A Soviet citizen who had taken shelter at Damascus’ Orient Palace Hotel, who had lived through the battle of Stalingrad, remarked that he had never been through such an experience as this.⁶ British observers painted a very similar picture,⁷ with Minister to the Levant Terence Shone reporting indiscriminate shelling and soldiers behaving like madmen, spraying the streets with machine-gun fire from vehicles and buildings. Widespread massacres of the civilian population continued for several days, and in Damascus alone the death toll within three days had surpassed 800 residents, with many mutilated by French soldiers and buried in mass graves.⁴ The severity of the attacks, carried out to teach the Syrians a good lesson according the French commanding general,⁵ was widely attested to by foreign observers. ¹ This closely resembled the way France would also respond to demands for independence in Algeria² and Indochina,³ where French misconduct was if anything far more severe. Protests were met with machine gun, mortar and heavy artillery fire and indiscriminate bombing raids targeting three of Syria’s main cities – Damascus, Homs and Hama. A strong nationalist movement in the country staged widespread protests against the re-imposition of Paris’ rule from May 1945, which in some instances saw French military personnel violently targeted. Syria was one of the first French colonial possessions to gain independence under the immediate post–Second World War wave of decolonisation. To this end background regarding Syria’s place in both the Middle East and the wider world, the policies of its government, and the history of its foreign relations, all provide vital context. The purpose of this work is to offer an assessment of the Syrian War and the nature of international involvement therein. Read moreĬhapter 1 Why Syria? How Conflict with the West and Israel Made Damascus a Target for Regime Change Origins of Syria's Conflict with the Western World "An insightful and dispassionate record of the Syrian Maelstrom and the West’s role as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice." -John Holmes, Major General and Director Special Forces (ret.), British Army. Former consultant and political adviser on Middle Eastern affairs for the UNHCR. This book is a MUST read for anyone who wants to understand the Syrian conflict, the Middle East, and the role of the great powers in the region." -Jubin Goodarzi, Professor and Deputy Head of International Relations, Webster University, Geneva. His empirically rich analysis in this nuanced and comprehensive study make it one of the best books, if not the best book, written about the Syrian crisis. Abrams has written an extremely informative and illuminating account on the international dimension of the origins, outbreak and evolution of the Syrian conflict. "Abrams is a meticulous guide to the labyrinth of Syria's modern political history." -Richard W. Phillips, Director, Program on Peace-building and Rights, Columbia University Institute for the Study of Human Rights. Solving Syria’s civil war will require a regional approach engaging stakeholders whose interests are fundamentally opposed." -David L. Abrams explores the widening scope of the Syrian conflict in his important book. Ambassador of the Netherlands to Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Germany and Indonesia, Author of Destroying a Nation. "The most detailed history of the war in Syria so far, providing a richness of highly interesting details, as well as a critical analysis of its complex international and domestic dimensions, rarely encountered in other Western publications." -Nikolaos van Dam, former Special Envoy for Syria, 2015-16. "Impressive in its scholarship, pondered in its judgements, above all searing in its dissection of Western powers' war on Syria waged over many decades, the book is a must-have on the bookshelves of any serious fair-minded student of Syria." -Peter Ford, British Ambassador to Syria from 2003 to 2006 World War in Syria answers questions that will have continued relevance beyond the country’s borders for years to come.
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