[Vredeslijst] Syria and the left: 6 views on Muftah.org

[Jeff]

In light of the crisis within the left in addressing the Syrian revolution, Muftah.org has created a "Special Collection: Syria and the Left", consisting of 6 articles from various authors:

We Must Understand Syria as a Popular Struggle Despite its Complications
By Joseph Daher
http://muftah.org/we-must-understand-syria-as-a-popular-struggle-despite-its-complications

Disagreeing on the Internet: The New McCarthyism?
By Charles Davis
http://muftah.org/disagreeing-internet-new-mccarthyism

Some Leftists Would Rather Be “Right” Than Principled on Syria
By Dick Gregory
http://muftah.org/leftists-rather-right-principled-syria

Syria, the International Left, and the Need for Solidarity
By Isaac Paul Miller
http://muftah.org/syria-the-international-left-and-the-need-for-solidarity

Journalists on the Left are Stripping Syrians of Their Agency
By Adham Sahloul
http://muftah.org/journalists-left-stripping-syrians-agency

Syria, the No Fly Zone, and the Crisis of Antiwar Opposition
By David Turpin, Jr.
http://muftah.org/syria-crisis-antiwar-opposition


The "Special Collection" was presented on the following webpage, which includes the introduction which I have copied below:

http://muftah.org/special-collection-syria-left

Special Collection: Syria and the Left
Riad AlarianAlexander Schinis
December 19th, 2016

Many Syrians (both in the besieged territories and in the diaspora) continue 
to conceive of their struggle against President Bashar Al-Assad as an 
ongoing revolution. Despite this, debates over the nature of the conflict in 
Syria have plagued leftist discourses, in the nearly six years that have 
passed since the uprising began. As the humanitarian disaster in Syria 
deepens, so too have divisions within the left on how to understand the crisis.

While some on the left have argued that Assad’s immediate removal is 
critical to protect civilians, others claim Assad should not be so hastily 
eliminated, as he may be replaced by more terrifying actors. Notably, 
proponents of both these starkly incompatible perspectives claim to be 
antiwar and anti-imperialist, and purportedly attempt to build upon the 
legacies of intellectual giants, like Edward Said and Howard Zinn.

In the hope of creating meaningful space for this timely and fractious 
debate, Muftah has created this collection of six articles, which explore 
the various moral and political dimensions of leftist discourse on Syria. 
The pieces in this collection discuss the revolution as a grassroots 
phenomenon, as well as one of armed struggle, and address topics ranging 
from humanitarian intervention, the role of foreign actors, the successes 
and failures of antiwar coalitions in the West, and critiques of many 
different leftist thinkers, political figures, and journalists who have 
expressed views about the Syrian conflict, among other issues.

Muftah made every effort to solicit pieces reflecting a wide range of 
perspectives on the left’s relationship with the Syrian conflict. Our staff 
approached a range of individuals who eschew or challenge the revolutionary 
narrative—many of whom are critiqued in this collection—in order to build a 
collection that reflects diverse opinions about the issue. Unfortunately, 
many of these writers either turned down or did not respond to our requests. 
We have, nevertheless, done our utmost to select articles that, at least 
indirectly, highlight the diversity of views on the conflict, even if most 
of the authors featured here ultimately share a similar outlook on the 
Syrian conflict and the left’s responsibility toward it. 

We encourage our readers to contribute to the discussion by submitting 
comments and asking questions, on our website, Facebook, and Twitter pages. 
We also encourage those who are interested to submit their own articles, 
responding to the pieces in this collection, by emailing them to 
submissions op muftah.org. Muftah looks forward to continuing the conversation 
on Syria and the Left.