On Thursday, the Raqqa Civil Council met with officials from the US Department of State in Ayn Issa town in the northern Raqqa countryside.
According to Kurdish sources, the meeting was attended by Alex Starr from the US Department of State and Marvie McCloy, an explosives expert.
A US State Department delegation in #Syria, meeting with officials from #Raqqa Civil Council to talk about reconstruction & mine clearance pic.twitter.com/BTv6kEPI4M
— EndiZentarmi ✌ (@EndiZentarmi) 20 July 2017
According to a statement of the Raqqa Civil Council, the two sides discussed the reconstruction of the city including bridges and roads, and the restoration of public services such as water and electricity in Raqqa.
Omar Alloush, one of the council’s advisors, said to Arab 24 News website:
“The delegation is specialized in demining the city of Raqqa and providing relief. We welcomed them as their visit to Raqqa Council is a recognition of the council, which represents the people of Raqqa, by the US State Department. And they are dependent on the efforts of the council which will manage the affairs of Raqqa after liberation as well.”
Some experts also believe that the US delegation visit can be regarded as a semi-official recognition of the Raqqa Civil Council by the United States.
“We want to know the citizen’s ability to get rid of explosives. This is what we will work on first,” Marvie McCloy told the Arab 24 TV media outlet and added: “We need to gather information from officials in Raqqa. We have limited support and we must be careful about dealing with mines, and we are here to coordinate together.”
It’s worth mentioning that the council stays under great criticism by the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition as it was formed by Kurdish parties, and includes a large percentage of Kurds who are considered a very small part of the community of Raqqa. Many describe the council as just a tool of Kurdish influence in Raqqa.
It’s still hard for me to believe so many Kurds were willing to die to retake Raqqa, despite the fact that they were promised the city as ‘war spoils’ by the U.S. – the pre-war population of roughly a quarter-million (including Tabqa) had 25,000 or so Kurds at most. The U.S. and SDF regularly inflate that number to claim ‘half’ of Raqqa was Kurdish – laughable by any stretch of the imagination, even considering additional Kurdish refugees since the war.
The U.S. interests are to have a secure intelligence and logistics hub (Tabqa air base) for an endless covert regime-change war well-inside Syria, with a secondary goal of holding Syria’s water/electricity hostage to keep both the local Kurds and opposition Arabs obedient. This will, of course, turn Raqqa into a target for every pissed-off ex-ISIS/Nusra car-bomber in Syria. The U.S. will hide in well-fortified compounds or the air base, while the civilians of Raqqa (Kurd and Arab) will serve as human VBIED shields and targets.
The U.S. State Department (basically the CIA and the Hillary Clinton/neocon/Soros left-over mafia) are doing what they do best: created a fake enemy to invade the city, level the city & destroy its infrastructure to ‘liberate’ it, ethnic cleanse it during repopulation and then flood the puppet government with rebuilding aid to ‘own’ the people and monitor them 24×7. Hey – it worked in Baghdad… kind of. You can bet the first things the U.S. will do is ‘rebuild’ the phone and internet networks and open banks/issue credit cards. Phase II of the Kurdish Autonomous Region will be to start issuing theri own passports (defying Syrian law) so U.S./Israeli spies and mercs can travel freely to and from the occupied Syrian territory of Raqqa.
The only problem with Raqqa is the 200,000 former Arab residents are not going to take kindly to being ruled by Kurd-controlled local councils and are going to be pissed when the U.S. ‘encourages’ Kurd refugees to settle in Raqqa, displacing the local Arabs. This will be another Palestine, with the Kurds serving as well-armed proxy Israeli occupiers for the U.S. (and Israel). The charade of powerless local Arab councils will not pacify the population there who will live under the boot of constant U.S./Kurdish military authority. ‘Hiring’ local Arabs for a token civilian police force will be a joke, just like it has been everywhere else.
