Operation Featherweight: Month 40, Week 4, Day 4.

This should be read as a continuation of yesterday's post; https://watchitdie.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/operation-featherweight-month-40-week-4_10.html

What has allowed the Syrians to turn their attention fully on ISIL is an agreement to suspend fighting with the other main terror group operating in the country; The Army of Conquest/Jaish al-Fatah.

This agreement was reached as part of the Astana Process on Syria. Formed in December 2016 This sees Russia, Iran, Turkey and Syria meet periodically to discuss the conflict.

The first round of meetings in the Astana Process resulted in the announcement of a ceasefire of December 27th (27/12/16). This is known as the Astana Ceasefire.

Since its creation it has never been clear who the Astana Ceasefire does and does not apply to.

In line UN Security Council Resolution 2170 it does not apply to either ISIL or The Base/Al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate The Support Front/Jabhat al-Nusra. At the insistence of Turkey is also does not apply to the SDF.

The confusion comes from the fact that the largest faction within the Army of Conquest is Al Qaeda's affiliate the Support Front.

The second largest faction within the Army of Conquest is the Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant/Harakat Ahrar ash-Sham al-Islamiyya (Ahrar al-Sham). They are very closely linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and through the Brotherhood to Qatar and Turkey.

Another significant faction within the Army of Conquest is the United Turkmen Army (UTA) who are sometimes known as the Syrian Turkmen Brigades (STB). This is formed of the paramilitary wing of the Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) known as the Grey Wolves.

Other factions within the Army of Conquest include the small but extremely nasty Army of Islam/Jaish al-Islam (JAI) who are linked to Saudi Arabia and Islamist fragments of the now defunct FSA.

This creates the question of whether the Astana Ceasefire applies to the Army of Conquest. Or does the presence of Al Qaeda within the coalition exclude all members of the coalition?

The fifth round of meetings in the Astana Process held on May 3rd (3/5/17) and May 5th (5/5/17). Here a suggestion was adopted to solve the problem with the Astana Ceasefire.

Rather than arguing about the extent of an individual group's affiliation to Al Qaeda four zones were established in areas where ISIL are not considered to be active. In these zones all fighting would be suspended regardless of whether that included Al Qaeda or not.

Four of these what are termed "Astana Zones" were created.

One was in the north of the country in Idlib Province centred around Idlib City. This area had already being designated; "The Sudetenland." In reference to Turkish President/Prime Minister/Emperor Recep Tayyip Erdogan's desire to annex it as part of his new Ottoman Empire. Exactly like Adolf Hitler annexed Czechoslovakia in 1938.

Another two Astana Zones were created in central Syria. In and around Homs Province and in and around the capital Damascus. Particularly the East Ghouta suburb.

The fourth Astana Zone was created in southern Syria. In Deraa and Quneitra Provinces which border Jordan and Israel including the disputed Golan Heights.

Obviously the parties to the Astana Process agreed to these four zones for their own reasons.

For example Erdogan agreed to the establishment of the northern zone because he saw it as a way to annex the Sudetenland. The Syrians agreed to the central zones to free up resources to allow them to go and fight ISIL at the other side of the country.

However the one zone everyone could agree on was the southern zone.

Fighting in this area frequently saw artillery and rocket fire stray into Israel. Periodically Israel would respond attacking the group(s) responsible for the stray fire.

The conflict with in Syria is essentially a sectarian one between Sunni and Shia Muslims. What Sunni groups like the Army of Conquest and ISIL mean when they say they're being "oppressed" is that they're being forced to breath the same air as Shias.

Probably the only thing that unites the Sunnis and the Shias involved in the conflict is their shared hatred for Jews and Israeli Jews in particular.

As a result absolutely no party wants to see Israel join the conflict on their side. It would allow their opponents to portray themselves as the true Muslims and their opponents as the puppets of the Zionist state.

I mean can you imagine what it would do for the street-cred of ISIL, Al Qaeda or Hezbollah if Israel suddenly started acting as their air force?!

