Erasing People through Disinformation: Syria and the “Anti-Imperialism” of Fools
JVL Introduction
This indignant cry for recognition of the Syrian people voiced by exiled Syrian academics, writers, and activists in the letter posted below raises a fundamental issue which we cannot ignore.
Not only in Syria, but in the case of several other terrible conflicts, certain self-styled “anti-imperialists” prefer either to avert their gaze, or, worse, airily to dismiss as propaganda well-documented crimes against humanity, simply because the perpetrators are not supported by the US.
This kind of lazy Manichean thinking, a brain fog which would divide the world’s régimes into “imperialist” and “anti-imperialist”, is utterly toxic, in effect denying whole peoples any agency in their own struggles for liberation.
Of course the US will use, abuse and distort the evidence of such crimes to suit its need to justify its own imperial wars, just as for almost a century western elites exploited the reality of Stalin’s gulags to justify every imperial atrocity and to besmirch the very idea of socialism.
None of that makes such crimes any the less real, nor can we ever justify withholding our solidarity from the oppressed.
GW
This article was originally published by New Politics on Sat 27 Mar 2021. Read the original here.
Erasing People through Disinformation: Syria and the “Anti-Imperialism” of Fools
Disreputable writers and outlets, often operating under the aegis of “independent journalism” with purportedly “leftwing” views, are spreading corrosive propaganda and disinformation that aims to strip Syrians of political agency
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It might have aided the credibility of this diatribe if the authors had included some evidence. As it is, the letter is merely vague accusations against persons and organisations unnamed, simply “various writers and outlets”. Who? What did they write? In what ways was it inaccurate or misleading? Without anything more specific to go on, any reader should dismiss the letter, no matter now many famous people have signed it.
No leftist socialist is a supporter of Assad as is quite wrongly described in this protest article. The unfortunate fact is that numerous Fighters against acids dictatorship came from religious extremist countries and turned the entire land into a chaotic mess. It is quite wrong to confuse real left socialists who despise and detest the regime in Damascus with those who are apologists for that regime. It is also quite wrong to blame those who realise that the regime in Damascus cannot for the foreseeable future be thrown out out with those who want it to remain indefinitely. Those who write this letter should look at the situation in Libya. In that awful country there is no leftist intervention and you cannot say that there is anything other than chaos ruling there. And you cannot point to any so-called leftist who supports or would support either the regime of Gaddafi or either of the two dreadful government’s that that are trying to monopolize rule in that unfortunate land. The persons who have signed this letter with whom I really sympathize should ask themselves this question. What would happen if tomorrow Assad and his supporters were to be forcibly removed from power in Damascus. Do they want another repetition of what is going on in Libya with another 10 years of of internecine fighting and further destruction of that land? Surely it is far better to start a dialogue immediately with whoever wants to do so with the regime in Damascus and those who are in Russia. We cannot assume about either Assad or Putin would be opposed to such a such a dialogue. It is far more likely that there could be a reconciliation and there could be reconstruction along with donations from those countries who have helped to destroy the land particularly I refer to those countries in the golf and the country of Saudi Arabia who has handled enormous sums of money to um what were at the time originally justifiable Rebels but later joined by religious extremists. There is far more I could say about the presence of Turkey at present ruled by a authoritarian man who has tried to impose a religious Dogma upon his own country. He is also concerned about the so-called threat posed by kurds who also want to do have semi or entire independence for their own people. If the the Goodwill existed in countries like the United States and France and even Great Britain where the majority of Syrian refugees now reside and they sincerely wanted the country to unite there could be an agreement allowing exiles to return and the country to go forward with or without Asad in a short time. Unfortunately these countries are more interested in keeping the pot boiling to the discomfiture of Putin. So please put pressure on the WESTERN POWERS before rounding upon your version of Leftists.
In answer to your question James – there was
a chemical attack in Syria – chlorine – missiles
from Syrian Govt aircraft. There were accusations that
this was “fake news” and there was no attack. The fake
news accusation was briefly discussed here on this Board –
and I took part in the discussion. It did not go on for very
long because it was a diversion from the main point of
the article to which the discussion was attached. Some of
this was reported on a radio program
about the death of the founder of the “white helmets”. However
this concentrated on facts – scientific evidence and concerned
“fake news about fake news”.
As to further examples – they more often appear from posters to
main articles from left wing sites rather than the articles themselves.
Apart from anything else – since I have not tackled the posters myself
or taken part it would be unfair to quote.
Maybe others can fill in ..?
I completely agree with the letter!
