Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect by Noam Chomsky, Reese Erlich Page A
Authors: Noam Chomsky, Reese Erlich
Tags: History, Politics & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, middle east, Middle Eastern, Politics & Government, Specific Topics, International & World Politics, National & International Security, syria, Relations
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activists who came together to coordinate protests in the early days of the uprising. They developed considerable popular support and continued to do humanitarian work in some rebel-controlled areas.
Muslim Brotherhood: A political organization calling for an Islamic state with elections and a parliamentary system. The brotherhood is conservative on social issues, supports capitalism, and said it will respect minority rights. The brotherhood formed a militia in 2012 called the Shield. It has close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza.
National Coalition for Revolutionary and Opposition Forces: Formed in November 2012 as the successor to the SNC. It was supposed to represent a wider coalition, including Syrian religious minorities and Kurds. Nonlethal US aid was channeled to this coalition, but it failed to attract significant support inside Syria as of mid-2014.
Supreme Military Council (SMC): Formed in December 2012, the SMC was an effort to expand the base of the Free Syrian Army. While it received arms from the United States and its allies, the SMC was unable to attract significant popular support as of mid-2014.
Syrian National Council (SNC): A civilian opposition coalition backed by the United States and its allies. It was supposed to represent the entire opposition and be the civilian leadership for the Free Syrian Army. The SNC never developed a base of support inside Syria and was dissolved in November 2012. It was replaced by the National Coalition for Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.
PRO-ASSAD GROUPS
Mukhabarat: Syrian government secret police, responsible for detention, torture, and murder of dissidents.
National Defense Force (NDF): Formed in late 2012, the NDF is a militia whose members received a salary, uniforms, and arms from the government. When the Syrian army defeated the rebels in an area, the NDF was supposed to take control. It has been accused of kidnapping for ransom and other criminal activity. By the end of 2013, it had an estimated 100,000 members.
Popular Committees: An effort to organize the Shabiha into a coherentpro-Assad militia. They were incorporated into the National Defense Force in late 2012.
Shabiha: The first shabiha, which means âghostsâ in Arabic, were smugglers in western Syria who cooperated with corrupt regime officials. When the uprising began, the Mafia-like shabiha worked with security forces to attack peaceful demonstrations. Shabiha became the generic terms for progovernment goons.
KURDS
Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP): The largest party in the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq. Led by Masoud Barzani, the KDP has been training Syrian Kurdish fighters. But as of mid-2014 the fighters had not been deployed.
Kurdish National Council (KNC): Coalition of major Syrian Kurdish groups including the KDP but not the PYD.
Kurdistan Workers Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan or PKK): Formed by Turkish revolutionary Abdullah Ocalan and a group of student radicals in 1978 in the Kurdish region of eastern Turkey. The PKK originally demanded an independent and socialist Kurdistan but later called for autonomy within a capitalist Turkey.
Partiya Yekîtiya Demokrat (PYD): The Democratic Union Party was formed in 2003 as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK. It was led by Saleh Muslim. The PYD argued that it is an independent party with only ideological ties to the PKK; critics said the two parties are controlled by the same PKK leadership. The PYD emerged as the strongest Kurdish rebel group and controlled a significant area in northern Syria as of early 2014.
FOREIGN ORGANIZATIONS
Al-Fatah: The Palestinian nationalist political party that controls the West Bank. Fatah was founded by the late Yasser Arafat. It remained officially neutral in Syria's civil war.
Hamas: Palestinian offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood that now controls Gaza. It once supported Assad but switched to the rebel side after the uprising began. Its
Muslim Brotherhood: A political organization calling for an Islamic state with elections and a parliamentary system. The brotherhood is conservative on social issues, supports capitalism, and said it will respect minority rights. The brotherhood formed a militia in 2012 called the Shield. It has close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza.
National Coalition for Revolutionary and Opposition Forces: Formed in November 2012 as the successor to the SNC. It was supposed to represent a wider coalition, including Syrian religious minorities and Kurds. Nonlethal US aid was channeled to this coalition, but it failed to attract significant support inside Syria as of mid-2014.
Supreme Military Council (SMC): Formed in December 2012, the SMC was an effort to expand the base of the Free Syrian Army. While it received arms from the United States and its allies, the SMC was unable to attract significant popular support as of mid-2014.
Syrian National Council (SNC): A civilian opposition coalition backed by the United States and its allies. It was supposed to represent the entire opposition and be the civilian leadership for the Free Syrian Army. The SNC never developed a base of support inside Syria and was dissolved in November 2012. It was replaced by the National Coalition for Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.
PRO-ASSAD GROUPS
Mukhabarat: Syrian government secret police, responsible for detention, torture, and murder of dissidents.
National Defense Force (NDF): Formed in late 2012, the NDF is a militia whose members received a salary, uniforms, and arms from the government. When the Syrian army defeated the rebels in an area, the NDF was supposed to take control. It has been accused of kidnapping for ransom and other criminal activity. By the end of 2013, it had an estimated 100,000 members.
Popular Committees: An effort to organize the Shabiha into a coherentpro-Assad militia. They were incorporated into the National Defense Force in late 2012.
Shabiha: The first shabiha, which means âghostsâ in Arabic, were smugglers in western Syria who cooperated with corrupt regime officials. When the uprising began, the Mafia-like shabiha worked with security forces to attack peaceful demonstrations. Shabiha became the generic terms for progovernment goons.
KURDS
Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP): The largest party in the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq. Led by Masoud Barzani, the KDP has been training Syrian Kurdish fighters. But as of mid-2014 the fighters had not been deployed.
Kurdish National Council (KNC): Coalition of major Syrian Kurdish groups including the KDP but not the PYD.
Kurdistan Workers Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan or PKK): Formed by Turkish revolutionary Abdullah Ocalan and a group of student radicals in 1978 in the Kurdish region of eastern Turkey. The PKK originally demanded an independent and socialist Kurdistan but later called for autonomy within a capitalist Turkey.
Partiya Yekîtiya Demokrat (PYD): The Democratic Union Party was formed in 2003 as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK. It was led by Saleh Muslim. The PYD argued that it is an independent party with only ideological ties to the PKK; critics said the two parties are controlled by the same PKK leadership. The PYD emerged as the strongest Kurdish rebel group and controlled a significant area in northern Syria as of early 2014.
FOREIGN ORGANIZATIONS
Al-Fatah: The Palestinian nationalist political party that controls the West Bank. Fatah was founded by the late Yasser Arafat. It remained officially neutral in Syria's civil war.
Hamas: Palestinian offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood that now controls Gaza. It once supported Assad but switched to the rebel side after the uprising began. Its
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