Within both the Astana Process and the UN sponsored Geneva Process the Army of Conquest are represented under the name; "Syrian Opposition" by Mohammad Alloush. He is the leader of the Army of Islam/Jaish al-Islam group who are based in southern and central Syria. Particularly in the East Ghouta suburb of Damascus.

In July 2015 a series of propaganda video emerged showing prisoners being beheaded. This was very similar to the many execution videos ISIL released.

The twist though was that in these videos it was ISIL fighters who were the prisoners. They were being executed by members of the Army of Islam for not being extreme enough in their slaughter of the "apostate" Shias.

So in comparison to what is being internationally recognised as the "Syrian Opposition" ISIL are actually the moderates.

The seventh round of meetings in the Astana Process took place on October 30th (30/10/17) and October 31st (31/10/17).

In his role as the representative as the opposition Mohammad Alloush brought a long list of demands with him. These included primarily a demand for more international support to be given to the Army of Conquest and for Army of Conquest prisoners to be freed. Particularly from Homs Central Prison.

Russia approached this round of talks with a suggestion of its own. The Army of Conquest, the Syrians and the SDF meet directly. Either at Khmeimim Air Base in Syria or in Sochi, Russia. Something that Alloush had already indicated he would be very opposed to.

The seventh round of meetings in the Astana Process ended without a single concession on Alloush's demands. It did though end with an agreement from Turkey at least that the Army of Conquest, the Syrians and the SDF would meet for direct talks in Sochi on November 18th (18/11/17).

However since then Alloush has announced that the Army of Conquest will be boycotting the meeting. Turkey has also announced that it will also being boycotting the meeting if the SDF attend. The SDF already have some contact with the Syrians through the Russians. As a result the Sochi meeting has been postponed.

That is why I refer to "meetings within the process" rather than "talks." The talks never stop.

Alloush and the Army of Conquest have approached the Astana Process in much the same way as they've approached the Geneva Process.

They see them not as mechanisms to achieve peace in Syria. Instead they see them simply as a mechanism to remove Syria's secular government and put themselves in power.

As a result Alloush and the Army of Conquest are becoming extremely frustrated with particularly the Astana Process.

At around 17:50 on 11/11/17 (UK date) I will have to pick this up later.

Edited at around 20:10 on 11/11/17 (UK date) to add;

Amid this frustration Alloush and the Army of Conquest growing ever more exercised in recent weeks.

In preparation for the seventh round of meetings in the Astana Process the Army of Islam jacked up food prices in East Ghouta which they control. This meant that although there was ample food in the shops the poorer residents could not afford to buy it and a small number began to starve to death.

The Army of Islam then took photographs of their victims - particularly the photogenic babies - and circulated them on the Internet.

The intention being to force international aid agencies such as the UN and the Red Cross/Crescent to deliver more food aid. Which the Army of Islam would then sell at a massively inflated price using the proceeds to fund more terror attacks.

It must be said that legally and morally it is extremely difficult to explain why international aid agencies such as the UN and the Red Cross/Crescent feel they are able to operate in Army of Conquest controlled areas.

Following the seventh round of meetings in the Astana Process the Army of Islam became even more aggressive. They teamed up with Al Qaeda to form the Army of Mohammad (Alloush)/Jaish al-Mohammad Operations Room.

On November 3rd (3/11/17) this newly formed Army of Mohammad launched an operation designated; "Break the Chains of Harmon." The objective of this operation was to advance from an area known as the; "Beit Jinn Pocket" to the nearby Druze town of Hadar.

The Beit Jinn Pocket sits around 30km (15 miles) south-west of the West Ghouta suburb of Damascus. The town of Hadar sits around 5km (3 miles) beyond the Beit Jinn Pocket.

Both of them sit in the Syrian Golan Heights. The UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) peacekeeping zone actually runs through Hadar and parts of the Beit Jinn Pocket.

The Druze are followers of an ancient religion quite unlike any other. The closest thing I can think of to compare their belief system to is the Unified Field Theory of Quantum Physics.

The Druze consider God to be physically present in all things at all times. They are very into numerology and the power of colour. They worship five key colours each representing a metaphysical power.