PS The post I have submitted does NOT mean I support
bombing of countries such as Syria – we have seen what happened
with Libya – as described in post by Tariq Rafiq.
Then there is Iraq . .. as was sadly remarked by an Iraqi “Yes you got rid
of one Sadim Hussain but he has been replaced by a thousand Sadim Hussains ..”
At the risk of confusing things – here is the first of a Radio4
series, “Mayday” featuring Syria and the White Helmets. It concerns
Fake News rather than Left/Right politics :
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08xs4st
It was first broadcast last November – apparently there will be
an update in a few days.
“America is not central to what has happened in Syria,” says the letter. Yet the CIA has spent a huge amount of money on funding the anti-Assad campaign – $1 billion according to ex-UK ambassador to Syria, Peter Ford. It has admitted to the funding and training of supposedly ‘moderate’ rebels – who very quickly reinforced the ranks of extremist terrorist groups. According to veteran Middle East correspondent for the Independent, the late Robert Fisk: “I doubt if there are 700 active ‘moderate’ foot soldiers in Syria….I am being very generous, for the figure may be nearer 70.”
The letter says it’s “provincial” to insist on the “centrality of US power globally”. But US military spending massively outweighs all the other global powers combined, making up 38% of global expenditure on arms. In 2019, its military spending was $732 billion – China was next at $261 billion, and Russia at $65 billion. Russia, Iran and the US are thus not equal powers militarily. As for China, also discussed in the letter, it has had no military involvement in Syria.
While the letter accepts the extremely negative role played by the US in Afghanistan and Iraq, including “massive human rights abuses”, not only during the Cold War but later, it makes an exception in the case of Syria. Yet the US has invaded and occupied Syria – just as it did Afghanistan and Iraq. In Syria, it controls a large portion of eastern Syria. Not just any portion, but territory in which the country’s oil and agriculture lie. This, along with sanctions, means that 12 million Syrians are food insecure.
Moreover, Israel is integrated into US power projection in the Middle East. The letter’s analysis ignores Israel’s role – though Israel bombs Syria regularly. The letter doesn’t deal with Israel because it seeks to frame the Syrian situation as a purely internal matter. Which it clearly is not.
Tariq Rafique writes above “No leftist socialist is a supporter of Assad as is quite wrongly described in this protest article.” Did Tariq read the article or just skim it? Even the first paragraph of the article makes clear that the authors hold that no genuine socialist can be an apologist for the Assad régime, though they may well self-identify as being on the “left”.
James Simpson complains about the failure of the article to supply more detail or to identify the miscreants. That is a fair comment though it is not hard to find examples. I suspect that the authors did this quite deliberately so as to concentrate on a description of the ideological perversion rather than inducing a diversionary internet brawl concentrated on particular individuals. I think this approach is wise, firstly because a varied assortment of knaves and honest but naive journalists are propagating the apologetics, and secondly because the phenomenon is so widespread that, as an initial counterblast, the challenge “If the cap fits, wear it!” has some merit in breaking the silence. The approach of the apologists, which is as far removed from a socialist analysis as is possible, has been well characterised by a Syrian leftist who spent 16 years in a régime prison:
“The discourses of wide sectors of the Western left and the right about Syria share one important thing: they are depopulated. As for mainstream professionals — ambassadors, diplomats, and no shortage of journalists and researchers — they knew very well how brutal, discriminatory and corrupt the regime was, but their perspective is state-centered, with stability as their highest priority. They like to have Syrian food, which is good, and to save a lot of their income in a country where the cost of living is not high. So why care for Syrians? They are convinced that the regime is bad, but many of them tend to think that we, Syrians, do not deserve better. Certainly, from the Syrian and Palestinian experience, I tend to think that they share the mentality of imperialist generals and administrators from the heydays of colonialism. These people pose a danger to democracy everywhere: in our countries as well as their own.
So, it is the statist elitist structure that puts these people on common terms with the regime — a regime that deals with its own subjects in the same way their own colonial predecessors once did.”
https://roarmag.org/essays/syrian-revolution-yassin-haj-saleh-interview/
The world has seen something similar before. In the mid-1930’s the wishful thinking of western “progressive” opinion formers, including many liberal intellectuals, was such that the vast majority believed that reports of Stalin’s murderous repression were mere capitalist propaganda spread by corrupt traitors to the communist cause. This wilful blindness continued, though with a diminishing band of the faithful, throughout the Moscow trials, the Hitler-Stalin pact, the postwar workers’ revolts in Poland and Hungary, the invasion of Czechoslovakia, right up until the final collapse of the USSR. There is however a crucial difference between those earlier apologists for tyranny and the contemporary variety of fake anti-imperialist. However misconceived it may have been, the model of the USSR and its western satellite communist parties embodied for at least two generations the hopes of much of the world for a socialist future. Today no one but a political idiot would regard the Syrian, Russian or Iranian régimes as desirable models for the future of humanity.
