Normalcy Bias, Rojava, AntiFa, and the Bigger Picture

It’s easy for many to dismiss AntiFa as nothing more than street thugs; little organization, little experience, little threat to anyone or anything other than at public demonstrations. After all its much easier to reduce an enemy in your head to nothing more than what you want to believe. While a lot of folks went to sleep after the 2016 election, others found a cause.

With the battlefields of Syria raging, anarchism and syndicalism found a natural home among the socialist Kurds of the Rojava region of northern Syria. Bordering Turkey to the north and Iraqi Kurdistan to the east, the Kurdish YPG (or People’s Protection Units in English) found itself in need of foreign volunteers. While Americans fighting ISIS in Iraq has been going on since the rapid rise in the extremists’ power, it was mostly limited to prior service Vets who had specific knowledge of the region. I was approached in mid-2015 as part of a group to aid the Peshmerga in Kirkuk who were concerned with not just ISIS but the expanding influence of Iran in Iraqi politics. I declined for many reasons, some personal, some not; we had bigger problems at home and despite what some think, they might be worse now.

With the Obama years waning and the election of President Trump, disaffected Leftists no doubt inspired by tales of the Socialist International and Anarchist Brigades of the Spanish Civil War found a new enemy in ISIS. Europeans, Canadians and Americans all flooded the Rojava region by 2017 looking for purpose, looking for revolution, and above all, looking to take the fight to what they saw as another form of fascism, the Islamic State. The Socialists, Anarchists, Syndicalists and Communists who comprise AntiFa saw common cause in what they named the “Rojava Revolution.”

Many of the volunteers lacked any sort of military experience, resulting in a brief guerrilla camp called only the Academy. Established to train them in the art of fire and maneuver, small arms marksmanship and crew-served weapons employment the month-long course was designed to rapidly create effective guerrilla fighters. Instructed by both veteran Peshmerga and battle-hardened foreign Communists, the course had seen success in many areas, including training informal Snipers to be used in Kobane. From Rolling Stone:

More foreigners arrived, all leftists, and they formed a sniper unit. “This was the first internationalist team,” Franceschi said, showing me a photo of himself in Kobani alongside a Spanish anarchist, a British Kurd and Keith Broomfield, the first American known to have died in the ranks of the YPG. “A lot of comrades were martyred during that time,” Franceschi said. “There was a lot of violence. But believe me, there was so much warmth. The conversation, the intimacy that you get knowing that you’re fighting for something and that you’re in the right. There were no ranks. You could go to your general, slap him behind his head and ask him for a cigarette. It was amazing. I had the time of my life, even though I lost my best friends there.”

The fundamental question is what happens to those battlefield skills once the war stops? The situation in Rojava has changed dramatically even since 2017. Pressured by relations with both the Syrian and Iraqi governments, as well as the evolving US policy of supporting the YPG with air strikes, the culture fostering AntiFa on the ground in Rojava has come to an end. But has their ‘Revolution’? Some chose to take their skills to the next battleground in Ukraine. From another article in Rolling Stone:

But when Clark and Wilmeth tried to go back, their contact told them the YPG no longer had the ability to bring foreigners over the Iraqi border. Shut out of Syria, the two of them began making plans to go to Ukraine, a front line against Kremlin aggression since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Clark ended up staying behind, but Wilmeth went in March. In April, he was joined by Benton, who seems to have developed a rather winking relationship with the Scotland Yard agents keeping tabs on him. They joined a militia known as the Georgian Foreign Legion, on the side of the Ukrainian nationalists against the Russian-backed separatists. Hundreds of foreign fighters from a dozen or more countries have been reported on both sides of the war in Donbass.

