Category: Syria

Syria

The problem with leftist support for Syria’s Assad regime & How Syria divides the left

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There is currently a tenuous ceasefire in place between Assad and the rebel groups he is fighting. According to Al Jazeera Assad has made an offer to swap prisoners with the rebels as a gesture of goodwill. [This item’s no longer available.]

Truthout July 10, 2017: Daniel Falcone Interviewed Dr. Zunes
SZ: “Most credible academics and journalists on the left, while varying to some degree in their analyses, generally agree that the Syrian regime is horrifically repressive and not particularly progressive by any measure.  There is also a consensus that the bulk of the armed opposition is dominated by reactionary Salafist extremists and that the largely nonviolent movement that first emerged in 2011 had strong progressive and democratic elements, but has largely been crushed. Further, the U.S. and other outside powers (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, Russia, Iran, Hezbollah, Britain, France, etc.) should not be bombing, sending arms, providing troops or contributing to the carnage….”

From Gaza to Aleppo: A Handy Guide for Defending War Crimes

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In These Times, Huffington Post & ZNetwork.org October 7, 2016
   Given the United States’ disastrous record in the Middle East—most critically the invasion and occupation of Iraq—and the manifold lies coming out of Washington to justify its policies, many Americans are understandably skeptical about U.S. interventions and the rationalizations used to defend them. This leads many Americans to oppose both direct intervention in Syria and the arming of rebel factions—and rightly so.

Syria after the Ceasefire

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[The source link for this item’s no longer available.]
The partial ceasefire in Syria announced by the United States and Russia on February 23 has been met with less than overwhelming optimism, and, after so much bloodshed and the entrenchment of hardline positions, it is not hard to see why. The accord stipulates that the Syrian government and allied groups, including Russia, end attacks against opposition forces that are party to the agreement and these opposition forces suspend military operations. Both sides must refrain from seizing additional territory and allow “rapid, unhindered and sustained access” to humanitarian agencies. Even incomplete implementation would be good news for the Syrian people… [Full story]

Obama’s Escalation in Syria

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The Progressive November 5, 2015 [and the Huffington Post]
 Obama’s plan to send up to 50 U.S. Special Forces to “train, advise and assist” armed militia fighting forces of the so-called “Islamic State” in Syria marks an escalation in U.S. military involvement and raises serious legal, political, strategic, ethical, and constitutional questions and may open the way to a far larger and dangerous military entanglements.

The U.S. and ISIS

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The Progressive August 26, 2014: Already U.S. planes and missiles have been attacking ISIS forces in northern Iraq. Given the real threat of a heightened genocidal campaign against Yazidis and other minorities and the risks of ISIS control expanding into the Kurdish region, even some of those normally averse to unilateral U.S. military intervention abroad were willing to acknowledge it may have been the least bad option. Within days, however, there were already indications of “mission creep”…

Ruthless regimes not impervious to civil resistance: A reply to Maged Mandour

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Open Democracy November 1, 2013
Republished by International Center for Nonviolent Conflict
   There is little systematic evidence to suggest that “ruthlessness” is, in and of itself, a critical variable. Maged Mandour’s article on openDemocracy, “Beyond Civil Resistance: The Case of Syria”, argues that civil resistance has been marginalized in the Syrian insurrection because it doesn’t work  against “ruthless” regimes. But history doesn’t support that conclusion…

On Syria, most thoughtful people are torn

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Open Democracy October 5, 2013
Indeed, with the exception of some neo-conservatives and other hawks who apparently have never seen an opportunity for western intervention they didn’t like and some on the far left who assume that any regime hostile to western imperialism must be progressive, I’ve generally been impressed with the maturity of the debate around Syria.  Most thoughtful people are torn on these questions, myself included. Once again, however, Hashemi misrepresents me…

The US Has No Credibility Dealing With Chemical Weapons

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This is an updated and expanded version of the article “The US and Chemical Weapons: No Leg to Stand On,” originally posted in Foreign Policy in Focus on May 2, 2013.
If, as alleged, the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons, it would indeed be a serious development, constituting a breach of the Geneva Protocol of 1925… which banned the use of chemical weapons… Syria is one of only eight of the world’s 193 countries not party to the convention. However, U.S. policy regarding chemical weapons has been so inconsistent and politicized that the U.S. is in no position to take leadership in response to any use of such weaponry by Syria.

Interview on KQED’s “Forum”: Congress Set to Vote on Syria Strikes (audio)

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KQED: September 29, 2013
Dr. Stephen Zunes talks with a panel that includes, David Mark, editor-in-chief of Politix, an online community focusing on national politics, and former senior editor with Politico, Robert Danin, senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Steve Weber, professor of political science at UC Berkeley and author of books including “The End of Arrogance, America and the Global Competition of Ideas”, about the vote to strike Syria.

Eight Arguments Against Going to War With Syria

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Truthout September 4, 2013 [Versions were also published by Future of Freedom Foundation, ZNetwork and Santa Cruz Sentinel]
Ten reasons why the U.S. should not attack Syria. The decision by President Barack Obama to first seek congressional approval of any US military action against Syria is good and important, not only on constitutional grounds but because it gives the American people an opportunity to stop it. It is critically important to convince members of Congress not to grant the president that authority.

Interview: What should be the US’s next step in Syria? (89.3 KPCC, National Public Radio Los Angeles audio)

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KPCC (NPR) LAist AirTalk August 27, 2013
In a statement yesterday, Secretary of State John Kerry called the use of chemical weapons in Syria “a moral obscenity” that demands action from the U.S. Now the question is what action the U.S. will take against Syria for crossing the “red line” President Obama outlined against the use of chemical weapons?