Whilst accepting much of the premise of the letter and sympathising with the signatories as does Tariq Rafique I want to defend the role of many independent Journalists a number of whom are posted by JVL. Not all IJs are driven by anti-imperialism but are driven to delve beneath what we are commonly told. And they do this at considerable risk not only to their potential careers.
There is considerable evidence that casts doubts on the veracity, for instance, on Panorama’s ‘Saving Syria’s Children ‘ and its current follow up.
Indeed, a little delving into the BBC Sounds ‘Mayday’ uncovers doubts about its reporting (found in email correspondence online). We are fully aware of the propaganda capabilities of the BBC and in particular, Panorama.
This is such a fraught subject because we are addressing the suffering of so many, many people. But I do believe there are signs of refreshed attempts to drive the West into further intervention in Syria.
Given the global attacks on Democracy surely we need to step up our efforts at Enquiry.
“[T]he US has invaded and occupied Syria – just as it did Afghanistan and Iraq.”
The idea that the US as the most powerful imperialist state in the world would not be involved in the Syrian war is surely wrong. But equally curious is the view that the US intervention in Syria is at the same level as its attack against Iraq; that the Americans would have caused the Syrian war. In reality, there was a popular uprising against Assad’s tyranny, inspired by the Arab Spring in 2011. There had been nothing of the sort in Iraq in 2003.
Until the Iranian and especially Russian intervention that saved it from being overthrown, the fate of the Assad régime really hung in the balance. It would be very strange if the US as the strongest world power would have been indifferent as to the future of Syria.
Since 2014 the main interest of the US has been the struggle against Da’esh (Isis), in which it made an alliance with the Kurds in Northern Syria. When the Syrian Democratic Forces (Kurds plus some Arabs, Assyrians and others) defeated the Isis “Caliphate”, a big chunk of Syrian territory fell into the hands of the US allies. Their most determined adversary is a NATO-member Turkey whose nightmare is a permanent Kurdish autonomy in Northern Syria.
As to Turkey and Russia, they are in good terms despite conflicting interests. Also Russia and Israel have good relations. Maybe the autocratic nature of the leaders of these three states helps in this.
Israel has concentrated its fire on Iranians in Syria. At the beginning of the war Israeli strategists were quite content that Arabs were killing Arabs. If Israel would have really wanted to help in overthrowing Assad, it had an easy weapon at hand: it could have mobilized its forces in the occupied Golan Heights at a time when Assad’s army was trying to suppress a popular uprising and its soldiers were deserting to the side of the rebels.
It’s unfortunate that some people who regard themselves as leftists or critical journalists have taken a stand in favor of Assad’s tyranny in this geopolitical gangster-war, forgetting Syrians and their democratic aspirations altogether but also forgetting the factual history of this horrendous war. Maybe the excellent statement by Syrian intellectuals and others will help at least some of them to think it all over.
https://roarmag.org/essays/syrian-revolution-yassin-haj-saleh-interview
Thank you, George.
But, and a big but, Robert Fisk was an exemplary journalist/war reporter.His writings on Syria are of the highest standard of Independent journalism. He spoke to everyone but belonged to none.
How bitter, terrible has the Syrian Civil war been and is. How utterly tragic the loss of lives and destruction of cities and homes. Fueled by weapons and bombs from all sides. Robert Fisk knew the cruelty of the Syrian regime. But All sides descended/fell into this nightmare. I am so utterly sorry.
Big problem with this article. None of it examines evidence, as someone like Robert Fisk would, for example.
In response to the comment above, by Hannu Reime, about the centrality of US involvement in Syria, US Senator Dick Black, a retired colonel, has this to say: “In 2011, also during the Arab Spring, the highly secretive Central Intelligence Agency Special Activities Center sent paramilitary teams into the sovereign territory of Syria to identify, train, equip and lead terrorist to overthrow the Syrian government. In twenty thirteen, Barack Obama formalized, formalized this long-standing support for anti Syrian terrorists by secretly authorizing CIA program Timber Sycamore under program Timber Sycamore, the CIA Special Operations Division, trained, armed and paid thousands of terrorists to fight …. those armies totally under our control.”
But US Senator Dick Black has claimed all sorts of things – including
the White Helmets “false flag” incidents in Syria referred to above.
