The Image of Victory

 MAY 21, 2021 BY GILAD ATZMON

by Gilad Atzmon

If winning a military battle is defined by the accomplishment of one’s military objectives, then Hamas won the current round of violence with its very first ballistic barrage on Jerusalem ten days ago. Israel, on the other hand, won’t win, can’t win and doesn’t even dream of winning. Like in recent ‘rounds’, all Israel hopes to achieve is an ‘image of victory.’ Despite its military might and destructive enthusiasm, Israel can’t prevail militarily because it doesn’t even remember what military objectives are or what they look like.  

In the last seven decades Israel has worked relentlessly to divide the Palestinians in an attempt to dismantle their ability to resist as one people. This project had been so successful in the eyes of the Israelis that many of them started to believe that the Palestinian cause had evaporated into thin air. But then, completely out of the blue (as far as the Israelis are concerned), Hamas managed to unite the Palestinians into a unified fist of resistance: on Tuesday every Palestinian between the River and the Sea joined a strike called by Hamas. Such a collective, multi-sectorial strike didn’t happen in Palestine since 1936.  

Military victory is not measured by the carnage you inflict on your foe. It isn’t measured by the number of casualties or the residential towers one reduces into dust. Admittedly, there is no room for comparison between Israeli military capabilities and Hamas’ firepower. Israel is one of the most technologically advanced military forces in the world. Hamas is decades behind, yet it wins over Israel in every round of violence. 

The reason is simple. Hamas’ military objectives are simple and modest. Hamas has vowed to keep the resistance alive. It fulfills its promise. By achieving this goal Hamas has positioned itself as the Palestinian unifier. Israel, on the other hand, can’t decide its military goals. We hear Israel’s Defence Minister vowing to bring security to the Israelis but Hamas proves him wrong, continuing to rain Israel with rockets at a growing rate. Israel brags about its precision bombing of Hamas’ tunnels, yet rather cynically, Hamas keep operating from tunnels that seem intact and operational.

It doesn’t take a military genius to grasp that in order to stop Hamas, Israel needs to deploy ground forces and to engage in a fierce battle in the streets of Gaza. But this is exactly the one thing the IDF refuses to do and for a manifold of very good reasons. Firstly, the Israelis are fearful of a house-to-house battle. Second, Israel doesn’t want to control 2.5 million Gazans. Third, not one Israeli military leader is willing to face the relentless Israeli mothers brigade. In the region, however, Israel’s reluctance to send foot soldiers to Gaza is understood as cowardice and weakness. 

For Israel, Gaza in particular and Palestine in general is a no-win situation.

But there is a deeper reasoning behind Israel’s hopeless situation. Israeli decision makers (both within the political realm and in the military) subscribe to the power of deterrence. For Israelis, the power of deterrence means punishing the Arabs so heavily that their will to fight would practically stop existing. For one reason or another, the Israelis manage to clumsily zigzag through their troubling history in the region in an attempt to validate this doctrine. For instance, Israel works hard to convince themselves that despite their military fiasco in Lebanon in 2006, Hezbollah has been reluctant to enter a new round of violence with Israel because it is intimidated by the consequences.

Examination of Israeli history actually defies the Israeli doctrine. When Arabs are defeated and humiliated in the battlefield they keep fighting until they win. When Arabs win, they often lose their motivation to keep fighting. They occasionally seek peace and harmony in accordance with the Islamic teaching.

In 1967 Israel defeated 3 Arab armies in just 6 days. Israel performed a perfect Blitzkrieg operation. The Israeli air force surprised and destroyed the Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian air forces on the ground in less than four hours. Simultaneously, Israeli Panzers raided into Sinai, within hours the Egyptian forces collapsed. The humiliation of the Egyptian army was unprecedented in military terms.

If the Israeli doctrine carried any validity, Egypt wouldn’t consider any military confrontation with Israel. But the reality on the ground proved the opposite. Just a few months after their June 1967 defeat, the Egyptian Army launched a war of attrition against Israel, one which exhausted the Israeli forces (including the air force). In the War of Attrition (1967-70) Egypt displayed new capabilities, relying on new Soviet ground-to-air missiles that obliterated Israeli air superiority. Yet Israel refused to draw the necessary conclusions. It was suffocated by hubris that prevented it from reading its neighbors and their intentions.

