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Total number of comments: 18 (since 2013-12-28 00:31:15)

Louis Proyect

Showing comments 18 - 1
Page: 1

  • Syria: A Market bombing kills 38 and Explains why Government won Syria War
    • Louis N. Proyect 03/22/2018 at 7:54 am with 1 replies

      There is zero class analysis in this account. Those who took up arms against the dictatorship were driven by economic misery, not a desire to impose sharia law. I know that Juan will not approve this comment but he should be aware of what those on the left like Gilbert Achar think about these issues.

  • Trump Admin Commits to Forever War in Syria against Iran
    • Louis N Proyect 01/18/2018 at 8:24 am

      "Tillerson lionizes the rebels who rose up against it." Yes, lionizing them has been very effective against Assad's missiles and bombs.

  • With Fall of Aleppo, will a Russo-Iranian Middle East challenge Trump?
    • Louis Proyect 12/23/2016 at 9:04 am with 1 replies

      "Although Da’wa, which provides the prime minister (Haydar al-Abadi) might ordinarily despise the secular, socialist Baath Party, both of them are allied against Sunni fundamentalism."

      Socialist Baath Party? Ooh! Rami Makhlouf better be careful that his cousin Bashar doesn't expropriate him.

  • Why do GOP Presidents get to go Hard Right, and Dems are just GOP Lite?
    • Louis Proyect 12/15/2016 at 8:25 am with 3 replies

      Juan, you don't seem to get it. The Democrats would rather see a Republican in the White House than abandon their loyalties to corporate interests. Do you think that Hillary Clinton will suffer as a result of losing the election? Her life will be just as great as it ever was. You really need to learn to think in class terms. Try reading Karl Marx when you get a chance.

  • Why Russia and Regime want all of Aleppo before Trump is sworn in
    • Louis Proyect 11/30/2016 at 9:07 am with 1 replies

      This is preposterous. There might be hawks in Trump's cabinet but not a single one is sympathetic to the Syrian rebels. In terms of what happens next with Iran, it is anybody's guess. A large part of the tilt toward Iran was motivated by pure capitalist motives for a new market, just as it was with Cuba. But in any case, all of the "anti-imperialists" should be gleeful that the Syrian revolution has been crushed even though the result is something resembling Franco's victory in Spain.

  • Turkish Pres. Erdogan cites Hitler in case for Presidential System
    • Louis Proyect 01/04/2016 at 9:57 am

      This report was eventually revealed to be misrepresenting Erdogan. He is an authoritarian but he is not a neo-Nazi.

  • The Regime Strikes Back: Syrian Gov't advances, Bolstered by Russia
    • Louis Proyect 12/26/2015 at 8:55 am with 5 replies

      "The regime is already restoring security in these three districts, which will be reincorporated into Baathist Damascus."

      Restoring security? How depressing to hear a respected progressive scholar using the language of RT.com.

  • Is Daesh/ ISIL a modern Raiding Pirate state?
    • Louis Proyect 11/16/2015 at 8:22 am

      "political concerns about the image of Kurdish or Shiite allies of the US on the ground conquering Sunni Arab populations simply have to be set aside."

      But it is exactly that which led to the growth of Daesh in the first place.

  • American Hypocrisy: Against Muslim Sharia law at home, Calls it "Moderate" in Syria
    • Louis Proyect 10/22/2015 at 9:03 am

      The issue is not so much the use of barrel bombs but where they are used. Dropping them on open air markets is a war crime. When steel fragments are scattered over a 360 degree angle, it tends to kill everybody in sight, including women and children trying to buy food. This is generally the strategy of Assad, to terrorize the population just like the Israelis in Gaza. It is a disgrace that so many "leftists" cheer such bestiality because they feel the need to put a plus where Samantha Power puts a minus.

    • Louis Proyect 10/20/2015 at 9:34 am

      Hospitals being bombed in Syria and you get your knickers twisted over Sharia? Nice Christopher Hitchens imitation, I must say.

  • Syria flying Russia-supplied Drones, Fighter Jets against ISIL/ Daesh
    • Louis Proyect 09/25/2015 at 8:24 am with 1 replies

      Likewise, the US now seems willing to negotiate with al-Assad.

      ---

      Actually, there is a de facto united front of Russia, Israel, the USA, and Iran against not only ISIS but any threat to the Assadist dictatorship. By intervening against ISIS, Russia allows the Syrian air force to step up its horrific bombing of rebel controlled areas like Douma, hence increasing the amount of refugees flowing out of Syria. I wonder why someone as astute as Juan Cole has so much trouble seeing this.

