ANSWER LA Public Forum: Report Back from Syria
Resisting U.S. aggression in the Middle East
Friday, January 6, 7:30 pm
1800 Argyle Ave, #410, LA
(Free parking and childcare available)
Featuring Richard Becker, ANSWER organizer from San Francisco
Becker recently traveled to Damascus, Syria to represent the ANSWER Coalition at an international conference about Palestinian refugees and their struggle for the right of return. He also learned about the intensified U.S. campaign to bring about regime change in Syria.
Join us for the first ANSWER public forum of 2006 to discuss the Syria and how it is connected to the war on Iraq, the Palestinian struggle and the greater anti-imperialist struggle in the Middle East. U.S. hands off Syria!
Plus: Update on March 18 & 20 Global Days of Action against the war and occupation of Iraq. For more info call 323-464-1636 or email or website.
One has to be careful to avoid the mistakes that the Reaganauts made in Afghanistan, namely “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Just because the current Administration tries to do something silly like topple the one remaining Baathist regime in the Middle East should not elevate that regime to martyr status or status as a glorious example of how governments ought to act. There are plenty of good reasons not to interfere with Syria, not the least of which is that there’s nobody in the Bush administration who has even a remote understanding of the nature of the politics in the region and would have about as much control over events after toppling the government as was had in Iraq. (If you think Iraq is fractured ethnically, just wait till you visit Syria.) But this is an argument for prudence, not for the decency of the Syrian government. In terms of pegging the government as particularly vile, the Bushies are demonstrating nothing more than the old maxim that “even a stopped clock is right twice a day.”
Well, the US isn’t making noises about attacking Burma or Uzbekistan or any other of the other countries they support who have hideous human right records. But they do want hegemony in the Middle East and have clearly shown they will lie, invade, and do whatever to get it. And that, I think, is Becker’s message.