It's true. So much attention has been focused on ISIS that Assad and what he has done is being overlooked.
Bashar al-Assad is still the problem
With wall-to-wall coverage of Islamic State brutality, it is all too easy to forget the Syrian president's crimes
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Forces loyal to President Assad have a deliberate policy of targeting civilians in areas beyond government control Photo: Reuters
By Shiraz Maher and Nick Kaderbhai, King's College London
10:30AM BST 26 Sep 2015
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It is easy to forget the crimes of Bashar al-Assad in the ongoing crisis blighting the Middle East. Islamic State’s ascension to the zenith of the global jihadist movement has captured the world’s attention through a series of filmic releases portraying brazen barbarism.
The images of "Jihadi John" menacingly wielding a burnished knife are now well known. There are other horrors etched in our minds too, from the burning alive of the captured Jordanian pilot Muath Kassassbeh, to themass enslavement of Yazidi women. Islamic State understands the power of propaganda and has harnessed the internet to project its message across the world.
Jihadi John
In this regard the Syrian regime is different. It does not parade its torture victims in atmospheric videos and portrays itself as a vital actor in the war against violent jihadists. However, this is not now – nor has it ever been – the case.
Shortly after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Syria became the primary thoroughfare for foreign fighters wanting to join al-Qaeda. Assad did not just turn a Nelsonian eye to this, but actively encouraged it.
His intelligence agencies were ordered to work closely with a Salafi cleric from Aleppo named Abu Qaqa, to ensure a steady supply of recruits were delivered into Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s hand, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq at the time.
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Bashar al-Assad is still the problem
Bashar al-Assad is still the problem
With wall-to-wall coverage of Islamic State brutality, it is all too easy to forget the Syrian president's crimes
8
Forces loyal to President Assad have a deliberate policy of targeting civilians in areas beyond government control Photo: Reuters
By Shiraz Maher and Nick Kaderbhai, King's College London
10:30AM BST 26 Sep 2015
It is easy to forget the crimes of Bashar al-Assad in the ongoing crisis blighting the Middle East. Islamic State’s ascension to the zenith of the global jihadist movement has captured the world’s attention through a series of filmic releases portraying brazen barbarism.
The images of "Jihadi John" menacingly wielding a burnished knife are now well known. There are other horrors etched in our minds too, from the burning alive of the captured Jordanian pilot Muath Kassassbeh, to themass enslavement of Yazidi women. Islamic State understands the power of propaganda and has harnessed the internet to project its message across the world.
In this regard the Syrian regime is different. It does not parade its torture victims in atmospheric videos and portrays itself as a vital actor in the war against violent jihadists. However, this is not now – nor has it ever been – the case.
Shortly after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Syria became the primary thoroughfare for foreign fighters wanting to join al-Qaeda. Assad did not just turn a Nelsonian eye to this, but actively encouraged it.
His intelligence agencies were ordered to work closely with a Salafi cleric from Aleppo named Abu Qaqa, to ensure a steady supply of recruits were delivered into Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s hand, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq at the time.
Continue reading at:
Bashar al-Assad is still the problem
