Syria (and local politics)

Syria (and local politics)

 I have no idea how the increased involvement of the big armed camps will develop in Syria. Looks like they are trying to find a way to not invade or bomb Syria. All the big gun toters are already “involved”, and have been for years, but things are hotting up. But I feel like writing something about it before I am overwhelmed by another example of civil war or armed aggression or armed intervention or UN involvement or whatever will come next whenever it will come. Or, get wrapped up in local activities and think I know nothing much more than anyone else about Syria. These last few years have been particularly full of interesting events in the world at large. For me “interesting” usually means some kind of instability or surprise. It also means trying to understand so many countries, so many cultures and so many histories that I get overwhelmed from time to time. Most of the year 2011 was like that. New movements everywhere, in places I knew nothing about.

 

Concerning Syria, there has been no pressure to join people doing some kind of action anywhere around here. Although Holland was acting the big warrior, I don’t think I could have gone to a single demo to stop him, here or in Montpellier. Maybe something happened in Paris, but I don’t go there. Last week I mentioned to a friend in our local Attac, that although I had an ophthalmologist appointment, could he mention the word “Syria” in the serious, but informal meeting that takes place in “The Local” (see previous blogs) every Monday morning. The question has never been discussed by Attac as far as I know, although I do miss meetings. Nothing in the minutes. He mentioned it, which was rather nice of him, and the informal Monday morning coffee chat decided that there was nothing to do, the invasion was not going to happen, there was no action that would be taken. They did not want to do or pretend to do anything. No other group in town, including the non-violent collective have talked about it. It is simply not happening for me on the action front here. Due to my limits, the idea of me starting a group on my own, in Bedarieux, just for Syria or other big power invasions, is not on.

 

So what sense have I made of what is going on, based purely on reading and a lifetime of following politics at some level, although usually not about Syria. In fact, although I should be, I am not even really up to date and following the Palestinian Problem. So I might be getting some things very wrong. Or more likely “taking some side or other” which I don’t fully support or even know I am “taking”. In some quite real sense, I don’t really want to have to study Syrian politics that much at present. There lots of things I would rather do.

 

I look at a map and guess that the boundaries of Syria were drawn up by various empires in some office in Paris or London. When I go back and (briefly) look at the history of Syria I am overwhelmed with the complexity, invasion, violence, changes of government, changes of boundaries, family power mongering and so forth that have gone on during most of the twentieth century. It seems pretty obvious that a civil war, and uncertainty about boundaries and identity is totally normal for Syria. I am almost embarrassed that I should even begin to make my views known on this country when I don’t know so very much about it. Really foolish to even try. They are not a very stable and happy nation-state. Bound to be trouble until things settle down some day.

 

So whatever happens, there is going to be a big mix of various ethnicities, some of whom probably want their own country, and are being oppressed by the current state of Syria. I forget all the names, but there are Kurds, Armenians and “others” who are ten percent of the population. Various pockets of Christians. A few long time family and regional conflicts. These quite normal conflicts are usually important, but have nothing to do with the game being played out right now. So we pretty much know that, in the case of Syria, there is a good chance of civil war, although the duration has taken some people by surprise. The civil war will mix these ethnicities and in this case the religions in a way almost no one can predict. For example, I have no idea exactly who the rebels are, what precise religion (although everyone says they are some kind of Muslim nutters) is promoted or allowed. I have some idea where they get weapons (from anyone who will sell, of course). I have no idea if the rebels or the Assad Gang have some deep “support” in the population of Syria. None of the leaders intuitively appeal to me, as much as I know. It helps me “choose sides” in conflicts if I think one side is somehow closer to the values I have, or more likely to create a world I want to live in. In this case, as far as I can tell, neither of the sides in the Syrian civil war are groups I can relate to. My actual real “compassion” or “support” do not extend to anyone at all in the world. I hear there are plenty of urban, semi-cosmopolitan middle class educated lefty people in the cities. But I guess they have no real voice right now, or maybe they all got busted. I am not sure what “the young Syrians” might be or are doing. They are usually pretty crucial in any opposition these days. It is always a bit difficult to have some kind of anti-government agitation in the middle of a civil war, when the gun toting opposition is not one you support. I am presuming the wild Muslims (if it is them who are “the opposition”, might not be close to the values of the middle class/student types I mentioned. So it seems, on the surface that there is no serious actor in the civil war I can support. Damn, that would have made it simple.

 

So how to end it, since I can’t pick a winner and support them. Maybe, just let them fight it out. So far, 45,000 soldiers of the state have been killed, some 35,000 regular folk and the rest were militia killed by the state. I trust these figures a bit, but I keep hearing them, so 100,000 dead, no telling how many injured, seriously or not. Some millions of refugees are “living” in tents in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey. Some say the biggest refugee problem in history, probably there have been others as big, maybe not. So it does sound on the surface that, like nearly any war, it is a bad one for nearly everyone. So for me the question is how to stop it. Normally I join in with people protesting against it and maybe send out some emails, maybe write a blog. Not a lot, but what I can do without disrupting my life too much. This time however, I am unable to easily find anyone whatsoever in France or my practical France who cares one way or another. So I write a blog.

