Comments on: Blog Essays to Start Discussions on Syria http://ouleft.sp-mesolite.tilted.net/?p=1568 Changing Our Thinking, Changing Opinion, Changing the World Mon, 05 Dec 2022 21:47:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Binh http://ouleft.sp-mesolite.tilted.net/?p=1568#comment-3190 Binh Tue, 10 Sep 2013 20:22:59 +0000 http://ouleft.sp-mesolite.tilted.net/?p=1568#comment-3190 What I find most disturbing but completely unsurprising about the material presented here is the complete and utter absence of anything related to how the Arab Spring effected Syria, how the protest movement began, developed, turned into an armed struggle once vicious state repression was meted out to children and unarmed protestors, which set the stage for the current civil war between revolutionary and counter-revolutionary forces that has a proxy war element to it with Hezbollah and Russian and Iranian imperialism on Assad's side and Gulf States and Islamists from a variety of backgrounds on the revolutionary side. Without an understanding of the nature of the struggle in Syria itself, nothing else -- imperialism's role, the role of social and political forces on both sides -- can be properly understood. Instead of a U.S.-centric perspective I suggest a Syria-centric perspective. To address this gross imbalance, I suggest the following data-driven, heavily factual articles, many of which I have written (I wouldn't suggest my own material if I had found stuff out there that was better). 1. On the Syrian uprising as such: http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=2097 2. On Obama and the Syrian uprising: http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=2442 http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=2404 http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=3686 3. On the Western left's tasks related to imperialism and the Syrian revolution: http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=1995 http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=1097 http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=1896 http://claysbeach.blogspot.com/2013/08/revolutions-in-era-of-socialist.html http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=4884 http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=1263 4. On the Syrian uprising's nature and problems (Islamists, etc.): http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=8118 http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=8511 http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=5759 http://qunfuz.com/2012/11/01/the-revolution-becomes-more-islamist/ 5. On the proxy war dimension: http://darthnader.net/2013/04/13/what-is-a-proxy-war/ http://qunfuz.com/2013/01/23/the-revolution-armed-itself/ 6. On the problematic nature of the new "anti war" movement: http://claysbeach.blogspot.com/2013/09/anti-war-in-form-pro-war-in-essence.html What I find most disturbing but completely unsurprising about the material presented here is the complete and utter absence of anything related to how the Arab Spring effected Syria, how the protest movement began, developed, turned into an armed struggle once vicious state repression was meted out to children and unarmed protestors, which set the stage for the current civil war between revolutionary and counter-revolutionary forces that has a proxy war element to it with Hezbollah and Russian and Iranian imperialism on Assad’s side and Gulf States and Islamists from a variety of backgrounds on the revolutionary side. Without an understanding of the nature of the struggle in Syria itself, nothing else — imperialism’s role, the role of social and political forces on both sides — can be properly understood. Instead of a U.S.-centric perspective I suggest a Syria-centric perspective.

To address this gross imbalance, I suggest the following data-driven, heavily factual articles, many of which I have written (I wouldn’t suggest my own material if I had found stuff out there that was better).

1. On the Syrian uprising as such:
http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=2097

2. On Obama and the Syrian uprising:
http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=2442
http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=2404
http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=3686

3. On the Western left’s tasks related to imperialism and the Syrian revolution:
http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=1995
http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=1097
http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=1896
http://claysbeach.blogspot.com/2013/08/revolutions-in-era-of-socialist.html
http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=4884
http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=1263

4. On the Syrian uprising’s nature and problems (Islamists, etc.):
http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=8118
http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=8511
http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=5759
http://qunfuz.com/2012/11/01/the-revolution-becomes-more-islamist/

5. On the proxy war dimension:
http://darthnader.net/2013/04/13/what-is-a-proxy-war/
http://qunfuz.com/2013/01/23/the-revolution-armed-itself/

6. On the problematic nature of the new “anti war” movement:
http://claysbeach.blogspot.com/2013/09/anti-war-in-form-pro-war-in-essence.html

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