On 6 October 1973 (Yom Kippur) at 2 PM, Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated attack on Israeli forces in the Suez Canal and in the Golan Heights. Within hours the two Arab armies managed to obliterate the Israeli defence lines. A few days later and thanks to a close American airlift Israel recovered. It gained its lost land in the occupied Golan heights and even managed to conquer some new territory in Syria. In the South, Israel managed to establish bridgehead over the Suez Canal. It encircled the Egyptian 3rd army and cut its supply lines. But Israel failed to push the Egyptian 3rd and 2nd armies back. The Egyptian army ended the war, claiming a narrow strip of Sinai back. It was this victory that empowered Anwar Sadat to launch a peace initiative four years later (1977).

Hafez al-Assad, the Syrian leader at the time, didn’t manage to claim a victory. Syria remained a defiant enemy of Israel. It is reasonable to speculate that if Assad was allowed to cling to some of his territorial gains in October ‘73, Israel and Syria could have proceeded into further reconciliatory talks.

The same logic can be applied to Hezbollah. The Lebanese Shia resistance movement is reluctant to fight Israel not because it is afraid of the consequences, as Israelis delude themselves, but because it already won significantly over the IDF. A war with Israel is dangerous for Hezbollah not because Israel will do its best once again to destroy Lebanese infrastructure and flatten half of Beirut, but because the outcome of such a war is unknown. Hezbollah is in a much better position retaining its status as the Arab military force that made the IDF run home with its tail between its legs (2006).

One may wonder whether Israeli strategists are so thick as not to grasp the most obvious facts about their neighbors and what fuels their motivation to fight. It may of course be possible that Israel’s decision makers aren’t as excited by tranquility as some of us want to believe. Gaza is where Israel tests its new weaponry and tactics. Gaza rockets are a necessary ingredient in the Iron Dome’s public relations. Most importantly, the Gaza crisis emerged when Netanyahu’s political options were running out. It was the Gaza current conflict that made the political powers in Israel subside and then crystalize lucidly within the realm of the hard right. This war made both Netanyahu and Hamas stronger.

It would be fair to argue that Hamas is operating within the modernist perception of conflicts as devised by Carl von Clausewitz. For the German military philosopher “war is the continuation of politics by other means.” In ‘postmodernist’ Israel, it seems war is one of the means that keeps some politicians out of prison.

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A Palestinian Prayer for Ramadan: May the Voices of the Oppressed Be Heard

 April 21, 2021

Palestinian Muslims performing prayers and reading Quran in the Great Al-Omari Mosque in the early days of the holy month of Ramadan. (Photo: Fawzi Mahmoud, The Palestine Chronicle)

By Ramzy Baroud

COVID-19 cases in Palestine, especially in Gaza, have reached record highs, largely due to the arrival of a greatly contagious coronavirus variant which was first identified in Britain.

Gaza has always been vulnerable to the deadly pandemic. Under a hermetic Israeli blockade since 2006, the densely populated Gaza Strip lacks basic services like clean water, electricity, or minimally-equipped hospitals. Therefore, long before COVID-19 ravaged many parts of the world, Palestinians in Gaza were dying as a result of easily treatable diseases such as diarrhea, salmonella and typhoid fever.

Needless to say, Gaza’s cancer patients have little fighting chance, as the besieged Strip is left without many life-saving medications. Many Palestinian cancer patients continue to cling to the hope that Israel’s military authorities will allow them access to the better equipped Palestinian West Bank hospitals. Alas, quite often, death arrives before the long-awaited Israeli permit does.

The tragedy in Gaza – in fact in all of occupied Palestine – is long and painful. Still, it ought not to be classified as another sad occasion that invokes much despair but little action.

In fact, the struggle of the Palestinians is integral to a larger struggle for fundamental human rights that can be witnessed throughout the Middle East which, according to a recent Carnegie Corporation report, is one of the most economically unequal regions in the world.

From war-torn Libya to war-torn Syria, to Yemen, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan and many parts of the Arab and Muslim world, the dual tragedy of war and want is a scathing reminder of the price ordinary people pay for frivolous power struggles that yield nothing but more uncertainty and achieve nothing but more hatred.

Once more, the holy month of Ramadan visits the Muslim Ummah while its tragedies are still festering – new conflicts, unfinished wars, an ever-expanding death toll and a never-ending stream of refugees. Sadly, not even Ramadan, a month associated with peace, mercy and unity, is enough to bring about however fleeting moments of tranquility, or a respite from hunger and war for numerous Muslim communities around the world.

In Palestine, the Israeli occupation often takes even more sinister turns during this month, as if to intentionally compound the suffering felt by Palestinians. On April 14, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque called on Arabs and Muslims to intervene so that Israel may cease its harassment of Palestinians at the holy shrines of Al Quds – occupied East Jerusalem.

