Quicksilver War: Syria, Iraq and the Spiral of Conflict

by William Harris

Quicksilver War is 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 brutalising 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 manoeuvring mutate into years of further violence? An absorbing history charting the long afterlife of the 1857 'Indian Mutiny' and the Victorians' macabre fetish for collecting body parts.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 26, 2017

About the author

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William Harris (two spaces) - psychiatrist
William Harris (three spaces)
William Harris (four spaces) - MD
William Harris (five spaces) - 18th century British historian
William Harris (six spaces) - British Presbyterian minister
William Harris (seven spaces)
William Harris (eight spaces) - self help

Reviews

[Jill Cordry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing is very academic, and it is not a quick read. However, it really helps one understand the complexities of 2011 to the present in the Levant and Euphrates area of conflict.

And what a tangled web of conflicting motives and desires. Local powers: the Syrian Regime, the Syrian Sunni Rebels, Syrian Islamic Rebels, Syrian Jihadist Rebels, Hezbollah, Syrian Kurds, Iraqi Kurds, Turkish Kurds, Iraqi Turkmen, Iraqi Sunnis, ISIS, the Shi'a government in Baghdad. Regional powers utilizing soft and hard power: Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel. And the big guys: USA and Russia. Nothing is simple.

[Grouchy Historian · Rating 4 out of 5]

In depth study of the bloody war in Syria and Iraq from 2011-2017. Looks at the conflict through the lens of all the regional actors and the US and Russia. Well researched and written, it leaves you feeling there are no real winners or losers, just geopolitics and destruction.