A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford
Americans are now programmed to lust for Syrian blood, just as they lusted for Libyan blood, Iraqi blood, Afghan blood – whatever the demonized blood-of-the-day. It is easy for such voracious consumers of gore to project bloodlust on others, even when, as with the Syrian regime, there is no motive for the crime. “It makes absolutely no sense for the Syrian regime to allow the slitting of children’s throats while United Nations observers are stationed throughout the country.” The modus operandi and motive for the crime point to al Qaida and other jihadis – and their various U.S., European and rich Arab backers.
The Imperialists and the Jihadis: The Evil Alliance Against Syria
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford
“In Syria, as in Libya, the United States has allied itself with al Qaida and forces that are politically very much like al Qaida.”
The afternoon airhead on CNN snarled her revulsion at the very idea that a commentary on Russia’s Pravda newspaper would conclude that Syrian rebels, or even American or British special forces, might be behind the killing of over 100 Syrian civilians, about half of them children, in the town of Houla. Her country and its Free Syrian Army allies would never do such a thing! But, of course, it goes without saying – and without the necessity of any proof whatsoever – that the Syrian government slits babies’ throats for breakfast. For CNN, the inherent goodness of the U.S. and whoever its allies of the moment might be, is a matter of faith.
Like her broadcast colleagues, the high-priced talking head had spent most of last year spreading fantastic lies about “imminent” massacres of civilians by Moamar Qaddafi’s government in Libya – massacres that never happened – and covering up the actual slaughter of black Libyan civilians at the hands of U.S.-backed forces. She and her fellow well-paid prevaricators reported as fact that Colonel Qaddafi’s soldiers used rape as a weapon of war, fueled by vast quantities of Viagra – a total fabrication. These same corporate media psychopaths pretended to believe, and tried to convince the whole world, that NATO’s 7-month bombing campaign against Libya had killed not a single civilian – or, well, maybe just a few.
Now CNN’s heroes are the so-called Free Syrian Army – who are obviously the good guys, because the U.S. State Department and the Pentagon say so. But, the Russian commentary in Pravda is much closer to the truth.
“It is in the interest of Sunni jihadis to make the conflict in Syria into a war against the Alawites.”
In Syria, as in Libya, the United States has allied itself with al Qaida and forces that are politically very much like al Qaida. Hundreds, if not thousands, of U.S.-armed Libyan jihadis have relocated to Syria. The Saudis and Qataris have sent many thousands more Sunni religious fighters into Syria, where they wage holy war against the secular government. The terror bombings that have claimed hundreds of lives in Syrian cities over the past few months are classic al Qaida, as even U.S. officials have been forced to admit. And so are the killings of children in Houla.
The logic of the Houla massacre is the logic of al Qaida. In Iraq, al Qaida dedicated all its energies to provoking war between Sunnis and Shi’ites, whom al Qaida considers heretics. In Syria, the Alawite minority to which President Bashar Assad belongs is a branch of Shia. It is in the interest of Sunni jihadis to make the conflict in Syria into a war against the Alawites, who are over-represented in the secular government and the army. These jihadis hate both Muslim heretics and secularists. But, it is fundamentally against the Syrian regime’s interest for the conflict to devolve into sectarianism. And it makes absolutely no sense for the Syrian regime to allow the slitting of children’s throats while United Nations observers are stationed throughout the country. However, it does serve the interests of the rebels and their American and European backers – and, of course, the interests of Israel, which has long sought the dismantling of the Syria state.
Terrified at the onset of the Arab Spring, the U.S. and Europe, along with the royal thugs of the Persian Gulf, decided to unleash chaos in the region, using the most militant foot soldiers at their disposal: jihadis. Ultimately, this diabolical strategy will not make U.S. imperialism stronger – but it will make the world a lot bloodier, and far more dangerous.
For Black Agenda Radio, I’m Glen Ford. On the web, go to BlackAgendaReport.com.
BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com .
Maurice Carney is Executive Director of Friends of the Congo. He provides an update on recent events in the Democratic Republic of Congo created by the Rwandan and U.S. proxy militia group M23 and…
Frank Chapman is Executive Director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. That organization has led the fight for community control of the police, with the creation of the…
In the September 23, 2022 segment of Black Agenda Radio we discussed the case of Tracy McCarter. The New York City nurse was charged with murder as she attempted to defend herself from her violent…
A new Black "first" came along at the same moment that the Democratic Party showed itself to be a servant of the ruling classes. Hakeem Jeffries is a very willing tool of powerful people. There is no…
What role did labor play in the 2004 coup in Haiti? A 2008 essay illuminates the convergence of labor politics, neoliberal policy, and imperial malfeasance.