What of the revolutionaries who didn’t find another fight overseas? It would not be a stretch to say their revolution is here at home. Those skills forged in combat will be used to teach others realities of guerrilla warfare. They have shown the motivation and they have a united cause. Falling into the normalcy bias of Leftists simply resorting to shouting folks down and minor clashes is a trap- they are armed, they have a combat experienced cadre behind the scenes, and they have financial power structures behind them. These are not the sunshine leftists of the boomer generation. All of the dog and pony show of ad campaigns, political stunts and campus demonstrations will lead to violence- its only a matter of time. AntiFa is serious about what they’re doing. Are you?

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28 Comments

  1. mikrat September 21, 2018 at 09:09

    “…They have shown the motivation and they have a united cause.”

    That.

    You could also add Organized.

    Waiting for that 1 Republican Savior to solve all our woes has not worked for……… well forever. They have not helped this country for the last 200 years and will do nothing but steer a different course for the globalist ‘s destination.

    I hope We are ready.

    • Chas September 22, 2018 at 12:35

      We are never ready, we are always standing by…. Identify your targets in your AO and practice…

    • J mish September 28, 2018 at 13:41

      There is a terrosit group in Middle East called intifada and Antifi sounds the same and act the same.

      • NC Scout September 30, 2018 at 19:08

        They are not the same.

  2. PARTNERING WITH EAGLES September 21, 2018 at 09:18

    Important to know who your “friends” are, as opposed to real allies. I appreciate the gravity of this situation Scout; however, how many “irons” must we have in the fire? Choose any compass point and their is an issue. Obama’s infiltration in our government with Islamic persons tied to terrorist organizations, as well as a fifth column created in the Air Force, in my opinion ought to be eradicated first. Second, we can’t spread ourselves thin; focus on a few major issues, clean out the vermin and then move on. What say you?

    • NC Scout September 21, 2018 at 13:13

      How do you suggest ‘eradicating’ bad actors in the military?

      And who exactly is ‘we’?

  3. Bryce Sharper September 21, 2018 at 12:02

    “But-but-but I have 1000 rounds of .223 and an AR! I’m ready!”

    This was a sobering article. Thank you. People who waste their early years in their 20s and even 30s practicing street violence for Antifa groups don’t have any other skills for the rest of their lives. All they know is what they did in their early years. They justify their early years as “fighting for justice” and that propels them to continue the behavior, even if it’s by other means as they age. I see it on my own street with retired Leftist Baby Boomers. They’re not going away anytime soon. Remember Bill Ayers was a 70s Communist terrorist who found a better home in the halls of power. A similar thing happened in Brazil: Communist guerrillas from the middle class fought the military dictatorship and those who weren’t killed were imprisoned. They were later pardoned and many are now elected officials.

    One way or another, these people are here to stay.

  4. Anonymous September 22, 2018 at 09:51

    5

  5. Dirk Williams September 22, 2018 at 12:40

    The swamp is getting drained, just today on Brietbart, Drudge, etc, etc, the story was the president IS going after their comms, I.E., face book, Twitter, Google,via written law, ” AntiTrust laws. Breaking thes culls up, will decide their attention. Their fighting a multi headed committed foe, The US Govt, which just happens to have pretty much unlimited resources.

    Their tactics, their stradegy is being flipped, which is exactly what has been done from day one. Used them against themselves. If nothing else, Trump has suckered these Marxist out of the shadows, their exposed, their known on a personal level. Their individually going to fight for their part of the rice bowl.

    While many here are not trump,supports, this guy has literally and masterfully shoved it up their rears. He understand that divided they fall, antitrust issues are the appropriate avenue to dismantle the orginizations pulling the strings. The tariffs, ARE, the right thing to do, to MAGA.

    DC, is eating itself alive. While many here don’t agree, now IS the time to get out and vote, we need to hold the moral ethical legal high ground, before were pushed into armed conflict. History needs to reflect that the patriots held the high ground until the bullets flew. And they will fly.

    After that it’s time to kill em all, but only after trials for crimes against America, the nation, the people.

    Tic Toc!.

    Dirk

  6. Ohio John September 22, 2018 at 12:57

    Evil just doesn’t go away because you ask it to. You have to kill it.

