To say that the situation in Syria is ‘explosive’ would be doing a grave injustice to the horror the Syrian people are going through. What started out — as reported by the western media — as the natural continuation of the Arab Spring, which saw Muslims from Middle Eastern countries wrestle control from their dictatorial governments, has now morphed into full-scale civil war. With the ‘rebels’ fighting tooth and nail against the Baathist regime of Bashar al-Assad, one is not surprised to note that the imperialist folly of intervention has raised its ugly head once again. The latest incident to trigger an international furore is the alleged poison gas attack by the Syrian armed forces in the suburbs of Damascus on Wednesday in which, it is being reported, hundreds of people have been killed. The government vehemently denies any part in the attack. On the heels of this horrendous report, news media is buzzing with the US’s premature plans to ‘intervene’ in the war-torn country and ‘deal with’ the Assad regime. Whilst time seems ripe to do something about the situation, foreign military strikes in a country this volatile seem like another foolhardy imperialist adventure.
A pattern has become clear for even the most ardent of imperialist supporters: the West, particularly the US, has always struck on the basis of ‘humanitarian intervention’ in any war-stricken country. Whether it was Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq or Libya, the US has entered and militarily attacked to achieve its own goals and carry out its own designs. Many countries, such as the UK and Turkey, are on board with this proposal for a strike but other countries, such as Russia, have been unequivocal in condemning any use of might against the Syrian government and people. Russia and China both have been strong allies of Syria, particularly after the Cold War ended, costing in the process the Soviet Union its superpower status, thus being removed as the counterweight to the US’s imperialist inclinations. The fact that Syria’s Baathist regime — along with the likes of Iran and Libya, both of whom are the target of imperialist wrath — has always been a voice opposed to the US’s support for Israeli expansion in the Middle East has been a thorn in the superpower’s side; after all, it was part of the ‘rejectionist front’, which opposed all moves of appeasement of Israel while it continued its bid to expand its territory at the cost of the Palestinians. The Arab Spring provided the US with an opportunity it did not hesitate to seize; the brutal overthrow and murder of Gaddafi in Libya seems in retrospect to be nothing less than a dress rehearsal for the end game, which is Syria.
The double standards employed by the imperialist West are shocking, especially in this day and age. The irony is that the US is fighting against al Qaeda the world over but, when it comes to the Syrian opposition, which consists mainly of al Qaeda affiliated factions, it does not pause a moment in arming and backing the ‘terrorists’. The rebels, as they are called, were supplied with weapons and a mission long before the winds of the Arab Spring blew Syria’s way, and when the revolution came, they were organised and ready. This does not seem like a sudden uprising — it reeks of strategy. Earlier allegations of gas attacks by the government nudged Assad to allow a UN investigative team into the country. Just one day later, the Damascus attack occurred. Is the Syrian government so foolish that it attacks its people with poison gas while a UN team is investigating? Or is this yet another sinister ploy by the imperialists who seem bent upon using this scenario as a launch pad for their ‘humanitarian intervention’? The Syrian government promises that any such action will create “a ball of fire that will inflame the Middle East”. It is recommended that the trigger-happy whims of the US be put on hold and that restraint be seen at least until the UN submits its report on the situation on the ground in Syria. With the Afghanistan withdrawal date looming near, it seems the US is just itching to get its hands dirty on another battlefield once again. *