There is a lot of doomerism in this comment section – understandably so, because this is a tragedy for the Syrian people and a setback for global anti-imperialism. But we need to be careful of falling into the trap of thinking the United States is omnipotent, or some kind of Manichean, unstoppable power of absolute metaphysical evil.
My read is this. Nearly every regime change operation mounted by the United States over the past five-eight years has been an embarrassing failure; this from the country that was once able to topple governments in the global south (and in the north as well) almost at will. Currently the US is led by one of the most incompetent administrations in recent history. If you doubt this, consider the way Biden’s foreign policy undermined the dollar (foundation of US global supremacy), and undid the result Kissinger and Brezinski spent decades trying to bring about, namely driving a wedge between Russia and China. These developments were, it is true, a long time in the making, but Biden greatly accelerated them. I ask then: is it credible that the United States, at this point in time, was able on its own to mount a regime-change operation as impressively effective as the one we just saw in Syria? It seems to me that the speed with which the Syrian government fell rather points to serious internal problems; understandable in a nation which has been at war for over a decade, but problems none the less. In other words, this was likely not a stable government – there was interior rot we didn’t know about; and the US state department may be just as surprised as we that their operation worked.
The best-case scenario for Syria at this point is, of course, an Evo Morales situation where the Assad government comes back from exile. I do not think that is likely. This a tragedy for Syrians, beyond many people’s ability to comprehend. But it does not necessarily change the overall trajectory of world history.
I really like this analysis. I won’t pretend it doesn’t make me feel some type of way, this situation. Or that it isn’t a substantial setback. But this is a good frame to look at it in.
There is a lot of doomerism in this comment section – understandably so, because this is a tragedy for the Syrian people and a setback for global anti-imperialism. But we need to be careful of falling into the trap of thinking the United States is omnipotent, or some kind of Manichean, unstoppable power of absolute metaphysical evil.
My read is this. Nearly every regime change operation mounted by the United States over the past five-eight years has been an embarrassing failure; this from the country that was once able to topple governments in the global south (and in the north as well) almost at will. Currently the US is led by one of the most incompetent administrations in recent history. If you doubt this, consider the way Biden’s foreign policy undermined the dollar (foundation of US global supremacy), and undid the result Kissinger and Brezinski spent decades trying to bring about, namely driving a wedge between Russia and China. These developments were, it is true, a long time in the making, but Biden greatly accelerated them. I ask then: is it credible that the United States, at this point in time, was able on its own to mount a regime-change operation as impressively effective as the one we just saw in Syria? It seems to me that the speed with which the Syrian government fell rather points to serious internal problems; understandable in a nation which has been at war for over a decade, but problems none the less. In other words, this was likely not a stable government – there was interior rot we didn’t know about; and the US state department may be just as surprised as we that their operation worked.
The best-case scenario for Syria at this point is, of course, an Evo Morales situation where the Assad government comes back from exile. I do not think that is likely. This a tragedy for Syrians, beyond many people’s ability to comprehend. But it does not necessarily change the overall trajectory of world history.
I really like this analysis. I won’t pretend it doesn’t make me feel some type of way, this situation. Or that it isn’t a substantial setback. But this is a good frame to look at it in.