The Syrian civil war displays a history of incomprehensible atrocity and wanton crime — all of which have severely crippled the region. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has continually been depicted as the arch criminal, and it is true that he is responsible for the greater part of the murders, violations and exploitation of innocent people. Yet, as the war continues, he has come to have rivals in outright criminality. The link between insurgent groups and organized crime has long been a feature in intrastate conflicts. In a civil war, insurgents live in a shady underworld where they increasingly resort to crime to obtain funds and weapons for their operations. The Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka became famous for imposing a “revolutionary tax,” and insurgents in Iraq raised funds through a mixture of extorting, looting, vandalizing, kidnapping and smuggling.
As the revolt drags on, Syria’s insurgents increasingly become more and more lawless, and the view of many Middle East experts is that they are undercutting their own program of winning hearts and minds to overthrow Assad.
