Les Coulisses de la Guerre contre Daech - Enjeux et Vérités - Documentaire monde - MP

France is at war. Our enemy is Daech. So it's not about containing this organization, but to destroy it. The whole world has declared war to the organization of the Radical Islamist group in Iraq and the Levant. However, Daesh is still there, imposing its law on part of Syria and Iraq and sending his suicide bombers to assault the five continents. How a can tens of thousands of fighters resist the best armies in the world? They are scattered actors who are fighting for Daesh. Everyone here agrees in principle to fight Daech. But everyone here has also somehow used or supported Daesh. Everyone moves forward in the same direction but some run and others are walking slowly What if the fight against the international terror was the start of another war? A wider conflict that will shatter the global stability. The hidden wars against Daech Somewhere in northern Iraq, a man prepares for his revenge against Daech. The former governor of the Mosul province, had to flee in a disaster after the uprising of the Radical Islamist group. He is a millionaire, heir of a large Sunni family, and belongs to the elite group dominating the country for a long time. As a fallen Lord, he is trying to rally his community to fight the extremists of the caliphate. Major Abdelazaq Jaber Kheder! Leader of the third special brigade of the 1st regiment. The troops are in training, captain! The area has been completely secured? No, not completely, But we secured it on the three sides. Yes, this region is not secured. But the rest is secured. The majority of fighters are Sunni Arabs from our region. We call on volunteers. We first gathered more than 500 fighters, then 1,000 as a second step. Right now I am the one funding these troops. Of course, I also count on donations from some friends and actors. The officers were all members of the former Iraqi army. They were officers in the war against Iran. So they have great military experience. They'd rather serve your army than the official Iraqi army? The truth is they don't really trust the Iraqi army troops, especially those from Mosul. They are particularly abused. Everyone has their own war and allies. The governor relies on the elder officials of Saddam Hussein to build his private army. The objective is twofold, expel Daech, but also defend Sunni interests against the regime of Baghdad led by the Shiites. From his bunker, he is in direct |competition with the Iraqi National Army. -The gas masks? -Yes -Does the Iraqi army has them? -Yes probably. -Did they give them to us as provisions? -These are the American models The race against time for the liberation of Mosul is going on between the army of Bagdad and the governor's army. Iraq's second largest city is the bastion of the Radical Islamist group. This is where the sea of all the battles will take place. This is the city of Mosul. And that's the airport. We are not far away now. When is the battle going to start? We are waiting for the decision. It's not just up to us. It's up to who? Up to Baghdad and the coalition. When they make the decision to attack, we will be able to reach Mosul all at once. On the Sunni side, who is pulling the strings of the war against Daesh? Part of the answer is in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, Where is located a kind of siege for the Iraqi government in exile. This is where the elder Sunni officials of the country meet. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, they financed the uprising against the Baghdad regime before Daech extremists deprived them from their powers within their community. I cannot deny that a large part of the Iraqis in Daech are Sunnis. But most of them are victims of injustice, of hate, marginalization, and humiliation. They act in reaction to that, without thinking. Daesh exploited this revolt to control Sunni cities only. There is a hate that can be explained by the fact that for the first time in history, the Sunnis lost power in Bagdad a power that they had always monopolized. And there is now a massive movement to support Daech, it's an organization that aims to be the great defender and justice giver to a population that considers itself a victim of the events. Around Mosul, several rival armies live side by side. These regular Iraqi army soldiers belong to the new units formed by Westerners after the defeat against Daesh. Their mission is to lead the counteroffensive war. The smoke there comes from our cannons and airstrikes of our allies. Is Daesh far from here? About seven kilometers from here. These are American and French airplanes arriving. Everyone has been fighting Daesh for two years and they're still there. What is special about them? What else do they have? No, it hasn't been two years. It's only since Daesh has hit outside of Iraq and Syria that the war really started. It's only when they started