No War in Syria Rally

by Diarmuid Breatnach - Personal Capacity Fri Aug 30, 2013 23:19

Those who support an escalation of the current imperialist intervention in Syria in the interests of "humanitarianism", if genuinely motivated, have learned nothing from recent history. Similar arguments were used in Libya and, to an extent in Iraq (along with the invisible "weapons of mass destruction") while "defence of the USA and the West" was the principal reason given in the case of Afghanistan.

What actually occurred, as distinct from imperialist propaganda and liberal wishful thinking, was a huge increase in civilian deaths (still going on), massive destruction of infrastructure, massive robbery of resources, huge rise in religious fundamentalism and communal violence (still going on) and terrible insecurity for all except the really rich (native and foreign) in their fortresses, being driven around in bullet-and-blast-proof SUVs with bodyguards.

Those whose motives are genuinely humanitarian should obviously oppose imperialist intervention.

Some people say that in order to oppose imperialist invasion of Syria, we should support the Syrian Army, Assad and the Syrian state and its flag. THIS IS A SPURIOUS ARGUMENT AND I REFUSE TO DO SO. It is clearly not necessary to declare support for the Syrian state in order to oppose imperialist intervention; to make it some kind of requirement for solidarity will not only drive away those who do not support the concept of a state anywhere but also those who have good reason to oppose the Syrian state in particular (e.g. Kurdish activists, musicians and those who support them; revolutionary communists; republican democrats).

by joe mc Sat Aug 31, 2013 16:40

The positions that groups and individuals take either in defence of Syria or in opposition to Syria distinguish the real forces of the left from the pseudo-left in Ireland today . Syria is facing an imperialist onslaught that has been consciously designed to break up the historically oppressed nation .We are witnessing a crisis that has the potential of dragging the world into a nuclear confrontation . It is one that has been deliberately engineered by the CIA, MI6 and Mossad - with the likes of Amnesty , the Swp , WSM and IAWM for two years providing the "humanitarian" lies used to justify Western intervention .( (When did you ever hear any of them referring to "the Butcher Obama" ? ) When the Syrian army stands up to the filth sent by the CIA , anti-imperialists must either support the Syrian army or else say who they think is going to stop the imperialist advance.

by fred Sat Aug 31, 2013 16:59

IAWM perhaps in some quarters they are rather confused and misinformed about these "revolutions". Their website does still have some damning and embarrassing statements.
SWP, They totally screwed up on Libya thats for sure. But I know that RBB is not in favour of imperialist attacks on Syria and he's IAWM chair. I'd say it's not quite as black and white as you say. But we are poorly served by the IAWM at present, I can't disagree with that. Anti war movement needs to shape up big time.

Amnasty, very likely at the top levels I agree. After Nossel, I can't ever take their upper level seriously any more. It serves imperialism.

HRW has some equally shady ties.

But surely not the wsws Joe?

I've consistently read good articles highlighting and condemning imperialist actions against Syria on the WSWS website. Surely when you say WSM you are not referring to the good folk at WSWS.org?

Don't the WSM largely concur with the views views expressed on that website??

by Joe Mc Sat Aug 31, 2013 20:06

The Workers Solidarity Movement is an anarchist party . For its position on Syria see:
http://www.wsm.ie/c/syrian-anarchist-imperialist-interv...ge=11

WSWS is the website of the trotskyist Socialist Equality Party
It takes its anti-imperialist position from the one formulated by Trotsky in relation to Brazil in a 1938 interview :
"I'll make the simplest and most striking example. Brazil is dominated by a semi-fascist regime to which every revolutionary can not treat differently, than with hatred.

Assume, however, that tomorrow England enters into a military conflict with Brazil.

I ask you, whose side will be in this conflict the world working class? Answer for myself: I will in this case be on the side of "Fascist" Brazil against "democratic" Great Britain.

Why? Because the conflict between them will not be about democracy and fascism. If England wins, she will plant in Rio de Janeiro some other fascist to impose a double chain on Brazil. Conversely, if Brazil wins, it will give a mighty impulse to national and democratic consciousness of the country and lead to the overthrow of the Vargas dictatorship. The defeat of England will cause at the same time a blow to British imperialism and will give an impetus to the revolutionary movement of the British proletariat."

You need to have a truly empty head, to reduce global antagonisms and military conflicts to the struggle between fascism and democracy. Under all masks one must be able to distinguish between the exploiters, slaveholders and predators!

by JoeMcivor Sun Sep 01, 2013 01:48

"
A Global Research article published today quotes Thursday's Minnesota Mint reporting that Doctors Without Borders had obtained testimony from Ghouta saying that "the attack was a result of mismanagement and ignorance on the part of rebels who had been suppliied chemical weapons by Saudi Prince Bandar..
http://www.globalresearch.ca/syrian-rebels-admit-to-bei...47424
The UK Tory MP Andrew Bridgen,who last week led opposition among Conservative backbenchers to the demands for immediate war with Syria, told RTE News on Thursday that information emerging from the UN team that visited Ghouta also suggested that the attack may have been an accident.
"The UN team will not be able to confirm this publicly, as they are merely reporting on whether an attack did take place or not."
http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0829/470916-syria/

by T Sun Sep 01, 2013 12:07

More proof slowly coming in showing the chemical attack was carried out by the rebels....

