Quicksilver War Syria, Iraq and the Spiral of Conflict [Hardcover]

Quicksilver Waris a panoramic political history of the wars that coursed through Syria and Iraq in the wake of the 'Arab Spring' and eventually merged to become a regional catastrophe: a kaleidoscopic and constantly shifting conflict involving many different parties and phases. William Harris distils the highly complex dynamics behind the conflict, starting with the brutalizing Baathist regimes in Damascus and Baghdad. He charts the malignant consequences of incompetent US occupation of Iraq and Bashar al-Assad's self-righteous mismanagement of Syria, through the implosion of Syria, and the emergence of eastern and western theatres of war focused respectively on future control of Syria and the challenge of ISIS. Beyond the immediate arena of conflict, geopolitical riptides have also been set in motion, including Turkey's embroilment in the war and the shifting circumstances of the Kurds. This sweeping history addresses urgent questions for our time. Will the world rubber-stamp and bankroll the Russian-led 'solution' in Syria, backed by Turkey and Iran? Is the 'Quicksilver War' about to reach an explosive finale? Or will ongoing political maneuvering mutate into years of further violence?

Introduction

CHAPTER ONE: THE WAR TAKES SHAPE, 2011-2014

CHAPTER TWO: WAR IN SYRIA AND IRAQ, 2014-2017

CHAPTER THREE: KURDS AT WAR, 2014-2017

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CONLCUSION

The catastrophic conflict in Syria and Iraq doesn't lend itself to easy analysis. But William Harris, a politics prof at the University of New Zealand, is a knowledgeable guide. --Toronto Star

Combining factual breadth with analytical depth, this fine account of the Syrian and Iraqi conflicts manages to highlight both their intertwined character and key differences between the two countries' respective history and internal dynamics. It also challenges short-term explanations of the current fragmental#s