Seven years and more than 300,000 people have lost their lives in the war in Syria. The so-called ‘civil war’ started in 2011, created and fuelled by the United States and their imperialist allies. Money and weapons were quick to pour into Syria to support the so-called ‘moderate rebels’ to overthrow the Syrian government of Bashar Al-Assad. This U.S. policy of arming and funding anti-government forces in Syria has resulted in the rise of Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) and other terrorist organizations. Those are the same terrorist organizations that the U.S.-led coalition today claims to be fighting against in Syria and Iraq.
The U.S. never had the well-being of the Syrian people in mind, just as they never had the interests of Afghan, Iraqi or Yemeni people at heart. Despite over 7 years of their media and military campaign against the Syrian government, the balance of forces in Syria is not in the favour of the United States and its imperialist allies.
Success of the Syrian Resistance
With the help of Russia and Iran, the Syrian Arab Army has launched many successful military offensives against ISIS & other terrorist groups and now control the majority of Syria’s main cities. Of course, the mainstream media avoids talking about this successful campaign and instead continues its lies and deceptions. We saw this most clearly in the case of the liberation of Aleppo.
You might remember the photos of the five-year-old boy, Omran Daqneesh, sitting in an ambulance, bloodied, covered with dust, and looking stunned. That photograph was used extensively by the Syrian ‘rebels’ and the mainstream media in their campaign against the Syrian government. However, new photos and videos of Omran have recently emerged showing him well and healthy with his family. Speaking to reporters his father said that his son had been used as a “propaganda tool” by rebel forces.
Omran and his family’s story is not unique. The U.S. government and the so-called ‘moderate rebels’ in Syria have been twisting facts and spreading lies to deceive peace-loving people into supporting further bombing and intervention in Syria. Despite all of these attempts, the tides are turning against the U.S. government and their mercenaries. Their deception is being debunked by the flux of Syrian refugees returning back to their homes, the same refugees that were portrayed as fleeing the atrocities of the Assad government.
According to a statement by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) spokesperson Andrej Mahecic, more than 440,000 internally displaced Syrians and about 31,000 of those who fled abroad have come back. Mahecic also said that most of the refugees have returned to the cities of Aleppo, Hama, Homs, and Damascus. Of course, he failed to mention that these 4 cities are all controlled by the Syrian government after its major territorial gains against ISIS and other terrorist groups.
“Assad must go” No more! Cracks between imperialist forces on how to deal with Syria
The Trump administration has continued and escalated its military intervention in Syria under the pretext of fighting ISIS and terrorism. According to an article in the New Yorker magazine, “President Trump has widened the scope of U.S. intervention [in Syria], both in terms of its targets and its message”. On June 18, a U.S. warplane shot down a Syrian army jet in the southern Raqqa countryside to defend their mercenaries which were losing ground to government forces. A Syrian army statement condemned this “flagrant attack” on Syria’s sovereignty and said that this attack “comes at a time when the Syrian army and its allies were making clear advances in fighting the [Islamic State] terrorist group."
In addition to attacks on Syrian government forces, the U.S. airstrikes have killed 300 civilians in Syria since March 21 according to a UN panel investigation. Where is the media outrage over this loss of life at the hand of U.S. imperialism?
All this escalation by the U.S. in Syria is yet another attempt to boost their mercenary forces on the ground and continue their campaign to overthrow the Syrian government. The U.S. is getting more and more nervous as the reality on the ground in Syria is shifting in the favour of the Syrian government. This change is also putting a lot of pressure on several countries to adjust their policy on Syria, away from the United States’ interests.
In an interview with several European media outlets, the new French president Emmanuel Macron said, “The new perspective that I have had on this subject is that I have not stated that Bashar al-Assad's departure is a pre-condition for everything because nobody has shown me a legitimate successor [...] My lines are clear: Firstly, a complete fight against all the terrorist groups. They are our enemies. [...]We need everybody's cooperation, especially Russia, to eradicate them.” Macron also said that "[France] was wrong to join the war in Libya. What were the outcomes of these invasions? Destroyed countries in which terrorist groups thrive. I do not want that to happen in Syria”.
Macron’s statement represents a significant change in France’s position on the Syrian crisis. Likewise, Italy and Germany have both dropped the “Assad Must Go” line and both expressed that the future of Assad and his government can only be resolved with political negotiation with the Syrian government.
This political development is very significant as it shows a division among imperialist powers on how to solve the problems within Syria. This crack among imperialist countries is happening as a result of the success of the Syrian resistance against the U.S. and other imperialists’ intervention on the country. This also shows the deep crisis that the U.S.-backed Syrian opposition is facing.
This change of heart by France, Germany and other European countries is not based on good intentions, or a desire to help the Syria people. They realize that the Syrian government is winning the war against terrorism in the country and they don’t want to lose all influence in the region to Russia, China and Iran. They also want to make sure they are included in the hundreds of billions of dollars of contracts for the reconstruction of Syria.
Hands Off Syria!
Political dynamics in the Middle East are changing against the U.S. and their mercenaries and it is a positive change for the people of Syria that have suffered over 7 years of imposed war and destruction. It puts the Syrian resistance in a better position to continue its fight and advancement against ISIS and US backed rebels. For sure they are winning against the U.S. and other imperialist powers.
Ultimately no matter if you agree or disagree with the Syrian government, the real question is: will its overthrow by the U.S. and their mercenaries put the Syrian people in a better position? Do the U.S. and its allies really care about the lives of the Syrian people? We need only to look to the death and destruction that U.S. wars and occupations have created in the Middle East and North Africa to see the reality of U.S. imperialism.
The Syrian people deserve a future full of peace and prosperity. The fate of the country needs to be decided by the Syrian people and their government not by the United States and its imperialist allies. As peace-loving people in Canada and around the world, we must unite our voices to demand:
US AND ALL IMPERIALISTS OUT OF SYRIA NOW!
Follow Azza Rojbi on Twitter: @Azza_R14
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