Aside from the increased attacks by Jewish extremists, who are now storming Al-Aqsa Mosque at a significantly higher rate than ever before, the Israeli occupation authorities have “removed the doors of the Mosque’s minarets, cut the electrical wires of loudspeakers to prevent the Adhan (call to prayer) and seized (Ramadan) iftar meals, in addition to threatening to storm the Mosque on the final days of the holy month of Ramadan,” Sheikh Hussein said in a statement.

Israel fully comprehends the spiritual connection that Palestinians, whether Muslims or Christians, have to their religious symbols. For Muslims, this rapport is further accentuated during the holy month of Ramadan. Severing this connection is equal to breaking the collective spirit of the Palestinian people.

These are only a few examples of a multifaceted and deeply rooted tragedy felt by most Palestinians. Numerous similar stories, though of different political and spatial contexts, are communicated every day throughout the Muslim world. Yet, there is no meaningful discussion of a collective remedy, of a strategy, of a thoughtful answer.

Ramadan is intended to be a time when Muslims are united on the basis of a wholly different criterion: where political and ideological differences disappear in favor of spiritual unity which is expressed in fasting, prayer, charity and kindness. Unfortunately, what we are witnessing is not Ramadan as it was intended to be, but different manifestations of the holy month, each catering to a different class – a painful but true expression of the disunity and inequality that have afflicted the Muslim Ummah.

There is the Ramadan of boundless wealth, finely catered iftar meals, coupled with endless, cheap entertainment. In this Ramadan, platitudes are often offered about charity and the poor, but little is delivered.

There is also the Ramadan of Palestine, Sudan and Yemen, of the Syrian refugee camps and of little dinghies dotting the Mediterranean, carrying thousands of desperate families, holding little but their hope of a better future beyond some horizon. For them, Ramadan is a stream of prayers that the world, especially their Muslim brethren, may come to their rescue. For them, there is little entertainment because there is no electricity and there are no massive iftar feasts because there is no money.

“Dua” is Arabic for supplication. For the oppressed, dua is the last resort; at times, even a weapon against oppression in all of its forms. This is why we often see bereaved Muslims raising their open palms to the sky whenever tragedy has befallen them. Ramadan is the month where the poor, destitute and oppressed raise their hands to Heaven, beseeching God in various accents and languages to hear their prayers.

They are reassured by such hadiths – sayings of Prophet Mohammed – as this: “The supplications of three persons are never turned away: a fasting person until he breaks his fast, a just ruler and the supplication of the oppressed which is raised by Allah above the clouds, the gates of Heaven are opened for it, and the Lord says: By my might, I will help you in due time.”

There has never been a more critical time for the Ummah to work together, to heal its collective wound, to uplift its down-trodden, to care for its poor, to embrace its refugees and to fight for its oppressed. Many Muslim communities around the world are aching and their pain is unbearable. Perhaps this Ramadan can serve as the opportunity for social justice to be finally enacted and for the oppressed to be heard so that their hymn of torment and hope may rise above the clouds.

– Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of five books. His latest is “These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons” (Clarity Press). Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) and also at the Afro-Middle East Center (AMEC). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net

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The Hawks Who Want War With Iran Are Working Overtime

April 15th, 2021

By Ariel Gold & Medea Benjamin

Source

Israeli leaders, Christian fundamentalists, and hawkish Washington neocons are doing everything in their power to block a peaceful US return to the JCPOA.

WASHINGTON (Jacobin) — Just as talks between the United States and Iran were taking place last week in Vienna, a cyberattack was carried out on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility. Reports are that the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, was behind the attack that blacked out the facility just one day after Tehran launched new advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges, and as US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was in Israel speaking about the United States’ “enduring and ironclad” commitment to the Jewish state.

This is the latest in a series of Israeli attacks on Iran designed to scuttle negotiations. Last summer, a number of explosions attributed to Israel broke out across Iran, including a fire at the Natanz site. These took place while US elections were in full swing and Biden was promising that if elected, he would return the United States to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA) that Trump withdrew from in 2018. In November 2020, Israeli operatives assassinated Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran’s top nuclear scientist in the city of Absard outside Tehran. Had Iran responded, the United States might have been dragged into an all-out war.

