German Left Stands With Syrian Dictator Assad

Anti-Americanism is a chronic disease of the German left.  If the United States backs an opposition group anywhere in the world, then it must be a CIA plot - or better, a CIA-Israeli plot. America and Israel are the twin bogeymen for the left; their influence is always evil. 

And so it is with Syria.  The United States, along with the EU, Canada, Japan - and, yes, Israel - have called for the Syrian dictator Bahar al-Assad to step down and to stop the massacre of his own citizens.  In the logic of the German left this makes Assad a hero of the the forces of liberation.  The fact that Assad enjoys the full support of an autocrat like Vladimir Putin makes support for the repressive regime in Damascus all the more compelling (see my post The Putinization of the German Left).The left-wing blog NachDenkSeiten published a translation of an interview with MIddle East expert Günter Meyer, who blames the internal strife and violence in Syria on meddling by the United States and Israel. The US support for the Free Syrian Army has nothing to do with supporting democratic forces or humanitarian intervention but rather is a calculated strategy to realize geopolitical objectives in the region (original interview in English here):  

GM: There are numerous statements from the US government which stress the geostrategic importance of the ousting of the Syrian regime so that both Iran and Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon will loose their most important ally. The Iranian and Syrian supply of military equipment to Hezbollah will no longer be possible. The weakening of the military force of this Shiite organization means that its impact on the power structure of Lebanon and especially its ability to attack Israel will dramatically decline. [8] The fall of Bashar Al-Assad will also weaken the influence of Russia and China in the Middle East and strengthen the role of the US and Saudi Arabia in this region.

As to the question Cui bono? - who stands to gain from the bloodshed in Syria, Meyer has a clear answer: the United States and Israel.

GM: So far, Israel and the US have been the main winners. The government in Jerusalem has been able to rally significant support for its fight against Iran from Washington and the European capitals. This does not apply to the military intervention demanded by Netanyahu and Barak, but in respect to a significant increase in sanctions against Teheran which cause more and more serious problems for the economic development of Iran.

The US is profiting from the growing dependency of the GCC countries on military protection by US troops combined with record sales of weapons by arms manufacturers in the United States, where tens of thousands of new jobs are created and hundred thousands of old jobs are secured.

The journalist Karin Leukefeld reports for the left-wing newspapers Neues Deutschland and Junge Welt from inside Syria, and her "reporting" could be described as pure propaganda for the Assad regime.  In fact her journalistic "work" is routinely cited by the official SyriaNews agency.  In Leukefeld's view, the US wants control of Syria's gas reserves and the opposition forces are nothing more than mercenary "death squads" financed by the CIA.  All of the atrocities reported in the Western press are, in fact, committed by these CIA-funded para-military groups:

Es geht darum, eine Destabilisierungspolitik zu betreiben… Wo man nicht die eigenen Truppen hinschicken will. Weil diese Art der Intervention auch keine politische Legitimität hat. Ich denke, das ist ein „Undercover-War“, also ein Krieg, der illegal geführt wird. Man spricht auch von einem „schmutzigen Krieg“, weil er sich auch jenseits von völkerrechtlichen Vereinbarungen abspielt. Die USA haben immer zu solchen Gruppierungen gegriffen, wenn es um ihre strategischen, politischen Interessen in bestimmten Regionen gegangen ist. Um sie durchzusetzen bzw. durchzudrücken…

(The goal is to destabilize the region. When you don't want to send your own troops. Because an intervention like this has no political legitimacy. I call this an "undercover war" - a war that is being conducted illegally.  You can also call it a "dirty war", because it violates all human rights treaties. The US has always relied on groups like this to protect its strategic geopolitical interests in certain regions. In order to achieve - or force - them.)

It is grotesque to see the German left align itself with the reactionary theocracy in Tehran - because it represents a threat to Israeli- American interests in the region.  One left-wing publication calls for solidarity with the "Axis of Resistance" (die Achse des Widerstands) consisting of Iran, Syria and Hezbollah.  

In light of the German left's support forthe bloody dictatorship in Damascus - as well as the corrupt, authoritarian rule in Moscow -its embrace of 9/11 "Trutherism" seems almost benign by comparison.

Comments

[Zyme]

I would say not only German Leftists have sympathies with Assad.

When I look at the relative absence of religion from the ruling government class in Syria right now, I can only shudder at what can be expected to follow should the revolutionaries prevail. I find it way more comforting to see a rather secular military class in power by contrast.