 

I was going to go over who the war might be good for, who might be promoting it, but there is an article a friend sent that does that already, and takes up less space than I would.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/09/18/is-capitalism-to-blame-for-the-syrian-war-drive/

 

As I mentioned, my most militant group talked about Syria recently and decided the war was not going to happen, that a way would be figured out so the USA didn’t have to blow away some military targets with missiles, the ones with perfect accuracy and no collateral damage. This was before the recent developments in “weapons confiscation”. The USA does not really want to go to war, certainly “the people” don’t. Same in France, same in Britain. No one will believe the “surgical strike only” line, nobody will really be taken in. No one actually believes that Syria is a threat to the USA or France or the UK.

 

All of these major imperial countries in the world have committed war crimes by any serious definition, the USA for sure, for many years. Most anyone who reads this readers will remember Agent Orange or napalm or matches lighting up a village or Dresden or Iraq …. Why exactly does “everyone” get so wildly upset about gas use? The obvious answer is that it is somehow “more odious” and “internationally illegal”. Yet I am sure every single country does gas attack and defence research and development. They sell the stuff to any buyer. Honest, I would not put a gas attack as nearly the most horrible thing that a state can do to rebels. I mean the French! I will be mildly interested if the launching and the creation of the gas was entirely local or that some of the stuff was bought from …? Only mildly curious. Admittedly they stopped outlawing nasty pieces of death technology years ago. Everyone has them. I am saying I get equally angry, upset, depressed about ANY kind of violence. Sometimes I even think that they should outlaw everything after swords and sticks. Mind you, Ihave to say that when I saw the apprently real videos of dead bodies and such, it really was quite upsetting. After all thee years of dead bodies bombed, gassed, irradiated, deprived of water or land, it seems I can still be upset. I am happy about that, but it never means that because something I read about or see somewhere upsets me cannot determine my actions. Too many things. I get upset when I see publicity on the asses of racing cyclists. Really.

 

I guess I have moved to a position of some kind which is fairly merciless, maybe even a little less than compassionate. Maybe even a bit silly. I figure, overall, that if a bunch of people, for reasons of colonial leftovers, religions, politics, or just plain power seeking, end up in a civil war, with thousands being killed, I say leave ’em to it. Although making the lives comfortable for anyone who flees might always be a temptation. Clearly if a person or a group have some connection to an area, they have a lot more interest. For example, it doesn’t take close observation for me to notice many of my Jewish friends have an intense interest in Israel, usually, but not always, Palestinian supporters and Israeli government critics. One might visit Syria, or organise specific interventions of a peaceful kind. One might hook up with a group of one side or another and help them win. For example, if there was a Bulgarian civil war, I might be on the phone to my family there, to figure out how they were fixed or what was going on. Mind you, I think most of my family there are some kind of aspiring capitalists, and my uncle certainly was a tool of the ruling class, until they dumped him. But I have cousins I quite liked when I saw them forty years ago. Or if my good pal were Iraqi or whatever, I might have taken a greater interest in Iraq. And no doubt if my local chapter of Attac or my Collectif Non-Violent had ever mentioned Syria. But really, I hear nothing locally. So I am in favour of letting them kill each other. If any government made a serious effort to stop them killing each other, then I would support that. Unless of course “their solution” meant continuing death to soldiers and civilians. So let them continue. Anyone selling arms to Syria in the last year should be tried and convicted of supporting war crimes. Maybe.

 

I start from the rock bottom assumption that if people want to be fanatic Christians, fanatic capitalists, fanatic Muslims, any kind of enthusiastic form of government, then let them do it. If they start messing about with where I live (the Syrians are NOT), then I might try to preserve my lifestyle. But if these various nations in various states make obviously bad choices, and kill each other, it is not up to me to study their history, cultures, language and then try some non-violent way to end the conflicts that have lasted centuries. Unless I had an authentic interest, of course. If there was some kind of serious genocide going on, and seriously oppressive regime crushing people on account of race or level of wealth, I might feel more strongly than on the basis of religion. My view is that when you get “too much religion”, like in the Middle East, including Israel, you end up with some pretty awful politics, and lots of death and destruction. Nothing new. Nothing that can be done, except try to make sure there are not too many fanatics around.

 

Things is, I am a bit of a fanatic myself. So I sometimes have a bit of sympathy for extremists. But I find some people’s activities is utterly unforgivable and awful. Like the rich. Like the financial classes. Like rapists. Like petty thugs. I would be in favour of somehow not allowing that class of people to exist. Since I don’t like immediate death sentences, or kneecapping (although that often seems right), I guess I am in favour of appropriate education and political action. However, there is no way I am going to actually go to Syria, ever, for any reason. I don’t even know a Syrian. So mostly I have to keep informed and see if any group I find out about has the right ways to act. Then I might decide to support them somehow. Assuming I don’t already do “enough” for some other anti-war pro-justice related activity throughout the world. In general, I guess I had best always be in favour of promoting and improving non-violent activities and politics. I am better than some on that question and with my actions, but not all that good really.

 

Now that I have nearly finished, I have to admit I was right at the beginning. Every time I have a little doubt about some aspect of this civil war, I google a bit, and find new information I never knew before. Basic information, not just a date or a name. For example, I really never used to understand what an Alawite was, if there were lots of them, what role they played and so forth. Those of you who know more than I do will realise this is pretty essential information. I only really have a rough idea now. The other thing that struck me is that since Syria is so different, as a culture and a place, I don’t have the intuitions that balance reading and learning about Spain or Mexico or Denmark. Those places are more familiar, I might have been there, I might have known someone of that place, I have hunches and guesses as to whether someone is lying to me or covering up. With Syria I just don’t know.

 

I think that writing about conflicts in places I don’t understand is not what I should be doing. But at least I found out about that. Hope the next blog is better.