En Passant

Lachlan Marshall in socialist magazine Solidarity explains the Syrian regime’s history of deals with imperialism and attacks on its own working class in order to boost its own wealth and power.

In the October edition of socialist magazine Solidarity, James Supple writes about the situation in Syria. He says in part:

‘We should oppose Russian, US and Australian bombing as well as all forms of foreign imperialist intervention.’

Later on he argues:

‘Assad is no lesser evil to Islamic State and similar rebel groups like the Al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al Nusra. Like IS, the Assad regime also ruthlessly represses any political dissent, has targeted ethnic minorities and is waging sectarian war.

‘The solution to the nightmare in Syria can only come through a revival of the democratic movement that erupted in 2011.’

To read the whole article click here.

Those Palestinians still in Yarmouk are trapped between two counter-revolutions, with the regime on one side and Isis on the other.

The best way to defend the Left from successful ruling class attacks in Australia on our right to organise is to politically destroy Stalinism in Australia by building a left absolutely free from any of its influences. The immediate task in doing that paradoxically is to defend the rights of the new Stalinists like Tim Anderson to organise, to speak and to work.

Those raising false “anti-imperialist” flags to justify their support for a capitalist regime involved in horrifying repression of its people are ignoring reality. Israel, the key imperialist asset in the region, very clearly sees the Syrian rebellion as a far worse alternative to the Assad regime. Assad’s Western defenders either don’t mention Israel at all when they list the countries they think are waging “war on Syria” (and hope no-one notices the omission); or, even worse, they add Israel to their list despite the evidence (and hope no-one notices).

Simon Assaf in Socialist Worker UK argues that Syrian rebels should resist calls for Western intervention, despite the regime’s superior firepower. The regime is mortally wounded, but still capable of terrible destruction.

Syria is in the grip of a dark winter. The fate of the uprising is tied to that of the Arab revolutions. Its ultimate success is that of these revolutions.

Bashar al-Assad, the butcher of Syria, has killed another 100 people, overwhelmingly women and children. Western leaders are ‘outraged.’ Barack Obama, the butcher in Washington, authorised another drone bombing. It killed a family of 8 in Afghanistan. Western leaders are silent. Zionism continues its genocide against the Palestinian people and the West enthusiastically supports the […]