Israeli officials have also directly lobbied the US Congress to quash the deal. In 2015, Netanyahu traveled to Washington, DC in 2015 to address a joint session of Congress in an attempt to uncut Obama’s original negotiations. This time, Mossad chief Yossi Cohen will be traveling to Washington to meet with top White House and US intelligence officials, and he hopes with Biden directly, to convince the administration that Iran has been concealing details about its nuclear program and therefore can’t be trusted. This is indeed ironic coming from a country that, unlike Iran, actually has nuclear weapons and refuses to disclose any information about its program.

Like Israel, the powerful US lobby American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is trying to convince Biden not to go back into the JCPOA. Last month, they organized bipartisan letters in the House and Senate, urging the Biden administration to insist on an expanded deal that included missiles, human rights, and Iran’s activities in the region. Since Tehran has been clear that an expanded or amended deal is a nonstarter, such “advice” was an attempt to quash talks.

The neoconservative think tank Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), which worked inside the Trump administration during and after Trump pulled out of the JCPOA, has been relentlessly pushing for war with Iran. After the United States recklessly assassinated Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, FDD CEO Mark Dubowitz gloated, tweeting that the death of Soleimani was “more consequential than the killing of [Osama] #BinLaden”; and on April 11, the same day as the Natanz blackout, former CIA officer and FDD fellow Reuel Marc Gerecht, speaking on CNN, voiced disappointment that Trump hadn’t taken the United States and Iran into an all-out war.

Another group against a deal with Iran is Christians United for Israel (CUFI), one of the most powerful pro-Israel voices in the United States. In March 2021, CUFI urged the Senate not to confirm Colin Kahl for a top policy position at the Pentagon, claiming, “Kahl is a serial Iran appeaser” who “helped advance the disastrous Iran nuclear accord.” In response to the blackout at Natanz, they cheered Netanyahu, tweeting “‘Battling Iran is a colossal mission,’ Netanyahu says following blackout at Iranian nuclear plant.”

The People’s Mujahedin of Iran, or MEK, which the United States had previously designated as a terrorist organization and is known for assassinations and bombings it has carried out, is virulently opposed to US-Iran diplomacy. In March 2021, a number of US Senators attended a virtual event organized by the MEK-aligned Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC) calling for continued US sanctions and “bringing down the regime.” Senator Bob Menendez, the powerful chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was among several Democrats in attendance.

The opponents of the Iran deal are trying to keep in place the draconian wall of sanctions that the Trump administration imposed precisely to make it more difficult for a future US administration to rejoin the JCPOA. But these sanctions are causing immense suffering for ordinary Iranians, including runaway inflation and skyrocketing food and medicine prices. According to the UN, they contributed to the government’s “inadequate and opaque” response to the COVID-19 pandemic that has hit Iran particularly hard.

While “successful” in inflicting harm on the Iranian people, the sanctions have failed to broaden the terms of the talks, led the nation to increase its uranium enrichment, negatively impacted the human rights situation, and put the United States and Iran on the brink of an all-out war on multiple occasions.

That’s why so many people in Iran, and those who care about them, have been encouraged by this new round of diplomatic engagement. But Israel, AIPAC, CUFI, FDD, MEK, Menendez, and the like are probably instead hoping that Iran carries out the revenge that Iranian officials have called for in response to the Natanz blackout. But as the saboteurs of diplomacy hope for a violent escalation, let’s keep in mind — and hope Iran agrees — that the best revenge would be a revived JCPOA.

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في ذكراها «38»… الحرب «المظلومة»

معن بشور

منذ أن عشنا أيام تلك الحرب المجيدة في حياة لبنان والأمّة قبل 38 عاماً، والتي استمرت حوالي 90 يوماً، وأنا أتساءل كلّ عام عن سبب “تهميش” تلك الحرب والنقص في الاهتمام بها شعبياً وثقافياً وإعلامياً وتوثيقياً، حتى بتنا نسمّيها “اجتياحاً” فيما هي في الحقيقة الحرب العربية – الإسرائيلية الأطول في تاريخ الصراع العربي – الصهيوني، والتي خسر فيها جيش الصهاينة المئات من جنوده وكبار ضباطه، فيما قدّم اللبنانيّون والفلسطينيون والجيش العربي السوري والمتطوّعون العرب، آلاف الشهداء من مدنيين ومقاتلين، وكنت أتساءل عن سبب عدم إقامة المهرجانات والندوات والتحقيقات الإعلامية والمؤتمرات البحثية إلاّ نادراً عن حرب غنية بكلّ المعاني.. بل كنت أشعر أنّ وراء محاولات تجاهل هذا الحدث التاريخي في الماضي رغبة بمحاولات لرسم حاضرنا وإعادة ترتيب مستقبلنا بأشكال معينة…