  • Russia Ramping up Military Involvement in Syria?
    • Louis Proyect 09/10/2015 at 8:33 am

      "The increased Russian presence is likely intended to deter the US from striking at al-Assad forces, as Washington said it was contemplating in early August. "

      So odd to see such a distinguished scholar articulate an opinions so at odds with the reality. For four years now we have been hearing about Obama's "regime change" intentions in Syria from elements on the left who somehow ignored the reality.

      To start with, there was never any intention by Barack Obama to launch a “humanitarian intervention” in Syria whatever people like Nicholas Kristof or Samantha Power sought. On October 22nd, 2013, the NY Times reported that “from the beginning, Mr. Obama made it clear to his aides that he did not envision an American military intervention, even as public calls mounted that year for a no-fly zone to protect Syrian civilians from bombings.” The article stressed the role of White House Chief of Staff Dennis McDonough, who had frequently clashed with the hawkish Samantha Power. In contrast to Power and others with a more overtly “humanitarian intervention” perspective, McDonough “who had perhaps the closest ties to Mr. Obama, remained skeptical.” The Times added, “He questioned how much it was in America’s interest to tamp down the violence in Syria.”

  • Syria: What if Turkey and Saudi Arabia install al-Qaeda in Damascus?
    • Louis Proyect 05/08/2015 at 8:35 am

      Juan, your post is a little messed up but I can glean from it that the jihadists killed two Christians in Idlib and thus (implicitly) the Baathists have to be supported as a lesser evil, which coincidentally is the position of the Obama administration even though you seem loath to admit it. As it turns out the reality in Idlib is more complex than you seem willing to admit. This is from the 3/31 NY Times:

      Tensions are already evident in Idlib over the treatment of Christians, a bellwether issue. Two activists, who asked not to be identified out of fear for their safety, said that foreign fighters from Nusra had killed two Christians after hearing they worked in a liquor store.

      They said that fighters from Ahrar al-Sham had rebuked the foreigners and set up checkpoints to protect Christians from them.

      Abdullah Mohamad Al-Muhaisini, a Saudi Islamic law jurist traveling with the fighters, used Twitter to construct a complex argument against killing Christians who do not resist.

      Christians appeared to be suffering from both sides, as rescuers said government airstrikes hit Christians’ homes. In video of shaken, crying residents in smoking, damaged homes, a non-veiled woman yelled, “bastard tyrant!”

  • Juan Cole: Syria, Yemen Conflicts only seem to be about Sunni-Shiite from 30,000 Feet
    • Louis Proyect 04/17/2015 at 8:21 am with 1 replies

      Juan, I see you are doubling down on this business about al-Qaeda being influenced by Karl Marx. I have deep respect for you as an expert on the Middle East but I think you are in over your head when it comes to Marxism. You are describing something much more akin to Blanquism. The idea that sabotage was used to "provoke" the workers by inciting police repression is simply wrong. Sabotage has been used by socialists in guerrilla warfare such as in Cuba when pro-Batista sugar mills were burned but it was not and is not a tactic for "sparking" worker resistance. They burned sugar mills in Cuba in order to weaken the social base of a dictatorship and not in order to bring about police repression. The Cuban people did not need lessons on how repressive the capitalist state could be, after all.

  • Iraq: Looming War of Shiite, Kurdish, Extremist-Sunni Militias
    • Louis Proyect 06/12/2014 at 8:00 am

      In Syria, it was Lebanese Hizbullah intervention that allowed the regime to recover Homs from Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS.

      ---

      Actually, it was months and months of missiles, barrel bombs, artillery, and a blockade of food and medical aid that did the trick. It is rather sad that Juan does not understand this. He should try to see the documentary "Return to Homs".

  • US Arms Shiite Iraqi Gov't to Kill Sunni Rebels, Arms Syrian Sunni Rebels to overthrow Shiite Gov't
    • Louis Proyect 12/28/2013 at 8:27 am with 3 replies

      Reuters, Sept. 10:
      One U.S. government source said it was "unlikely" that any U.S.-supplied arms were on the ground in the hands of Syrian rebels at this time, while not dismissing the possibility that such aid was in the works.

      ---

      Meanwhile, even as lethal aid never materialized, non-lethal aid as well was terminated after the warehouse in the north was overrun. Maybe Juan meant to write "Obama admin has admitted promising covert aid to rebels" as in "Obama admin has promised that the economy will be fully recovered".

    • Louis Proyect 12/27/2013 at 8:46 am with 6 replies

      But in the case of Syria, the US is supporting the rebellion against the Baath government of Bashar al-Assad,

      ---

      Really? How so? With words? In fact American imperialism has been not provided any weapons to the FSA as the NY Times has reported, let alone the jihadists who might be targeted with drones as the LA Times reported.

  • Top Ten Ways President Obama has Expanded our Rights, in Rev. King's Footsteps
    • Louis Proyect 01/22/2013 at 7:54 am

      This is a dreadful analysis from the otherwise astute Dr. Cole.

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