attacks in Germany, Switzerland, and France. This is when you really started to fight. Before, you were hesitant. You have to be hurt to feel the pain. Without it, you would never be in this situation. While bringing together Shiites and Sunnis, the new Iraqi army is supposed to embody national unity. What is this flag? It is the portrait of Imam Hussein. Is that the Shiite flag? Yes. In reality, this army is still perceived as a partisan force in service of the Shiite regime in Baghdad. Daech is a plague. But the truth is that we are even more afraid of the presence of Shiite armies. But the Sunnis did not say their last word yet. We do not accept to be second-class citizens in the land of our ancestors. One of the Radical Islamist group's biggest victories was succeeding in convincing the Sunnis and the Iraqi Shiites, who had always lived side by side, that they could no longer live together. The frontline around Mosul illustrates the deep divisions in Iraq. Alongside the Sunni militia of the former Governor and the National Army predominantly Shiite, is a third force, the Kurdish fighters, named the Peshmergas. While working on the frontline to repel the extremists, they made a kind of unofficial border that separates Kurdistan and the rest of Iraq. Here, we are in Kurdistan. This station is the land of Kurdistan, the Peshmergas zone. Here are Arab villages and there, Kurdish villages. And so today is the start of the Mosul offensive? Yes, that's the plan, but we are moving slowly, village by village. You have to be patient. We, the Peshmergas, don't know the orders of the Iraqi army anyway The Kurds are the only ones who have the same will to fight as Daech. Our psychological studies show that they are the only ones ready to fight and die for their Kurdish identity. The fighters were coming to the front in taxi and the students supplied them. They hadn't been paid for six months and despite that, they were the only ones to resist the Radical Islamist group. This American researcher spent several weeks on the frontline, studying and comparing the motivation of the fighters. This is an Radical Islamist group fighter. He doesn't even want to hear about the Shiites. I won't have any trust in Iraqi soldiers. None of them have the same will to fight as Daech. In Iraq, the war waged against the extremists led to the bankruptcy and partition of the country. Daech thrives on this chaos. If Iraq was its cradle, then Syria will become its breeding ground. Homs is home to the martyrdom that the Syrian population endured. Like other cities, It shows the destructive madness that ravaged the country. The Radical Islamist group is just one of the actors in this total war. Before imposing its law, Daesh benefitted from a strong ally, President Assad himself, who was ready to do anything to save his dictatorship. From the very beginning of the revolution, he tried to divide the opposition and liberate the Islamist prisonners from Saddnaya's prison. An inmate was the witness to this pact with the devil. Those who became Daesh already existed as groups inside Saddnaya. These men were just like Daech is today. Brutal, belligerent, bloodthirsty. They were the ones who committed murders inside the prison. Many fought in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Bosnia, Iraq and Yemen. These men are considered global symbols in the School of extremism. The terrible part about this story is that the regime has started to release these Islamists two weeks before the start of the popular uprising. He knew that something was cooking in Syria. By freeing the main officials of the Islamic acts of violence, Bashar al-Assad opens the doors of hell and transforms his country to a land of extremism, of holy war. We, the Syrian people, at the beginning, thought he was coming to help us against the regime. Then we were surprised to see that he was creating their group. And they turned against us. They were there to kill us. The rebels of the Free Syrian Army fell into the trap. These volunteers become the prey of extremism professionals. The country imploded because we were fighting the regime and all of a sudden, we had to fight on other fronts. By using Daesh to weaken its Enemies, Assad won the first round. He is now the ultimate bulwark against fanatics. The regime is not waging war against Daesh, but wants to subdue the Free Army because of its legitimacy. Do you have the feeling that these men stole your revolution? Unfortunately yes. These strangers made us, children of this country look like miscreants and renegades. President Assad is continuing his bad strategy. He invokes religious solidarity and calls on his Shiite ally, Iran, and of course, the Lebanese Hezbollah. The fight against Daesh is becoming the excuse for a regional conflict. Assad brought in his Shiite version of Al-Qaeda, namely Hezbollah and Iran. Iran provides him with money, weapons and regional protection. Hezbollah sends him fighters and officers. We are dealing with a political war, not a religious war. Thanks to our intervention, we made the scenario of the fall of Bashar al-Assad obsolete and illusory. How many fighters do you have on site in Syria today? We never talk about our workforce, our strengths, our military abilities, or our forces. It is part of our war secrets. You can try to find it out by yourself. 