Written by | Head of the Syrian Future Movement, Dr. Zaher Badrani
The Syrian Military Council is a project aimed at forming a military body comprising officers who have defected from the Syrian regime and officers affiliated with the current military establishment. The goal is to form a leadership that will lead Syria toward a transitional phase, form the nucleus for restructuring the entire Syrian Arab Army, and protect civil peace and cultural heritage.
It is no secret to observers that the person spearheading this project is Brigadier General Manaf Mustafa Tlass, who defected from the Assad regime’s military establishment in July 2012. He is the son of former Defense Minister General Mustafa Tlass, who enjoys relative international, regional, and Arab acceptance.
The idea of establishing the Military Council emerged publicly years ago, during which Tlass made contacts with Arab and Western countries, which opened the door for Russia’s desire to meet and listen to him, in addition to meeting with security and military figures from the United States of America (outside it), as well as Turkish diplomats and security officials. It seemed almost impossible for the international community to accept him (as a successor president) to Bashar al-Assad, contrary to what was promoted at the time! However, the project to assemble the Free Officers and establish a military council has continued to enjoy international support to this day. Its success remains tied to the extent of its realization on the ground by bringing together the officers and creating an acceptable combination among them (provided that the combination includes officers from all sects and ranks). To this day, Manaf Tlass has achieved significant successes. First, through his name, which has not been exposed in the media like other Syrian dissident figures—he rarely appears in the media—and second, through self-financial support (initially) from the godfather of the idea and the dynamo of the project, his brother, the economist and financier Firas Mustafa Tlass.
Indeed, the defecting brigadier general was able to collect the signatures of dozens, if not hundreds, of officers and non-commissioned officers at home and abroad, paving the way for the creation of an acceptable nucleus for his “Syrian Military Council” project.
A New Phase:
The announcement of the Military Council’s video statement yesterday, whether from the hills of Sweida or from the mountains of Latakia overlooking the city of Qardaha (as was reported), on the afternoon of Friday, August 11, 2023, by those calling themselves “Free Alawite Officers,” in which they declared their support for the Military Council headed by Manaf Tlass, represents a step toward a significant phase, as it came one day after a televised interview with Bashar al-Assad on Sky News Arabia, in which he affirmed the continuation of the political stalemate and his persistence with the mentality of a security solution and repression of the people and the revolution. He also declared the embalming of the Arab Initiative, based on the context of what he said.
The Importance of the Free Alawite Officers’ Statement:
The Free Alawite Officers’ statement in support of the “Syrian Military Council” represents an important step in laying the foundation for a political transition of power in Syria. Their statement will have reverberating reverberations that will be heard throughout the Muhajireen Palace in Damascus, not to mention the shaken confidence of the regime’s own officers in its leadership. Although the statement appears to be a media move, it comes within the context of a practical and realistic move within the framework of the formation of the “Syrian Military Council,” headed by a man who was, until recently, a close friend of Assad, both personally and institutionally.
In addition, establishing secure communication centers between officers of the Syrian Military Council at home and Manaf Tlass abroad will encourage other officers (Alawites and non-Alawites) to follow suit and join them sooner or later to form the structure and nucleus of the Syrian Military Council.
The announcement by Alawite officers that they are abandoning the Syrian regime is a significant indicator of the removal of the fear factor that has dominated the Alawite community for decades, on the one hand, and among officers from minority sects in Syria, on the other, whose support for Bashar al-Assad has exhausted and cost them dearly.
There is no doubt that Brigadier General Manaf Tlass is not pursuing this project alone today. Perhaps the international (orange) light will soon turn green with the emergence of signs of hidden international support, which could pave the way for the Syrian Military Council to carry out qualitative surgical security operations. Perhaps Arab League countries will adopt this approach as a practical response to the Syrian regime’s intransigence and rejection of the Arab Initiative.
Perhaps the presence of high-ranking military leaders—such as brigadiers—will prompt security agencies to adopt the “Syrian Military Council” project, aiming to steer it toward achieving goals that serve the interests of major powers like the United States in Syria. This will also provide new security information about the regime’s current military establishment, especially given the scarcity of current internal information and the lack of prospects for coordination with the Syrian opposition, with its current, flabby structures.
One of the strengths of the Syrian Military Council today is its success in consolidating its ranks without clashing with any faction or group on the ground, and its refusal to present itself as a potential alternative to any of them. This is evidenced by the Syrian Military Council’s attendance at the Syrian National Liberation Movement conference in Afrin on July 28, 2023, within the territory controlled by the Syrian opposition—an ally of Turkey. This certainly gives a practical sense of its flexibility in dealing with all de facto authorities.
The importance of the Syrian Military Council is evident in its ability to offer a non-confrontational solution to the SDF, should it decide to coordinate with it.
Conclusion
We, in the Syrian Future Movement, evaluate the Syrian Military Council today based on the words it will offer the Syrian people, supported by actions, and on its role in uniting free officers from all sects toward the goals of the Syrian revolution: toppling the Assad regime and preserving what remains of the Syrian state and its institutions!
We, in the Syrian Future Movement, believe that from now on, if the establishment of the Syrian Military Council succeeds, it must send clear assurances to our people that it will serve only as a safe bridge toward an institutionalized democratic system of government, not as the nucleus of a new military regime in a new guise. It is a Syrian Military Council working to bring down the Assad regime and ensure the unification of the military establishment toward the goal of protecting a smooth political transition of power in Syria.
Dr. Zaher Ihsan Badrani
Presidential Office
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Syrian Future Movement
