Syria: The enemy of your enemy is still not your friend/Syrie: l'ennemi de votre ennemi est toujours pas votre ami

English:

It has been 2 years since the  beginning of the internal conflict in Syria, and the situation doesn't seem to be improving. Overtures of peace are denied, car bombings and assassinations are a common reality, and each side is blaming the other. On the international Left there seems to be a consensus against Western intervention because such an action would only be a further expression of imperialist aspirations in the region. Further, there is highly critical and valid questioning over the nature of the Syrian opposition, mainly because it is split between theocratic Islamists like the al-Nusra Front and the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition. I tend to agree with many contemporaries on the Left that these alternatives to the Assad government are not what the Syrian people need, one is dedicated to the establishment of a reactionary theocratic regime while the other is dedicated to expanding the interest of liberalism in Syria.

However, many sections of the Left have gone a step beyond: they want to defend to Assad government either out of pure opposition to the West or because the regime has a history of being part of the anti-imperialist bloc. Those leftists need to remember a crucial aspect: the whole conflict began with the Assad regime cracking down on protesters. No matter how you might feel about the situation in Syria now, the original protests against Assad were in the context of the Arab Spring and completely valid. His is an autocratic state in the vein of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath regime that speaks in the rhetoric of socialism while allowing poverty and corruption to run rampant. Assad is committed to keeping his autocratic rule at any cost, and even though the opposition probably is responsible for much of the violence in the cities, the reaction by the Assad regime is no better.

As I said about Qaddafi when he fell, it's one thing to be against Western intervention, it is another thing entirely to defend a corrupt and autocratic regime simply because it is being targeted by the West. No to Western intervention, and no to Assad!

Français:

Il a été 2 ans depuis le début du conflit interne en Syrie, et la situation ne semble pas s'améliorer. Des ouvertures de paix sont niés, attentats à la voiture et les assassinats sont une réalité commune, et chaque côté est de blâmer l'autre. Sur la gauche internationale, il semble y avoir un consensus contre l'intervention occidentale car une telle action ne serait qu'une nouvelle expression des aspirations impérialistes dans la région. En outre, il est très critique et le questionnement valable sur la nature de l'opposition syrienne, principalement parce qu'il est divisé entre les islamistes théocratiques comme le Front al-Nusra et le soutenu par l'Occident Coalition nationale syrienne. Je suis d'accord avec beaucoup de ses contemporains sur la gauche que ces solutions de rechange au gouvernement d'Assad ne sont pas ce que le peuple syrien besoin, un est consacré à la mise en place d'un régime théocratique réactionnaire tandis que l'autre est consacré à l'expansion de l'intérêt du libéralisme en Syrie.

Cependant, de nombreuses sections de la gauche ont franchi une étape au-delà: ils veulent défendre au gouvernement Assad soit par pure opposition à l'Occident, soit parce que le régime a une histoire de faire partie du bloc anti-impérialiste. Ces gauchistes besoin de se rappeler un aspect crucial: tout le conflit a commencé avec le régime d'Assad sévir contre les manifestants. Peu importe comment vous pourriez vous sentir à propos de la situation en Syrie aujourd'hui, les manifestations contre Assad étaient d'origine dans le contexte du printemps arabe et tout à fait valable. Son est un état autocratique dans la veine du régime de Saddam Hussein Baas qui parle dans la rhétorique du socialisme, tout en permettant la pauvreté et la corruption à sévir. Assad s'est engagé à maintenir son régime autocratique à n'importe quel prix, et même si l'opposition est probablement en grande partie responsable de la violence dans les villes, la réaction par le régime d'Assad n'est pas meilleure.

Comme je l'ai dit à propos de Kadhafi quand il est tombé, c'est une chose d'être contre l'intervention occidentale, c'est tout autre chose pour défendre un régime corrompu et autocratique simplement parce qu'il est visé par l'Occident. Non à l'intervention occidentale, et non à Assad!

On the death of Hugo Chavez

The world has lost one of the most dynamic figures of our age. Some (particularly American capitalists) call him a dictator, some compare him to a modern Juan Peron, to others he is the closest thing to a savior. He had elements of all of these: there is no doubt that he made questionable judgments in foreign policy like continuing to support the regime of Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus, Ahmadinejad in Iran, and others who opposed U.S. interests yet were not the best of leaders. He also had a classic Latin American strong leader style like Peron and Castro, you could clearly see it in his speeches and his rhetoric. But ultimately what he will be remembered for, what he should be remembered for, is the dedication he had to ensuring the best for the people of Venezuela. He fought to make education, healthcare, and rights for working people a reality for all. He ensured that the power of finance capital that crippled the world economy and that had ruled Latin America for years would have no power over people of Venezuela. Most importantly, he started a revolutionary, democratic process to create a new type of socialist society free of Leninist dogma that encourages direct participation in local politics (Bolivarian Circles) and encourages direct ownership of the means of production through government sponsorship of worker cooperatives. Leaders like Chavez may have their problems, but actions speak louder than words, and the actions of the Bolivarian Revolution he helped create will resonate through Latin America, the international Left, and the world at large for years to come.