Coronavirus (COVID19) and the mechanisms of Special Warfare

In the opening months of the new decade, humanity has come face to face with a new life threatening virus. With over 1.1 Million cases reported worldwide and counting, as of this moment there looks to be no slowing down at least for this moment in time. Interestingly what has emerged within the thoughts of many people is how the Coronavirus has opened up many questions and feelings about the power of the state and capital. This report will look into how the nation states along with capitalism have taken advantage of the current pandemic to further their own exercise of power over society. In particular, we will look into how Special Warfare plays a significant role in the nation state’s desire to maintain control.

1.) Unconventional Warfare in Syria

Here in the Autonomous Administration we have already seen for ourselves how the both the regime and the Turkish Invasion have used special warfare tactics in an attempt to destabilize the revolution. As we are already aware there 3 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus within the Borders of Syria. However, the Syrian Regime in order to protect its own image as a state, initially refused to admit that the virus had indeed entered Syrian territory. Only after the pressure from both from the International Health Organizations and internal health concerns was a response finally made. The Autonomous Administration was already concerned about the impact the Virus could have on the society within NE, Syria. The border to Iraq was closed when the Virus began to show itself in Başûr and schools in NE Syria were suspended to prevent children from contracting the virus. Not long afterwards a lockdown was put into action by AA which continues till now.

Because the World Health Organization only officially recognizes al-Assad regime this has meant that AA has to speak with Damascus in order attain much needed medical supplies and support in order to combat the spread of the virus. The Regime is aware of this and abuses this power in order to undermine the Autonomous Administration. We have already seen this recently when the regime has refused to take test samples of potential Coronavirus patients from the Autonomous Administration.  Furthermore, the World Health Organization along with al-Assad regime have failed to provide the AA with the basic equipment needed to combat the supplies. It is clear that without the much needed supplies the Autonomous Administration will be placed under enormous stress.

Turkey despite facing the threat of Coronavirus within their own borders, continues in coordination with their Jihadist Allies in the SNA to attack the regions of the Autonomous Administration on an almost daily basis using low intensity warfare. Turkey knows that even through low intensity warfare, they can continue in their efforts to threaten the revolution within Northern Syria.  As result of the Turkish Invasion of Northern Syria, there are increasing concerns for the welfare of 1000’s of IDPs within the camps are existed across northern Syria. Without much needed provisions and equipment needed to aid the refugees especially now the Coronavirus could have a disastrous effect on the 600,000 IDPs in Northern Syria. And now with the growing unrest among the ISIS captives currently detained in the Prisons and camps throughout Northern Syria. Nation States across the world have for too long ignored the dangers the ISIS captives present for their self-interest. And for Turkey an ISIS insurgency would definitely serve their interests. The Occupation forces in Northern Syria have also been committing acts of sabotage on the Infrastructures that supply much needed water to al-Hasakah province. These actions have left almost 500,000 people without access to Water. These tactics are used by the enemy not only in an attempt to try to destabilize and weaken the region, but are also tactics that can be used as a prelude to a potential invasion of the region.

2.) Psychological Warfare in the United Kingdom:

When the Coronavirus began to infect the citizens of the UK, Boris Johnson initially ruled out the possibility of a lockdown. Ignoring warnings from medical experts, Johnson along with his chief advisor Dominic Cummings (Founder of the Brexit campaign and the conservative election campaign) decided to implement the strategy of ‘Herd Immunity’. Because of this for a while no extra safety measures were implemented. There was no lockdown, most if not all businesses continued to operate, schools remained open, employers refused to pay more than basic sick pay to staff who fell ill.

The reason behind this strategy was simple. The conservative led government knew all too well that while a lockdown could help prevent further spread of the virus, the British economy would no doubt suffer as a result, they had a choice and they decided that the interests of capitalism, not its own people needed to be protected. Although the government decided to eventually introduce a lockdown, the damage was already done. Thousands became infected with the virus and now we are seeing the dire consequences of this initial decision. Even now there are still many problems the UK face. They simply do not have enough medical equipment vitally needed to fight an outbreak and due to their late response are still failing to do this despite the fact that there is already means to remedy this problem in in quick succession. Despite many people being out of work and unable to earn a basic living. The capitalist class are still seeking to maintain their profits. Landlords are still expecting tenants to continue paying their rent and there have already been evictions implemented.

Now it would be expected that the British government would see the fatal error in their judgment and simply admit they made a bad decision. But again they took a different approach and shifted the blame to the society. They argued that it was the selfish nature of the people that was to blame for the spread of the disease. Capitalist modernity has always used this false narrative to justify their control over society. They do this by propagating right wing ideologies that argue in favor of a society based on selfish individualism. The philosophy of Ayn Rand and game theory are prime examples of this. Through propagating false narratives like this, the UK government were able to introduce a series of new legal powers at the expense of many civil liberties. While there were a handful of incidents that the conservatives exploited to justify their position, what was really happening was in fact the opposite. All over the country communities were beginning to organize and help each other. They did this through volunteering as care workers and establishing mutual aid groups. This, unlike the UK government’s approach is a collectivist approach based a common interest.

3.) Systemic Warfare in Hungary:

While Britain has used a more psychological approach when it comes to special warfare. In Hungary we are beginning to see a more systemic attack from the state onto society, on March 30th The Prime Minister, Viktor Orban passed a new legislation through parliament. This legislation has now prolonged the state of emergency indefinitely. Which means the state can now rule by decree? There can be no elections, no rallies and the head of state can make any future decision without referring to lawmakers. This has also dealt a major blow to press freedom as well, as any published information that contradict the official stance in regards public protection can lead up to a conviction of five years in prison. Even in Local democratic structures, the government now also wants to effectively take over the running of these municipalities by ‘supervising’ the decisions of directly elected leaders. And because Orban’s political party has a large majority, it will be next to impossible to fight this through the constitutional courts. Orban is the another example of an authoritarian taking advantage of a crisis and feeding off the fears of the pandemic to exercise supreme political power. What is even more dangerous is that this latest act can potentially lead other right wing governments to implement their own anti-democratic measures to sustain their political power.

This political act draws similarities to Adolf Hitler’s Enabling Act of 1933, where after the Reichstag Fire the Nazis exploited this to suspend the electoral system. Which then saw widespread oppression against their political opponents. Although there were many voices of concern towards Orban’s recent grab for total power, Many of the European Union’s top leadership have remained silent over the situation in Hungary. Hungary like other countries are now looking at other models of political power such as Russia, China and Turkey and are now coming to the consensus that authoritarianism not democracy can solve the problems of society, including the Coronavirus. It becoming ever more apparent that many European Nations are shifting towards a harder right authoritarian position and this recent political coup by Orban will strengthen the totalitarian cause and promote a new wave of ultra-nationalism.

ANHA