ISUS is sitting on East Euphrates oil,nat/gas Fields. …with that extending into Western Iraq. Unless SAA,Hezbollah, IRGC and PMU /Iraqi Army run them off militarily, A Sunni kookistan exists. http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/13951/US-orders-Abadi-to-cleanse-Iraq-from-Iran-s-IMIS-puppets The Iraqi election in 2018….this might limit ISUS being pushed out of Western Iraq, As the various Militias and Tribal clan jockey for position politically. The pause gives US,Saudi and others time to reconstitute the Sunni strength in Iraq. Putin/Russia doing nothing aside from disingenuous coments about Illegal US bases in Kurd Syria. While giving the cake knife to Netanyahu. ..to cut off another piece of the Syrian Golan.
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All those stressing that arabs will not accept living under (a partial) kurdish rule are set upon a one way form of sectarian thinking. They have no problems with kurdish cities being under arab control, or if they have, they don’t mention it.
Beyond that, A majority arab city council with maybe an overrepresentation of minorities, what is the problem?
What matters is firstly good governance by restoring basic services as security, freedom, electricity, water and basic food and providing restoration to the city and educational and health services.
This will take time and money and effort to achieve.
To prepare for this before the city is liberated makes sense.
Once the situation is somewhat normalised, an expanded city council seem advisable and to be followed on by elections (which can include Assad if he wants). If SDF can deliver that, I would say go for it.
The SDF took money from a country that helped murder Syrians, helped funded ISIS! So it is clear the y will kick out the SDF. Let the SAA finish ISIS and than the Kurds start running home! Because russia Iran Turkey and Assad will unite the country again!
Yes, lets keep it real. Is there any party in this mess that did not take money from an outside power involved in murdering Syrians?
Name one and you show yourself to be a liar.
You really wanna put Putin Assad and iran in the same box as uncle sam? really? The SDF is a uncle sams puppet! The USA Israel Saudi Aribia and other send terrorists to syria and somehow the guys killing thoose thugz are theb ad guys! Stop watching Fake News!
don’t waste your time with “dutchnational”, he’s a Zionist troll scum.
It takes one to know one.
No, it takes a few unfortunate experiences dealing with Zio troll scum to know one. You don’t need to be a rat to recognize one.
These zionists always have to be the fly in the ointment. Can’t leave gentiles and non-Zionist Jews alone. Always have to introduce propaganda into the discussion and play mind games.
I can’t tell if I’m for a greater Zionist Israel or not because I don’t know if Israel (Golan) respects abortion rights or not. the two relevant Wikipedia articles on abortion rights contradict each other. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_law , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_Israel
No, they are worse. Faker commenter and assad troll.
I can’t tell if I’m for a greater Zionist Israel or not because I don’t know if Israel (Golan) respects abortion rights or not. the two relevant Wikipedia articles on abortion rights contradict each other. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_law , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_Israel ….
The Kurds are just a proxy force for the US until their usefulness runs its course and that is coming soon with the US . They are being cut off from any advance across the Euphrates since those regions captured allegedly by the Tiger forces and Sons of Raqqa are true. There will be a possible division of the FSA and Arabs from the SDF in the future ,this is what the US wants.
The problem is the Kurds only represented 2% of the population there is the rub it goes against Syrian people’s sense of representation since they had gone to proportional representation by ethnic groups and this had worked in the past. The current bogus system imposed by the US is what you see in the west with its corruption and large scale cronyism.
The Kurdish system is so fraught with corruption and division among the people they had already started arresting the opposition and continue to do so with their secret police. Why you don’t hear so much is the US has been blocking media in the area on reporting on this , because this would tarnish the image they are trying to create. This is definitely going to be a huge failure in the world’s eyes and the US has the look of being the boss in failure their guys can see it already, the green zone all over again.
I was going to comment, but I gave up as it is beyond stupid. But if it makes you happy to spread fake facts and untruths, be my guest.
What’s fake about it?
For anyone interested, the site “The Rabbit Hole” https://sarahabed.com/ has got some good articles about Syria, including about Kurds.
Just one example. Kurds, incl those whose passports were taken away by daddy Assad, do not number 2% of the population. They number some app 2.5 million, that is some 15% of the present population of some 16 mln.
Where are your sources? How do you know how many had their passports taken away by Assad snr?
Look on internet. 120.000
Internet is a big place. Where on the internet?
