syrian rebels could soon join Turkey’s deployment to Libya to support the Government of National Accord (GNA) in its battle against the Libyan National Army (LNA), Libyan officials told Bloomberg on Dec. 27. Turkey’s parliament is expected to formally pass a law facilitating a Turkish deployment to Libya once it reopens next month. If true, the deployment of groups like the Sultan Murad Division, Suqour al-Sham Brigades and Faylaq al-Sham could intensify Libya’s war, but the under-fire GNA might have little choice in the face of the LNA’s advance on Tripoli. At the same time, the deployment of such Islamist rebels would give the LNA a public relations victory, as it would be better able to portray its opponents as jihadists. It seems Erdogan is opening up another front when the Syrian front is still on fire.