This is from the ZeroHedge.com site who also carry the report from Doctors Without Borders and from Mint Press News

As we showed mere days ago, it appears the truth of who the real puppet-master in the Middle-East is becoming plainer to see. The incredibly frank discussion between Saudi's spy-chief Prince Bandar and Russia's Putin exposed a much deeper plot is afoot and the following details from the actual people on the ground in the chemically-attacked region of Syria suggest Obama is playing right into the Saudi's plan. While Obama is 'certain' that the chemical attacks took place on al-Assad's orders, as MPN reports, "from numerous interviews with doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel fighters and their families, a different picture emerges. Many believe that certain rebels received chemical weapons via the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and were responsible for carrying out the dealing gas attack."

The narrative for public consumption is well-known and quite clear - it was all as-Assad's fault. And yet...

From Mint Press News

... from numerous interviews with doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel fighters and their families, a different picture emerges. Many believe that certain rebels received chemical weapons via the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and were responsible for carrying out the dealing gas attack.

“My son came to me two weeks ago asking what I thought the weapons were that he had been asked to carry,” said Abu Abdel-Moneim, the father of a rebel fighting to unseat Assad, who lives in Ghouta.

Abdel-Moneim said his son and 12 other rebels were killed inside of a tunnel used to store weapons provided by a Saudi militant, known as Abu Ayesha, who was leading a fighting battalion. The father described the weapons as having a “tube-like structure” while others were like a “huge gas bottle.”

Ghouta townspeople said the rebels were using mosques and private houses to sleep while storing their weapons in tunnels.

Abdel-Moneim said his son and the others died during the chemical weapons attack. That same day, the militant group Jabhat al-Nusra, which is linked to al-Qaida, announced that it would similarly attack civilians in the Assad regime’s heartland of Latakia on Syria’s western coast, in purported retaliation.

“They didn’t tell us what these arms were or how to use them,” complained a female fighter named ‘K.’ “We didn’t know they were chemical weapons. We never imagined they were chemical weapons.”

“When Saudi Prince Bandar gives such weapons to people, he must give them to those who know how to handle and use them,” she warned. She, like other Syrians, do not want to use their full names for fear of retribution.

A well-known rebel leader in Ghouta named ‘J’ agreed. “Jabhat al-Nusra militants do not cooperate with other rebels, except with fighting on the ground. They do not share secret information. They merely used some ordinary rebels to carry and operate this material,” he said.

“We were very curious about these arms. And unfortunately, some of the fighters handled the weapons improperly and set off the explosions,” ‘J’ said.

Doctors who treated the chemical weapons attack victims cautioned interviewers to be careful about asking questions regarding who, exactly, was responsible for the deadly assault.

The humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders added that health workers aiding 3,600 patients also reported experiencing similar symptoms, including frothing at the mouth, respiratory distress, convulsions and blurry vision. The group has not been able to independently verify the information.

More than a dozen rebels interviewed reported that their salaries came from the Saudi government.


The website for Mint Press News is: http://www.mintpressnews.com/

What this report and the others coming in shown in the comments above demonstrate how complicit the Irish media in both print form and TV -in particular RTE news, are with pushing the propaganda line and been completely subservient to the larger international powers who are pushing the agenda to bomb Syria and who are ultimately behind this provocation. The Saudi intelligence agencies don''t work solely on their own and given the very long extremely close relationship with the US since the end of the Second World War, it is difficult to conceive that anything Saudi does is not cleared in general form with the US.

by fred Sun Sep 01, 2013 13:05

not only that but....

They indirectly threatened Putin with Chechyn acts of terrorism at soochi games

And they offered to give Russia oil related advantages if they go along with Saudi / US plans in Syria

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article35963.htm

by GCH Mon Sep 02, 2013 05:15

Catholic Workers - End their Wars! Free our Prisoners

Anti-War movement taken to task for abandoning anti-war prisoners they have incited into action.
Anti-war bureaucrats accused of running a cottage industry that sees another war merely as a marketing & brand enhancement opportunity.
Amnesty International is not a cottage industry, it's a major corporation...get ya subcontracted chuggers off our
streets, they are throwing guilt inducing shapes like they are unpaid volunteers and destroying street politics

REPORT VID ..intervention for anti-war prisoners Manning Assange, Snowden et al London Syrian demo
(Similar interventions were made in solidarity with the Raytheon 9 pre-trial & Manning months into his incarceration in 2010)
https://www.indymedia.ie/article/104027