    Between Islam, Antifa, looney left and the freeloaders this country is already toast. Most people just don’t realize it yet because their cellphones haven’t told them. The just-us department is stuffed with these people and they are actively protecting them and at the very least ignoring them and allowing them to fester just under the surface.
    It’s too late to work through the justice system and it’s too early to start shooting the little bastards. Anyone who does go after one of these groups, if they survive, will get the full weight of the corrupt government dropped on them.

    My wife is a retired nurse and I’ve got an Engineering firm that I run from my home in the country. We’ve got a small farm. The worst I have to deal with out here are feral cats and foxes taking my chickens. My life is good and I’m not quite ready to toss it in the dumpster to take out a few vermin that are causing problems. The day will come but it’s just not today.

    Our problem is that the people on our side are good. We don’t want to cause problems. We don’t want to start riots. We don’t want to hit people with bike locks. We work to get along with most people and this is what the left is using against us. Our inherent good nature. We’re not rats.

    I don’t have a solution at this time. I don’t think anyone has but the day is coming when we’ll have no choice but to take out the trash.

    John

    • Sandy Beech September 28, 2018 at 15:02

      No need to wonder what their agenda is. This explains it.
      [link removed by AP staff]
      We are literally in a battle to preserve our cultures, values, morales, freedoms, and possibly even our lives. We MUST vote them all out. This is bigger than just the USA; it is world wide. Trump was the monkey wrench in their plans. If Clinton had won she would have finished off what Obama started.

      side note: Hitler loved Islam, allied with them, and employed over 1500 of them to work his death camps. WWI also saw our enemies allied with Islam. See a pattern here? Who’s allying with them now, Democrats/Liberals. Vote them out.

  7. Scurvy September 22, 2018 at 17:39

    NC Scout, Thanks for opening the curtain just a little more. They have plenty of cannon fodder to throw into the breach, now I am aware they have the skills and operational experience to effectively direct they.

    Identify them in your AO, if you can, and pass along to your trusted network.

  8. Rob September 23, 2018 at 11:57

    This article was an eye opener, thank you. It brought me back into history with the Christero and Spanish civil wars among others. We on the right are not prepared, organized financially or just organized as a whole. Seems history is once again repeating with the same actors and with the same script.

  9. VoorTrekker September 23, 2018 at 20:51

    On other survivalist boards, people mock Anti-Fa. I don’t think the people who have been injured by unprovoked assaults think that Anti-Fa are pinko pansies. Underestimating an enemy seems to be a status quo feature of the “right.” Another is the over assessment of self–ego.

    I have always thought that every threat should be treated as a serious matter. I may be from the “boomer” generation, but I do empathize with the Gen Zyklon and millennials. “Train and be ready, for that day will come…” (retired Infantry NCO)

    • NC Scout September 24, 2018 at 06:00

      They mock what they refuse to understand. But since most of those types are either long past their prime blowhards or never-gonna-be basement dwellers, it’s easier just to do that and it’ll never challenge their outlook. They should stick to AR vs AK debates.

      AntiFa has a hardened cadre they’ve groomed by combat. That experience is not going to waste. You couple that with a complicit DOJ, State Department, and Intelligence Agencies all in open sedition and you have an incredibly serious threat on your hands. There has to be some sort of logical conclusion to their actions. Unlike the Right under Clinton and later Obama, they actually will act and will be doing so. Its not about one spectacular event, its about small local action building up to something larger. The Left is already fighting a dirty war.

      • rented mule September 27, 2018 at 01:00

        doxx them if possible and disseminate that information as far & wide as possible.

        • NC Scout September 27, 2018 at 05:14

          What if they don’t care? Cases like Eric Clanton’s only embolden them, and they are protected by the power structure that feeds them.

    • Roave October 2, 2018 at 07:56

      Just take a closer look at that ‘ protest march ‘ that was held in Hamburg this year… the military training was oozing out of it. Camouflage, misdirection, squad tactics, hit & run, disperse & disappear. One guy was IDed and prossecuted…1.