Https/www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1996/Syria.htm and others.
Where does HRW get this claim from: “In 1962, an exceptional census stripped some 120,000 Syrian Kurds –20 percent of the Syrian Kurdish population — of their Syrian citizenship.” How does HRW know it was 20% who got “stripped of their Syrian citizenship”? How does HRW know this 20% were citizens in the first place? Does HRW know better than the Syrian government?
Refugees from turkey, trading places with syrian arab refugees in turkey, add to that percentage considerably. just as jewish refugees from arab contries made room there for Palestinians.
Anyone who advocates on behalf of Kurd’s, and defames Syrian state, as much as you do on this site is in all probability either an ethnic Kurd, or representing interests of their key allies – namely US or Israel.
Firstly Syria cannot be more defamed then by the Assad regime.
Secondly, you seem not to be able to understsnd someone adocating a cause without representing an interest.
That makes your defense of Assad a representing of interests. How much are you paid for trolling?
Hello troll, the one who uses fake facts and you do spread your spin thin and are very weak at it , so be my guest and make your sales spin nonsense.
“dutchnational” is Zio scum
US luv corrupt regimes…..Vietnam war was a huge party for criminal US.
Now the US/CIA get to network the Opium trafficing in the region. French used to have that game….outlets thru Turkey and the Lebanon. Gulen organization ran Opium from Afghanistan with CIA.
Narcotics and war….as old as the British East India company : )
In Vietnam….if you were trouble. …you got tossed out of a Huey. Kurds better not double cross . …or its the ramp door of the V 22 Osprey.
Sure.
If they interfere with abortion rights then PYD should arrest them.
Stop! You’re killing me! You’re too funny.
Time to get back in the clown car with rest of them!
Many Syrians from Raqqa are now in Turkey, and Europe while many Kurds from Turkey are now near Raqqa. They traded places and I expect them to stay. ABORTION RIGHTS FOR RAQQA!!! Assad doesn’t get to ban abortion and then send the resulting overpopulation to invade Europe and challenge abortion rights there as well!
Are you retarded?
Abortion rights are a far more immediate need than anything on your list because your entire list is doomed without them.
That’s funny. Abortion? Amazing.
You left off climate change and alternative energy.
Aborted fetuses don’t cause climate change or need alternative energy.
It’s the solution to everything.
You are a relentless Kurd cheerleader and most likely an ethnic Kurd yourself – hiding behind the misleading avatar of ‘dutchnational’. The SDF are simply Kurd’s with a name re-brand so that US could sponsor former YPG factions – whilst not appearing to be aligned with group listed as terrorists by US NATO ally Turkey. It’s all just a PR stunt – but real business is a land and asset grab in Syria.
Shall we have a discussion in Dutch, one of the most beautiful languages of the world (imo at least)?
Nationality and ethnicity are separate realities.
Not in my case and not in the last ten generations that I know.
Not a single Kurd must remain in Syria after this mess is dealt with. The gypsy Kurds have proven themselves beyond treasonous and must pay for their crimes against the entire Middle Eastern people. Anyone who sells out to the Satanist Zionist terrorists is scum. I propose sending them all to Turkey and have Erdogan deal with them as he pleases.
Her Bijî SDF !!!
I look forward to similar State Department delegations meeting with Syrian government officials to offer our apologies for the damage and killing we caused and asking what we can do to help rebuild Syria.
Oh, wait! We’re trying to partition Syria now.
My bad.
Isn’t that sweet, two “Kurds” from Murder Inc traveling all the way from Langley VA to assist their fellow “Kurds” ethnically cleanse the Syrian city of Raqqa of its inhabitants No doubt they bring copies of the Profit Murray’s [Bookchin] “Little Red-Green Book” to help them set up the First People’s Republic of Kurdistan along Murray’s political philosophy of libertarian municipalism.
Psychopaths of the World Arise! You have nothing to lose but your inhibitions.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3326ecec9b33d18a93765a3f4a2c48d3bdbdc6e1de26f5ee0064775782559587.jpg .
P1ss off Yanks. No-one wants you.