5,000 Hezbollah soldiers are fighting in Syria today. The war against Daesh allows the parties to control a whole part of the country. The stronger Iran is, the better for us. The reality is that Iran is our strategic ally. This war is actually the symptom of an even bigger conflict. It would be a mistake to think that It is a religious problem. It's a matter of policy, a matter of regional supremacy. Iran wants to dominate the region. The Middle East is the showroom of the clash between two powers. On the one hand, the Islamic Republic of Iran, whose influence is expanding to part of Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. On the other hand, the Saudi monarchy that dreams of leading global Islam, while allied with other Arab nations s and Gulf countries. The Saudis see the situation in this way. Iran is an existential threat. Iran can destroy Saudi Arabia. Iran is a bigger threat than Daesh. In this somehow cold, Daesh is a pawn. For the time being, Daesh is acting against Iran, against the Shiites, against the government in Damascus. They do the work of Saudi troops. The troops indirectly obey to Saudi Arabia and numerous and victorious on the field. Mosul is in the hands of extremists. Raqqa is in the hands of the extremists. Syria is for 40% in the hands of the extremists. Remarkable success. What is the strategy of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries? It is not to leave Syria with a system that has been hostile to them and that joined forces with their enemy, Iran. So that's a real goal for all of us. And all of them used their money as their main weapon. In this battle for regional supremacy, Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have unlimited resources. They spend their petrodollars on the latest military equipment and organize Hollywood-style maneuvers. We have two states that have different religious characteristics. The characteristics vary depending on points of view. Arabs against Persians, a thousand-year-old nation on one side, Iran, a country created in 1930, and on the other side, oil interests are not the same. In other words, it is a global opposition between two states. Iran has an asset against Saudi firepower. These legions of fighters, several hundreds of thousands of soldiers and militiamen from all over the former Persian Empire, t he inexhaustible human reservoir. Iran considers the fall of Daesh an absolute priority. Iran uses all means, and sends militiamen and troops to the ground. They are Afghans, refugees in Iran, to whom we say “If you want a residence permit, join the army or the militia and your family will have a residence permit." And also Hezbollah because the absolute priority for Teheran is the eradication of pro-Saudi Islamist groups in Damascus and Baghdad. More than a thousand Lebanese fighters of Hezbollah died in Syria. They are celebrated as martyrs, and are the heroes of a war that promises to be long and deadly. We are indeed losing fighters in Syria. But don't forget our women who give birth to children who will become soldiers. Their numbers are increasing and they will serve our cause till victory. We accepted his martyrdom without complaining. Thank God that Ali is dead by honoring us. In all wars, some people lose, We will go all the way and we will win, God willing. Are you ready to continue this war for a long time? We have no other choice than to continue. Just until we win the last round. How long will Iran be able to fuel its war? And what will be the consequences of the future of the region? Daesh thrives on this clash between Iran and Saudi Arabia, especially since the Saudi monarchy has ignored the crimes of the extremists for a while. According to him, it was the price to pay to fight Tehran's ambitions. They thought they were in control of these extremist movements. Since they financed them, they realized that it was beyond their control. Because Daesh, as we have often said, is a kind of monster with lots of fathers. On the Middle East chessboard, Daesh was the madman. He is now turning against his king. and directly challenges the Saudi throne. We saw the Radical Islamist group get involved in a campaign of acts of violence and Saudi leaders are worrying because the contradictions of Saudi Arabia have never been more obvious, wanting to represent a religious authority in the Muslim world and to be the main ally of the United States in the region. The Saudi monarchy is barricading itself. They are building a security fence of 1,000 kilometers