To put it in right wing American words: Assad may be a bloody bastard, but he is our bastard!

He opposes both American and Israeli interests and stands against religious extremists. What more could you ask for in the Middle East?

:-)

[koogleschreiber]

There never has been a military intervention or support for humanitarian reasons, but for national interests. It is easy to distrust the ambitions of the big global players because the history lessons demand it.

Nevertheless I wouldn't go so far as to say 'the German left's support of...' is generally this or that. The German left is much bigger than the few exponents of communist hardliners within the Left Party who have a reserved seat and voice in their media.

[David]

I'm sick of German leftists tweeting anti-American messages on their iPhones, or posting on facebook.

Judging by their embrace of dictators and authoritarian leaders like Putin, their hatred of America is much greater than their love of democracy and freedom.

[michijo]

Having lived in a squatted anarchist building in Berlin for a year, I can say I have encountered anti-Americanism and understand Germany. They have a perverse bitterness toward Americans, even Americans who are sick of the USA! Even if you agree with them, they still hate you for being American on some level, and even if you proclaim that you want to live in Turkey and that Muslims are your buddies, they will bitterly push you further and suggest you to live in Iraq, as if you had anything to do with that war either.

I was thinking on this subject recently and it comes down to this: Europeans are too complicated. Their way way of thinking is filled with stereotypes and fear, so that they complicate everything into a cliche reality that bothers even them. They hate the cliches they fabricate while promoting them, then to escape, they delve into abstraction and become irrelevant and even elitist. Real life bothers them a bit.

[michijo]

For the European mind, there is always a safe-haven in provincialism.

[michijo]

As an American, I dont have any desire to be involved with the middle east, Islam, or Israel. If it was up to me, the USA would be neutral and never lend military support overseas.

[michijo]

For instance: when the Bosnians and Croats started a war with Serbia, they proclaimed that they immediately believed the USA would help them, but were let down when the USA didnt quickly enter the war. Then the Germans wanted the USA to help in the war also, and finally in retaliation, Serbians committed something like genocide. All this could have been avoided if the USA was known to be militarily neutral. The Bosnians and Croats would not have started the war. Thus, the USA IS behind many conflicts.

[David]

Rabid anti-Americanism is prevalent in Germany only with the left and the far right. In my experience, for 95% of Germans there is zero antipathy towards Americans (despite disagreement with some US policies).

This is not necessarily the case in France!

[Zyme]

David obviously you do not count in the way most Germans look down on things they call "American".

From your own experience, is this attribute associated in Germany with things considered to be admireable / positive?

[michijo]

Europeans, in my experience, are not only provincial, but villainously hypocritical, eating at McDonalds and wearing blue-jeans, and watching all trends that come from the USA, then bitterly, like old people, looking down their noses at us. I really laugh at the weird double-standards I encountered over there. In most ways I am even less American than many of the Europeans who act snotty toward us. The real complaint I have against the western world in general, is that no one is ever allowed to relax. They drink coffee continuously, and everybody is "somebody", and if you are okay with just being a "nobody", watch out, because they'll make your life hell, until you realize that even your insignificant life-form is at least worth the vote you have the ability to cast for these assholes, after which they dont mind tossing you out in the street to beg for coins. There should be something concerning the human right to be a nobody, especially in the USA.

[David]

@Zyme, that's not my experience at all. But, then again, I don't socialize with Sarrazin enthusiasts!

[michijo]

I dont see why we care about Syria anyway. I am not into this global world where we are all in it together. As an American, I long for a looking out for number one mentality that would cease to intervene in foreign affairs, no matter who is killed.

I am not one of the Americans who with open-eyed innocence looks out with heart on the world to spread a so-called Democracy, just as I do not look on any leader like Obama or Romney with open-eyed wonder. For the USA, I say: less heart and more intelligence, especially the Christians and very stupid and think with their hearts instead of their brains.

Nevertheless, I would be a better diplomat dealing with Muslims than both Israel and the USA. For instance, in Iran, I would give them the benefit of the doubt, and presume, like in the Cuban Missile Crisis, that they are honest, and even give them a gift of some radiation machines for treating cancer patients. This is the way to make peace.

[german translation service]

Well the Germans wanted the USA to help in the war also, and finally in retaliation, Serbians committed something like genocide..