Don't really understand what is going on in the Western left-liberal debates around Syria. The entire framing seems trapped by a very crude obsession with Obama's slogan - 'Assad Must Go' - and then is mirrored by the equally absurd reply - 'Assad Must Not Go'. #Syria.
2) But the issue is not really Assad. It is the complexity of Syria's history, of the long history of colonialism and the short history of nationalism, the suffocation of one-party states. For wider context, an old piece I wrote, alternet.org/world/dont-par…. #Syria.
3) Twenty-five years of reporting had not prepared me to report from Syria. Being on the ground - as I have since 2012 - is not as complex as being in the middle of meaningless debates that are absorbed by US State Department ideology. See this: newsclick.in/what-make-syri…. #Syria.
4) This history of colonialism & mutated nationalism is not isolated to Syria, but is one shared from South America to Southeast Asia. It is a history of contradictory attempts to fight against colonial theft, colonial pressure, colonial habits of mind, the colonial media. #Syria
5) Western left-liberals have always been at sea in their understanding of the contradictions of anti-colonial struggles and mutations. They judge, but do not understand. It is easy to be a judge. Harder to be in the thick of the contradictions. #Syria.
6) Read some Fanon before you preach to the world who should 'go' and who should not 'go'. Particularly, read Fanon's chapter - Pitfalls of National Consciousness - a key part of The Wretched of the Earth. School yourself in 21st century Fanonism. #Syria.
7) But also don't neglect the clarity of Nkrumah's Neo-Colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism (1965) and Dark Days in Ghana (1968). If you read these books, you'll gain an understanding of a pan-Africanist socialist perspective on neo-colonialism. #Syria.
8) To suggest that it is ok for the United States to bomb a country of the South to 'save lives', while US arms manufacturers are making a killing selling weapons to inflame conflicts is to miss the context of these wars. The author of this malady is not merely 'Assad'. #Syria.
9) Warning from Cabral: 'Obviously a people's struggle is effectively theirs if the reason for that struggle is based on the aspirations, the dreams, the desire for justice and progress of the people themselves...(contd).
10) Warning from Cabral (contd): '..... and not on the aspirations, dreams or ambitions of a half a dozen persons, or a group of persons who are in contradiction with the actual interests of the people'. #Syria.
11) The question on the table for years has been the possibility of political reconciliation in Syria - something that one hears repeatedly from Syrians themselves. This has got to be the way forward. #Syria.
12) Strongly recommend you read @omardah's wise comments in the @tri_continental dossier: thetricontinental.org/dossier-3-syri…. #Syria.