along its border with Iraq, to prevent the infiltration of extremists. The threat is getting bigger. From now on, Daech attacks every state of the Middle East. Vienna, Austria. Far from the chaos of war. This is where Iranian and Saudi leaders are meeting with other nations involved in the fight against acts of violence. On paper, everyone belongs to an international coalition. Saudi Arabia has lined up under the American umbrella with its allies in the Gulf and the other Arab nations. Iran has joined forces with Russia and Syrian President Assad. Officially, everyone affirms fighting a common enemy, Daech. There has never in fact been a genuine coalition, like in the second world war when we had a coalition against Hitler, Westerners and Stalin. Now is not the case. This is one of the obvious weaknesses this coalition had from the start. As a historical policeman of the Middle East, The United States is in the middle of the table, but must now shares the lead role with Russia, Because Moscow has invited itself into the big war against acts of violence. Russians and Americans are opposites in everything. The nature of the targets, their alliances and especially t he matter of knowing who will control, the territory after the fall of Daesh. In Vienna, the war has already begun. The Russians were more or less eliminated from the entire Arab world. They came back and reestablished their positions. They are today, not only one of the six interlocutors but one of the two main ones, when they had become less important, not only the United States but even the Turks and the Iranians. It's about maintaining their zone of influence, a kind of power. By sending his army to Syria, President Putin imposes his conditions for Westerners. The fight against the extremists must start by defending the Bashar al-Assad regime. The Russians in some cases took months to intervene against Daech. But it is marginal. That is not their number one objective. For Russia, there are other priorities like preventing the fall of the regime. If they prevented the fall of the regime, without choosing to hit Daesh, they will hit Daech. President Putin is the new strong man in the war against acts of violence. Especially since at the front, within the coalition that brings together Western and Arab countries, Union speeches are no longer delusions. The Americans don't control the Saudis. They have influence, but not total control. It is different. The United States set up an international coalition against the Radical Islamist group but who is really playing in the game? It's not the Saudis, nor the Qataris, because they consider Daesh an excellent tool against Assad, so against Iran. It is not their priority. Where is the Saudi aviation right now? Until there is another sense of priorities. If the top priority is to eliminate Daech, there is a need for a coalition that is more effective, much clearer, more coordinated, and better led than the current coalition. On the ground, the Gulf countries have left the American coalition alone in the face of Daech. Or worse, their relations with the extremists are being shattered. Faced with a wave of global acts of violence, Westerners are in doubt. Did some of our friends become our enemies? These violent attacks were perpetrated by people of the Radical Islamist group, financially and logistically supported by Saudi Arabia and Qatar. So you still have to ask questions our alliances. Ten agreements are about to be signed. This matter that was long neglected or suppressed or buried, is now indeed apparent. There is a difference between Islam, Islamism, Wehabiism, Extremism, extremism, and acts of violence. And the gunshots are not clear nor sharp enough. So we have an unresolved issue in front of us. The current war is not only raising questions about historical alliances, it also gives a new challenge to Western powers. Border stability in the Middle East, imposed at the beginning of the 20th century. When the Radical Islamist group took over the border between Syria and Iraq, in June 2014, the first thing they did was to stage, and I quote, the erasure of the Sykes-Picot border. The border Daesh is fighting, was drawn in the First World War by France and Great Britain. It is named after the diplomats who secretly negotiated the division of the region Sir Mark Sykes, and François-Georges Picot. In the collective memory, these agreements remained proof of the betrayal of European promises. At the end of the First World War, The British and the French plunder the Ottoman Empire. The Arab tribes to whom the Allies promised a great unified kingdom, are divided into several countries, including present-day Syria and Iraq. Another population is also losing, the Kurds. Again, despite the promises, they will never get their independence. Finally, a history line takes us back to the conditions under which these Iraqi and Syrian states were founded. And Daesh is part