      There was an incident a few years back, where a student in class said that ‘…not all things Hitler brought about were bad in the long run ( Autobahn, the Beetle, work, food, …)…’ . Less then an hour later, he came out of the school grounds, into the street, where suddenly two cars boxed him in on the pavement. Four masked persons jumped out, grabbing his arms & legs…smacked him with his back anginst the wall ( of the school building …), and another guy jumped out of the car wielding a knife, called him all sorts of evil…and plunged the knife in his chest… . All this in broad daylight, with more than a dozen eyewitnesses. It never made the news, nobody was arrested…’ nothing happened ‘. Till somebody who witnessed it contacted a rightwing politician who put someone on it. The license plates on the vehicles were tracked down to the motorpool of the Socialist Party in the next county… . If that isn’t a well trained network, I don’t know what is.

  10. Mo September 28, 2018 at 11:56

    These Groups are nothing but Domestic Terrorists and should be treated as such. They are Anti-American HATE Groups funded by New World Order Elitests wh hate America and what it stands for, FREEDOM. The NWO only wants to control us.

  11. Rosemary September 28, 2018 at 13:17

    MO hit the nail everyone has been missing . TheGlobalism is behind the more ,radical that usual, of the media and the democrats ! Even Mrs Fords attorney is in cahoots with Soros. Trump interfered with the globalists agenda. They have had to wait through four previous presidents and thought their wait was finally over with Hillary. They are not going to back off on pressure and I feel anyone that backs the GOP will have retribution. The Elites must have their way. God gave this earth to the people to oversee and take care of but they believe they are supreme and will have their ways. I don’t Think our creator is in their minds as anyone that can make the rules in this world! God help us all!

  12. Anonymous September 28, 2018 at 16:16

    4.5

  13. Mike Kevitt September 28, 2018 at 21:30

    I’ve always suspected ANTIFA was serious and well prepared. I’m serious against ANTIFA, too, given my little means. What about law enforcement? What about the National Guards? What about even the regular Army, even on U.S. soil if ANTIFA actually gets out of control? What about U.S. military action abroad to destroy all sources of physical support of ANTIFA? What about cutting off all financial support of ANTIFA and punishing those who have given them financial support? How about launching a relentless nationwide propaganda program against ANTIFA, propagating the right ideas? That would be the widest, farthest reaching and longest term measure to take. We have the means, easily, for all this. We would be fools to not do whatever necessary to destroy ANTIFA as soon as possible. If ANTIFA ever succeeds in its ultimate goal, we will deserve it.

  14. Mike Kevitt September 29, 2018 at 21:15

    ANTIFA is a very misguided organization.

  15. […] they go when the war stops being “over there” and starts being “over here”? And they are not the only ones getting combat training on a two way range. Maybe you should be seeking competent training of your own. We’ve got dates on the calendar […]

  16. […] that they have helped create on multiple fronts- and most dangerously, an influx of migrants and brainwashed Maoist intelligentsia. The Sino-Russian alliance has a clear goal that extends past simply partying in the US’ back […]

  17. Gideon November 29, 2018 at 16:34

    These people are clearly more dangerous than many have given them credit for.

  18. […] with them again. But with that said, it is important to understand that the region was (and is) home to a playground of hardcore leftists, which could potentially become a domestic rally cry for those products of Rojava. This is not a […]

  19. […] Currently their situation is the locus of crisis, under attack by Turkey, abandoned by the US, and turning to allegiance with western Syria, Iran, and Russia in a desperate struggle for survival amid the vacuum of the US pullout from the region. Hotly contested across both ends of the political aisle, the question of the Kurds in Syria and Iraq were a point of interest for both the mainstream Right in an effort to find a stable ally in the region and the Left, which viewed the social policies and internal politics of the Kurds as a model for praxis in leftism. Involved in combat for at least the past five years, leftist activists romanticizing the Spanish Civ…. […]

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