(For what it is worth – he is not left wing I think!)
See his “Wiki” page – in particular
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/syria-chemical-weapons-virginia-senator-richard-black-uk-mi6-assad-russia-a8529681.html
I am not sure what evidence he provides for any of his allegations – does he know a CIA whistleblower for example or does he himself belong to the highly secretive CIA group?
I hate to think what Joanathon Cook, Aaron Mate, Caitlin Johnstone, Medialens, Peter Oborne, Craig Murray, Consortium Newsand virtually every other journalist who has had the integrity to stand against the Labour anti semitism narrative will think about this. And I’m not talking about the letter, more the introduction.
If this isn’t about their brave and evidence laden reporting on the almost certainly false flag Douma incident then you must say so now because people will think it is.
If it is about Douma it’s not too late to withdraw it and apologise.
I’m sorry that JVL saw fit to publish what Caitlin Johnstone describes as “this despicable letter.”
In common with Simon Korner, Tariq Rafique, Terence McGinity and others, I’m deeply suspicious of people who reference the BBC and similar suspect sources regarding Syria, the White Helmets (many of whom were exfiltrated from Syria by Israel), chemical weapons etc. I also wonder at the people who chose to illustrate this article with a picture of women waving Islamist flags and sporting the trappings of reactionary Islam, who had they prevailed would have assisted in wiping out the Christian and other minority populations in Syria.
I tend to get my information from Syrian friends and comrades who either still live in Syria or can see beyond the smoke and mirrors. By and large what was a critique of the economic policies of the Syrian government (despite subsidies on some essential goods etc) combined with a unified patriotic front against external enemies, most notably Israel, zionism and its US backers has, sadly, amongst those comrades been replaced with just the latter because, as a result of the jihadi insurrection, the devastating civil war, the intervention of the USA, UK, France and their allies in Turkey and the gulf, any discussion about the socialist credentials or otherwise of the Syrian Baathists and the Assad government has been kicked down the road because all that remains is to circle the wagons in the face of foreign occupation (by the USA, Turkey and Israel, who between them hold up to a third of the country by force of arms, including all the oil fields) and to defend the honour and independence of the state against its external enemies.
Had they possessed an ounce of dialectical analysis, the liberal lefties who have signed this letter could have seen this coming a mile off.
You don’t have to be a supporter of Assad to understand why these people are living in a wonderland. I’ve posted Caitlin Johnstone’s full response below but to quote the grist:
“This snide and incoherent broadside…comes at a time when Washington’s aggressiveness is reaching new levels of intensity and many antiwar writers are confronted with growing attempts at marginalization and even censorship. It is so timely to brand them all with the label “anti-imperialism of fools.”
“To reply to the labelers in their language, let me say that the promoters of this despicable letter are practicing the imperialism of foolers.”
https://consortiumnews.com/2021/04/07/diana-johnstone-the-imperialism-of-foolery/
In response to Simon Korner: Dick Black is not and never was a US Senator. He was a Virginia senator, considered a wingnut even by his fellow Republicans. After Black sent a letter to Assad thanking the Syrian army for its efforts, one of his Republican colleagues said: “What’s the matter, Dick? Was Kim Jong-un not returning your text messages?” His colonel’s rank in the military legal corps (where he championed opposition to gay soldiers) does not make him an expert on US foreign policy.
I signed this letter – and urge others to do so.
____________________________________________
However, we should not be naive about Western mainstream media propaganda surrounding Syria. A previous commenter, Margaret West, mentioned the BBC ‘Mayday’ series:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08xs4st
In fact, the BBC ‘Mayday’ series is itself a very good example of ‘fake news’ as expertly documented by Aaron Mate:
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/11/30/questions-bbc-podcast-opcw-whistleblowers/
See also:
https://thegrayzone.com/2021/04/07/bbc-white-helmets-mayday-uk-intelligence/
It is also increasingly clear that the official Western story that the Assad regime carried out the Douma chemical attack is false. See:
https://thegrayzone.com/2021/03/14/5-former-opcw-officials-join-prominent-voices-to-call-out-syria-cover-up/
https://thegrayzone.com/tag/douma/
Are there actually leftists who support Assad? To take just one example, consider this program sponsored by Syria’s ambassador to the UN and featuring the US Peace Council: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOB5vgdoAko.
There is indeed lots of Western media propaganda about Syria, but one cannot advance a few articles from Grayzone (where slurs often replace evidence) to refute the many reports from the UN Human Rights Council, international human rights groups, and materials smuggled out of or videotaped in Syria.