of these history lines. In Vienna, a century after the Sykes-Picot agreements, the border issue remains taboo to the former colonial powers. Sir, the Iraqi state has collapsed. Syria has been at war for five years. Do we have to touch the borders? No, because that's what Daesh wants. Daesh wants the caliphate regime turning the page on these borders that have a history. We're not going to redo history, but we are Europeans, we know very well that when we touch the borders, peace is at risk. So we shouldn't touch the borders, we shouldn't play with the borders. Thank you. Thank you. Two simple questions are asked. What borders? What do we want to change? And second, what are the world powers that can impose that and send a million soldiers for 15 years to ensure the safety and guarantee cohabitation. It's not easy. Reshape the Middle East. In the 2000s, at the time when President Bush invaded Iraq, the Americans had crazy ambitions. A senior officer even had them draw the new layout, called “Blood Frontier” Colonel Peeters's map dedicates the breakup of the region into a multitude of small states. Iraq is cut in two, Syria too, a part joining Lebanon, and an Independent Kurdistan is born straddling Iraq, Syria, Türkiye and Iran. Daech would like to write this new Middle East that the neoconservative Americans dreamed about. It's not the role of outsiders and I don't believe either that their role is to encourage the partition of Iraq or Syria. Daesh leaders know that Western diplomacies are conservative by nature and that they don't want to question matters of states and borders because it would open an endless Pandora box This conservatism allows Daesh to maintain despite all military challenges, its place even though in another form. In reality, it is impossible to reunite the Iraqis again. Why would you want to do that? They hate each other, they distrust each other so much. Why do you want to force them to come together? So, we need to change the borders and create new states? Yes, I think that is already the case. After the implosion of the Middle East, a new independent state is emerging, the Iraqi Kurdistan. For the Kurdish people, the war against Daesh is a unique opportunity to take revenge for the betrayals of the past. After being forced to live under foreign domination, the tide of history is turning today in their favor. It's been over 100 years since the Sykes-Picot Treaty and the end of the First World War, that the Kurds were divided through the new frontiers of the Middle East. Today we could set up new democratic states. I am sure that if you ask the question to the Kurds, the majority will be in favor of the independence of Kurdistan. The question is not whether there will be a Kurdish state in Iraq, but when will that be. This is the problem.. Will drawing new frontiers offer a better future? I don't know Borders inherited from Sykes-Picot are not sacred and it will be necessary to restudy them. But what I'm worried about is It is to see if we are going to correct a mistake by making another one. The revival of Kurdish ambitions has opened a new front in the war against acts of violence. A speed race has begun between the Peshmergas, allies of the Westerners, and the Arab tribes to take control of liberated areas. What's after Daesh revives rivalry between Kurds and Arabs, two popuulations who claim the same land. Let me give you an example. In some combat zones, in the province of Hasakeh, in western Syria, as the Kurds advanced with the help of Americans, where did the populations take refuge? Did they flee north, in Kurdish areas? Or did they flee to the South, in areas always controlled by the Radical Islamist group? Well, they went south. They were more afraid of Kurds than Daesh. This is going to be a great opportunity for the Radical Islamist group to recruit new fighters. In the end, who benefits from this global conflict against Daesh today? They benefit the Kurds in the first place, who, thanks to Daesh, were able to expand their territory. In Iraq, they got their hands on Kirkurk and they won't let him go. They got Sinjar back. Again, Sinjar was a part of Iraq and they will not let it go either. In Syria, they will undoubtedly succeed to make their big Kurdistan in northern Syria. So I would say that they may be the first winners. Who will stop the advancement of Peshmergas? A regional power is ready for anything to break its momentum. From the first hours of the Syrian war, Türkiye supported extremist organizations. has long shared a common border with Daesh and served as a hub for volunteers of the whole world. The city of San Lurfa was even nicknamed The “little Raqqa” in reference to the capital of the Radical Islamist group. I do not think that Türkiye likes the Radical Islamist group, but for a long time, Türkiye tolerated it. They fuelled Daesh. We shouldn't say that they wanted Daesh to win. They wanted Daesh to annoy