Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Syria: The Return to the Scene of Obama’s Crime
Black Alliance For Peace
11 Dec 2024
🖨️ Print Article
Syrian children

The US regime change campaign against Syria began after Barack Obama succeeded in destroying the Libyan state. All of his successors followed the same playbook.

Originally published in Black Alliance for Peace.

Around the world, many hoped that the Russia-negotiated agreement in 2020 between the Syrian, government and the coterie of right-wing Jihadist forces, common criminals and other forces against the government of President Bashar Al-Assad, would finally end the nightmare of war, displacement, torture, and mindless destruction suffered by the Syrian people – victims of  U.S. plans to overthrow all the major nations in the Middle-East that might challenge continued U.S. domination. However, just a few days ago, like cancer, the disease of U.S. imperialism has suddenly metastasized. The Black Alliance for Peace argues that current U.S. imperialist actions in Syria need to be placed in a historical context. It is important to remember that the vicious subversion of Syria, which began in earnest in 2011, was only one of the two criminal assaults that year on nations perceived to be obstacles to U.S. regional hegemony. The other, under U.S. assault, was Libya. In Libya, however, the Western-orchestrated assault resulted in not only the overthrow of the government but the country’s leader, Muammar Gaddafi, being raped and murdered by the right-wing Jihadist friends of the U.S.

Linking the U.S. imperialist assault on Syria to that of Libya is important because it informs how the few authentic anti-imperialist forces that still exist in the U.S. understand and articulate opposition to the moves being made by U.S. and Western imperialism in their desperate attempts to avoid the inevitable end of white world dominance. Our positionality in relationship to the Pan-European white supremacist colonial/capitalist patriarchy compels us to remind our friends and sometimes allies that they cannot pretend to be in solidarity with Palestine and then cheer on the overthrow of one of the few states in the world that has never turned its back on Palestinian people, no matter what one might think of the internal politics of the Syrian state.

Such concerns about the nature of the Syrian state became a cover for defending U.S. imperialism and were expressed by dishonest actors or those who were politically naive. Now that the U.S.-backed jihadists have emerged triumphant, hope for authentic self-determination for the Syrian people has once again been delayed. 

Trump’s absurd claim that the U.S. does not have anything to do with Syria is only a reflection of why he will never gain full control over the state and non-state apparatus that is directing U.S. foreign policy. The notion that whoever is sitting in the white house represents the final and only power of the U.S. state is dangerously naive. Just recall when Secretary of State John Kerry negotiated a ceasefire with Russia in Deir Ezzor, Syria, only to have it ignored by his generals and CIA.   

Reigniting the war in Syria will prolong the tragedy experienced by the people of Syria since 2011. The Black Alliance for Peace will continue to monitor the situation and will not hesitate to reveal the facts as we find them.

Syria
US interventions
Middle East
US foreign policy

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Standing with Iran
25 February 2026
The task of the left, of all anti-imperialists, is to oppose U.S. aggression around the world.
​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
The Anti-Imperialist Imperative: Confronting Globalized Fascism
18 February 2026
Ajamu Baraka, BAR Editor and Columnist, gave this presentation at the U.S. Peace Council Webinar on Iran.
Navid Farnia , Nina Farnia
Iran v. US Imperialism: An Interview with Navid Farnia & Nina Farnia
11 February 2026
A discussion on the protests in Iran, US imperialism, and Iranian resistance.
Black Alliance For Peace
The Black Alliance for Peace Condemns U.S. Intervention in Venezuela and Stands with the Venezuelan People in Their Resistance to U.S. Imperialist War
07 January 2026
The Black Alliance for Peace takes a clear anti-imperialist stance on U.S. intervention in Venezuela.
Luke Goldstein , Lucy Dean Stockton
Corporations Invested In Lawsuits Before Venezuela Invasion
07 January 2026
Trump’s removal of President Nicolas Maduro could tilt international court proceedings and provide a windfall to corporate plaintiffs.
Yusleny Morales , Orinoco Tribune
Venezuela: In Mass Demonstrations, the People Demand Return of President Maduro
07 January 2026
Mass demonstrations in Caracas and throughout Venezuela are a rejection of U.S. regime change.
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Venezuela Declares State of Emergency, Calls for International Solidarity in Official Communiqué
07 January 2026
Venezuela's statement categorically denounces U.S.
Struggle La Lucha
Cuba Reports 32 Fighters Killed in U.S. Attack on Venezuela
07 January 2026
In Venezuela and around the world Cuba is in the forefront of defending revolution.
Afro-Venezuelan Organizations Network , Regional Articulation of Afrodescendants of Latin America and the Caribbean
Afrodescendants: Casting Off Illusions, Preparing For Struggle
10 December 2025
Drawing on a history of resistance, Afro-Venezuelan organizations are mobilizing their communities to meet the threat of military act
Essam Elkorghli
De-Baathification 2.0: One Year Since the Fall of Syria
10 December 2025
Western media celebrate the terrorist they supported as Syria's savior.

More Stories


  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Standing with Iran
    25 Feb 2026
    The task of the left, of all anti-imperialists, is to oppose U.S. aggression around the world. A military attack against Iran is imminent and cannot be opposed on theoretical grounds. The people of…
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    SPEECH: Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference, February 24, 2026
    25 Feb 2026
    "A civilization that uses its principles for trickery and deceit is a dying civilization.”
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Stand Up for Sudan
    25 Feb 2026
    The US is funding a genocide. Of course we all know that, but how many of us know about Sudan?
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Kid growing up under growing fascism
    25 Feb 2026
    "Kid growing up under growing fascism" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    The World Does Need to Stop Singling Out Israel… By Holding it Accountable
    25 Feb 2026
    Israel has been singled out for immunity rather than accountability, exposing the "rules-based order" as a farce.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us