However if their sacred text the Epistles of Wisdom doesn't cover a subject they will seek guidance from other sacred text. After all they believe God is within those texts.

As such the Druze also follow practises commonly found in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. Even classical Greek and Roman philosophers.

One of the key differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims is that the Sunnis believe the Prophet Mohammad was God's final prophet. Shias believe there is one more prophet yet to be sent.

As a result Shias believe the Qu'ran can be interpreted by scholars while Sunnis believe it is not open to interpretation by humans. Shias sometimes venerate some of these scholars in rather the same way Catholics venerate Saints.

Druze believe that all things - including religious texts - can be interpreted on three levels; "Zahir," "Batin" and "Anagoge."

As a result when they interpret aspects of the Muslim faith they tend to lean toward the Shia branch of the religion. However they are Druze rather than Muslims so aren't either Sunni or Shia.

The important thing to remember though is that Salafi Sunni groups such as ISIL, Al Qaeda and the Army of Islam view the Druze in the same way they view followers of the Yezidi religion;

They are devil worshippers - worse even than the Jews - and they must be exterminated.

As they are a religion rather than a ethnic or national group you get Druze in all sorts of countries including Germany, Colombia, Australia and Canada. However the majority of them are spread across Israel, Syria and Lebanon.

Probably the most famous Druze at the moment is Amal Clooney. She's Lebanese born and currently lives in the US.

I am not going to re-argue the Six Day War here. However in 1967 Israel militarily took control of the Golan Heights.

This split Druze families apart. You had people who were convinced they were Syrian Druze like their parents and cousins suddenly waking up to discover they were in fact Israeli Druze.

At the best of times the Golan Heights are a delicate subject. There is after all the UNDOF peacekeeping force deployed there.

Along with the West Bank the Israeli Golan Heights are considered part of the 1967 Occupied Territories. However if Israel were to withdraw the Golan Heights would be returned to Syria rather than Palestine.

In the summer of 2015 the Army of Conquest - particularly the Army of Islam - conducted a series of massacres in Syrian Druze villages. Most notably in Qalb Lawza.

This genocide sent many Syrian Druze fleeing to safety in Israel. It also made the relatives of the massacred living in Israel extremely angry.

At the time the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) highly elite Golani Brigade were engaged in some battlefield diplomacy. They would occasionally allow wounded fighters belonging to the Army of Conquest into Israel for medical treatment.

Rather than being support this was a situation where people were pointing guns at each other. The alternative to allowing the wounded medical treatment was a full on shooting war.

When the Army of Conquest started massacring Syrian Druze Israeli Druze rioted through the streets in protest at Israel providing the Army of Conquest with medical care. This went so far that they hijacked IDF ambulances and killed the Army of Conquest fighters within.

Obviously Israel stopped providing the Army of Conquest with medical care.

The Army of Mohammad's objective in the Chains of Harmon offensive was to provoke this same backlash from Israel's Druze. The hope being that it would force Israel to act militarily against the Army of Muhammad to protect Syria's Druze.

In fact in an extremely rare move on November 4th (4/11/17) Israel said publicly that it would be prepared to intervene militarily in Syria to prevent a genocide at Hadar.

The Army of Mohammad's thinking was that if the IDF did fight them it would reinvigorate their cause. It would allow them to present the Syrian government as puppets of the "Evil Zionist Regime" and they as the only true Muslims prepared to slaughter the Jews.

Failing that it would tear apart the only Astana Zone that everyone can agree on. Hopefully bringing down the entire Astana Process with it. Fighting has also recently increased across all of the Astana Zones.

In the end the Israelis allowed Syrian Druze militias into Israel and then back into Syria to defend Hadar. By November 6th (6/11/17) the Chains of Harmon offensive ended in a decisive Syrian Druze victory.

As you would expect the Army of Mohammad has blamed the failure of the offensive on; "Collusion between the apostate Syrian Regime and the Zionists."

The US was granted observer status within the Astana Process back in January 2017. However the UK remains excluded.

In an effort to be included in the Astana Process the UK has been focusing its efforts on its relationship with Israel and this southern Astana Zone. After all you can quite clearly see into this Astana Zone from Israel.