everyone. President Erdogan introduces himself as the ally of Westerners. He always said he was fighting Daesh, until a video revealed how these Secret services clandestinely delivered weapons to the extremists. The police receives information and decides to intercept these trucks. They are arrested and searched, but it turns out that the drivers are Turkish Secret Services agents. Once they came down, they pretended to transport humanitarian aid. Then the government intervenes and orders the police to release the drivers. And finally, they order to let trucks pass through Syria. The journalist who revealed the double game of the president was convicted to five years in prison. On the day of his trial, an armed man runs up to him and shoots several bullets to the ground before being stopped. Assassination attempt or rude manipulation. In Türkiye, the war against Daesh is a matter of state secrecy. Concerning Daech, Türkiye had been allowing them for years to enter the national territory, to have training camps in the country and to use them to train combatants. Activists are armed and sent back across the border. These camps are also used to treat the injured. The priority of the Turks is the Kurds and not the Radical Islamist group. For them, problem number 1, It is to ensure that the autonomy the Kurds in Iraq is not contagious, that no sustainable connection is established between the Kurds of Iraq and the Kurds of Syria all along the border and even less between these Kurds there and the Kurds in Türkiye. It's getting obsessive, it's becoming central. Under pressure from the international community, the Turkish army resolved to enter war with the Radical Islamist group. They built a safety wall along its border, bomb the extremists in their positions and occupies part of Syria. The Turks are hitting, but they're trying to find targets that can give the impression that these are strikes against Daesh and strikes to hit the Kurds. Sometimes it's both. So we're still in ambiguity, more than ever. Leaving his attempted coup powerful, President Erdogan hijacks the fight against Daesh to launch another war, inside as well as outside its borders. It opposes him to Kurdish movements who are fighting for their independence. The global war against Daesh has escalated In a conflict where no one has control at the end. The fight against acts of violence has left place for a new war where we fight for control of land and populations. Bombing without a serious political program can weaken Daesh, but not eliminate it. What will the after Daesh era look like? If we were able to provide a response to the inhabitants of Mosul, we could rally the whole city to our cause. But what will their future be after Daesh? What vision do we have for this future? Nobody wants to talk about this. What will the post-Daesh era look like? The war has already made hundreds of thousands of victims and transformed the region into a huge refugee camp. Chaos feeds extremism and terror overflows from the borders of the Middle East. The strength of Daesh is not a military force. That is what we need to understand, otherwise, we fall into the Daesh trap that consists of considering that the conflict is only regulated militarily, without offering people solutions and alternatives to what offers them the Radical Islamist group. But we must recognize that these hates and fears are a reality, that we can't make people who have fought each other live side by side and that it will certainly take a lot of time to get them back to living together. Western bombings have pushed back the borders of the caliphate. All armies, Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds and even Turks are now converging on its territory with the same ambition, take the place of the Radical Islamist group. No foreign power wants to be responsible of city control like Raqqa or Mosul. So who is going to rule them? Who will ensure their safety? Americans, even today, have no response. From the top of its mountain, This monastery witnessed every invasion since the 4th century. Built by the first Christians, It is located on the front line that separates the territory from the new barbarians of Iraq. At the front row to watch history go by. Mosul is right in front of us. You can see the lights of the city at night. Since Daesh attacked the valley of Ninawa, on August 6, 2014, it is empty. There is no one left. Daesh has arrived to the gates of your monastery? Yes, they made it to the junction, there, and then they went back. Could they have come in? Yes, of course. They could have blown it up, as they did with other locations. Does Iraq still exist? No Just by name. Can you hear? Is that a Daesh location? Yes. Does your balcony overlook the war? Exactly. We are used to it. Each night, the lights of Mosul shine like black suns, taunting the enemies of the Caliphate. They are the fires of this other war that is only at its beginning.