Rev Left Radio Manufacturing Syria: HTS, Rojava, Iran, and the Consequences of Regime Change
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Jan 30, 2026 Joma Hanesuddin, PhD candidate studying Rojava and Kurdish politics; Jalyssa Dugro, independent Middle East journalist tracking U.S. intervention; Angie Bittar, international relations scholar focused on Syrian conflict. They map Syria's collapsed order and HTS emergence. They examine mass violence, displacement, Kurdish politics and US-SDF relations. They unpack information warfare, propaganda tactics, and regional power plays.
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U.S.–SDF Partnership Was Tactical, Not Ideological
- The U.S. partnered with Kurdish forces in 2014 to stop ISIS, creating the SDF brand.
- That partnership was pragmatic, not ideological, and began with U.S. air support.
Resource Control And Sanctions Cripple States
- Northeast Syria holds most of Syria's oil and wheat but lacks refineries, limiting state capacity.
- Control of resources and sanctions became tools to make the population suffer while elites benefit.
Lawlessness Fueled Mass Kidnappings And Abuse
- Abductions and gendered violence surged under lawlessness after prisons were emptied.
- Victims face rape, torture, and complicit or absent security forces with no clear accountability.