by
Ronald C. Alexander Ph.D.

The Memorial:

Combat photographer Joseph Rosenthal photographed the raising of the U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi, in opposition to the Japanese occupation of Iwo Jima, a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean on 23 February 1945. This epic challenge by Marines, Navy Corpsmen and Army Airmen, lasted from 19 February to 26 March 1945, during World War II.

Synthesizing the image of Marines performing above and beyond, the Marine Corps War Memorial reinforces the acts of Marines who faithfully defined themselves under the tyranny of war.

Dedicated on 10 November 1954, the 179th anniversary of the inauguration of the U.S. Marine Corps, the Marine Corps War Memorial stands at the entry way to Arlington National Cemetery. To maintain the monument’s grandeur, a refurbishment will conclude in 2016, a project not performed since the dedication.

Both instruments present and honor the distinguished acts of courage, fidelity, commitment and sacrifice of United States Marines. At this time, whether or not the Associated Press has exclusive rights to this production, that argument diverts the critique.

Present condition in Syria:

Now, at this hour, the monument that we Marines, and the society of all citizens of the United States of America, regard with high thoughtfulness, a group of fighters called Jaysh al-Muwahhideen, organized in 2013 to defend their demographic interests and ally with the Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian government, now taking place, in the Syrian Civil War, have taken and used the monument’s representation, converting it into a Druze logo, replacing the U.S. flag with the Druze state flag.

Druze interests rest in select zones of the Syrian area of responsibility, specifically in Suwayda, Deraa and Damascus governorates. Peoples Committees have generated forces to oppose Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda-affiliate, and other groups engaged in its area of operations, thus supporting the Assad regime.

Recent leadership and decisions:

In 1982, during the administration of President Ronald Reagan, the Department of Defense formulated a peace keeping force in Lebanon. A civil war continued between with Christian and Muslim militias; and, the Israeli incursion from the south added pressure on the Lebanese military. To assist this country, a multi-national force structure was proposed.

U.S. Marines, organized as a buffer between opposing forces, came ashore and took positions in the capital of Beirut. Within weeks, the Marines began to take fire from different sectors, which included a Druze militia group. Led by Walid Jumblatt, the Druze fighters, in a summer offensive, launched rockets from their Chouf mountain citadel into Marine Corps defensive positions.

In 2000, after twenty-four years of political austerity and vassaldom, Jumblatt, the leader of the Lebanese Progressive Socialist Party, has proceeded to diminish Lebanon’s attachment to the uber-authoritarian protocols of the Syrian military and President Hafez Al-Assad’s regime in Damascus.

In 2006, Jumblatt, in an open forum, attacked the current Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, when referring to the assassination of former Syrian President Adib al-Shishakli (19 JUL 1953 – 1 MAR 1954). Nawaf Ghazaleh, a member of a Druze clan in Syria, killed Shishakli, who had sought exile in Brazil.

Recently, in an interview for Asharq Al-Awsat, 26 February 2015, Jumblatt stated that he would not consider the al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front “ … a terrorist group as long as it has one Syrian person among its members. It is not a terrorist group and this debate should come to an end.”

Sheikh Ghassan Halabi, adviser to Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Naim Hasan, has also revolved a policy of political neutrality but adds, “… any fight is forbidden outside the framework of self-defense, which is a sacred and fair right when used in a rational and balanced manner.”

On the other hand, the vice president of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon, Tawfiq Mhanna, when having an interview with An-Nahar,

advanced the idea that considers “the Druze in Syria as Syrian citizens first and Druze second.” He said, “We do not believe these proposals are capable of ensuring the security of any members of Syrian society. What preserves and protects all Syrian people is their unity against terrorism.”

Another cleric in Syria, Sheikh Yusef Jarboo, motivated by the attacks against Druze in northwest Syria, that left at least twenty Druze dead, in the village of Qalb Lawzeh, Idlib province, and in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana, warned of sectarian strife. “Our only choice is to repel and refuse the entry of any terrorist group into the area of Suwayda.” He extended this point by telling a Lebanese based news channel, Al Mayadeen, that thousands of Druze fighters had taken up arms “under the umbrella” of the Syrian military.

Recently, on 30 SEP 2015, Russian air attacks in the Homs region of Syria demonstrates a deepening geo-political motive for securing the Assad regime and reinforcing the regimes repressive talents and its primacy of force to influence the present socio-political environment.

Historic linkage – Trading allegiances:

During military operations in World War II, British and Free French forces planned to move into the French Mandate of Syria, in its Syrian-Lebanon Campaign (June–July 1941). The mandate made a political formation, designed by the Sykes-Picot Agreement between Britain and France, and guaranteed by the League of Nations, following the fall of the Ottoman Empire in World War I.

The State of Jabal Druze, included as a part of the mandate, remained as an independent, political entity between 1921 to 1936. The capital located in As-Suwayda, governing a population of some 50,000, mainly of Druze orientation.

The Allies, in order to alert the Druze population to its logistical mission and relief operation, offered Amal al-Atrash (AKA as Asmahan), a well known stage and screen celebrity, and cousin to the Sultan Pasha al-Atrash, the leader of the Syrian Revolution (1925-1927), an opportunity to assist the formation of a free Syria. With her influence, the Allies wanted her to contact other Druze leaders in the Jabal al-Druze area of operations and convince them not to take up arms and support Vichy France.

After the date of the invasion passed, no allied authorities directed the formation of an independent Syria or Lebanon. This “betrayal” provided a reason for Asmahan to try and contact the Nazis. Allied security prevented her from reaching the German ambassador in neutral Turkey and returned her to Beirut, Lebanon.

Illustrative Evidence:

Observation:

Obviously, the position of changing allegiances in the Jabal al-Druze does not occur from a vacuum. The concept of Taqiyya, the outward concealment of one’s faith in order to conform to political and sectarian persecution and/or subjugation, remains as an undeniable ego defense which serves to protect the individual and the state against external and internal threat.

The Druze-Syrian use of the MCWM has not one principal connected in a relationship with the United States Government, Department of Defense, Department of the Navy or to the United States Marine Corps.

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