Over the summer the UK's then Secretary of State (Senior Minister) for International Development Priti Patel held a series of off-the-books, back-channel meetings with various Israeli officials. This is a story that has been rumbling quietly in the British media for a couple of weeks now.

However it really exploded on - I think - Tuesday (7/11/17). It emerged that Ms Patel had visited the Israeli Golan Heights and suggested British aid money could be given to refugees there. The Syrian Druze who'd escaped genocide both in 2015 and earlier that week.

As longtime supporters of the Palestinian cause this made the UK Labour Party apoplectic with rage. They demanded that Ms Patel be fired from the government and on Wednesday (8/11/17) she was. Prompting talk about whether the Conservative government which lacks a Parliamentary majority could survive.

In doing this the UK Labour Party made themselves look extremely foolish.

For starters they publicly declared that keeping the British public safe from Islamist terrorism and protecting a religious minority from genocide were both things so shameful if you were to do it you should be fired immediately. Hardly in line with the image of a caring party Labour are trying to project.

Mainly though this was part of a wider British plan. Both for this week's Brexit negotiations and the ongoing 23rd Conference of Parties (COP23)to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Labour did not realise its role in this wider plan.

One of the most famous terror groups currently operating in Syria are a group calling themselves; "Syrian Civil Defence" who are often referred to as the "White Helmets." Although they claim to be a humanitarian group they are an armed terror group, indistinguishable from other groups such as the Army of Islam, Al Qaeda or ISIL.

The White Helmets played a key role in helping the Army of Islam starve civilians to death in East Ghouta as part of the preparations for the most recent round of Astana Meetings.

The White Helmets most high profile supporter in the UK was Labour MP Jo Cox. In June 2016 Jo Cox was eliminated by the British Security Service as a threat to national security. On Tuesday (7/11/17) the British Queen was handing out medals over the killing of Jo Cox.

This was intended to raise questions amongst Brexit and COP23 delegates;

Was the UK Labour Party calling for Priti Patel to be fired out of a deep, ideological support for the Army of Conquest. Or were they just blindly trying to bring down the government in a quest for power with absolutely no understanding of the wider issues?

I think you know which way I'm leaning on that question.

At COP23 in particular that was very stupid thing for Labour to be doing. Their last big effort to bring down the government and seize power was the June 13th (13/6/17) Grenfell Tower fire.

In part that fire was spread due to cladding attached to the outside of the building. Labour claim the cladding had been fitted for purely aesthetic reasons. The implication being that the evil Conservatives didn't want to look at poor people.

That Labour claim is whole and total lie. The cladding was fitted to reduce heat transfer and therefore greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions to allow Britain to meet its obligations under the UNFCCC.

So although it isn't officially on the agenda it is inevitable that the Grenfell Tower fire will come up at COP23.

There it will be discussed by fire investigators who may well have reached conclusions on the causes of the fire that are very different to the version of events London's Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan is currently trying to convince voters is true.

The UK is certainly interested in whether of those fire investigators are going to go public with their findings.

Also Priti Patel is a Hindu of Ugandan-Indian immigrant parents. These are some of the Indians that Idi Amin expelled from Uganda.

The major flaw of the Paris Agreement which serves the UNFCCC is that it is not legally enforceable. That means that nobody is actually obligated to do anything to combat climate.

Funnily enough with the exception of US President Trump politicians in many nations have had no trouble signing up to an agreement that doesn't require them to do anything.

Even within this honour based system nations like India are actually pledging to grow their ghg emissions. India is currently the World's fourth largest emitter of ghg's.

The current Prime Minister of India is Narendra Modi. He is a Hindu nationalists and his followers really do not like Muslims.

This dislike of Muslims has led to Modi being a big supporter of Israel. Just this week the Indian Air Force is participating in Israel's Blue Flag military exercises for the very first time.

Getting an Indian Hindu caught up in an Islamphobia scandal seems a good way for the UK to give Modi a poke in the ribs over his support for the Paris Agreement.

22:30 on 11/11/17 (UK date).