فهل ظُلمت هذه الحرب، لأنها كانت حرباً عربية بالمعنى الكامل للكلمة، شارك فيها وطنيون لبنانيون، ومقاومون فلسطينيون، وعسكريون سوريون ومتطوّعون عرب، فجسّدوا وحدة النضال القومي وعروبة المعركة التي لا يخشى أعداؤنا شيئاً كما يخشونها، بل يسعون بكلّ وسائلهم إلى تفتيت مجتمعنا العربي وتشجيع كلّ قطر أو مكون من مكوناته على الانسلاخ عن الجسد الأكبر الذي هو الأمّة.

بل هل ظُلمت هذه الحرب، لأنها حرب شعبية بكلّ ما في كلمة شعبية من معنى، حيث ارتسمت في أتونها معادلة ما زالت ترتعد منها فرائص الأعداء وهي معادلة مقاومة لبنانية وفلسطينية تواجه جحافل العدو من أقصى الجنوب إلى قلب العاصمة، وجيش سوري يوقف تقدّم العدو على أكثر من محور في الجبل (بحمدون، عين دارة)، والبقاع (السلطان يعقوب، وبيادر العدس) في محاولة مستميتة منه قطع الطريق بين بيروت ودمشق، وهو هدف استراتيجي لهذا العدو ما زال يسعى إليه حتى اليوم، وما قانون “قيصر” هذه الأيام إلاّ أحد عناوين هذا الاستهداف.

وهل ظُلمت هذه الحرب لأنه في رحمها ولدت مقاومة لبنانية وطنية وقومية وإسلامية، نجحت بدعم حلفائها العرب والمسلمين في دحر الاحتلال عن عاصمتها وأرضها وصولاً إلى ردع عدوانه عام 2006، فقبل هذه الحرب كان الدخول إلى أيّ منطقة لبنانية نزهة، وكانت كلّ حرب إسرائيلية في لبنان اجتياحاً (عام 1972، 1978)، ولكن بعدها بات الأمر مختلفاً..

ثم هل ظُلمت هذه الحرب لأنها كانت بداية تحوّل حقيقي في موازين القوى في المنطقة، وربما في العالم، فباتت للحق قوة، بعد أن كانت القوة هي “صاحبة” الحق أينما كانت..

هل ظُلمت هذه الحرب، لأنها كشفت عجز وفشل أصحابها في تحقيق أهدافهم الرئيسية منها، وهي إخراج المقاومة من لبنان، وفرض اتفاقية صلح عليه ليكون البلد الثاني بعد مصر يوقع مثل هذه المعاهدة..

صحيح أنّ تلك الحرب أخرجت قوات المقاومة الفلسطينية من جنوب لبنان وعاصمته، ولكنها في المقابل لم تنجح في إخراج روح المقاومة من لبنان، بل إنها زادتها توهّجاً واشتعالاً وقدرات وحوّلت حركتها إلى رقم صعب في معادلة المنطقة..

وصحيح أنّ ذلك الاحتلال، وبرعاية أميركية نجح في أن يفرض اتفاقية إذعان في 17 أيار 1983، لكنه بعد أقلّ من عام شهد ذلك الاتفاق المشؤوم سقوطه المدوي بعد حرب الجبل (آب 1983)، وانتفاضة (6 شباط 1983).

وقد يقول البعض إنّ من أسباب “الظلم” و “التهميش” الذي لحق بتلك الحرب المجيدة، هو أنّ إنجازاتها كانت صنع شعب رافض للغزو بكل مكوناته، وأمّة رافضة للعدوان بكلّ أقطارها، وبالتالي لا يمكن استخدامها للإيقاع بين لبناني ولبناني، وبين عربي وعربي، بين مسلم ومسلم..

ففي تلك الحرب، كما قاتل متطوّعون من سورية واليمن والعراق ومصر وأقطار المغرب العربي، قاتل أيضاً فلسطينيون من كل الفصائل، ولبنانيون من كلّ المشارب الفكرية والسياسية والاجتماعية، حتى يمكن القول إنّ ما شهدته العقود الأربعة التي تلت تلك الحرب لم تكن إلاّ محاولات لخلق شروخ وتعميق الانقسامات في ما بين أقطار الأمّة، وداخل كلّ قطر..

لقد جاءت معاهدة سايكس – بيكو في أوائل القرن الفائت لتجزئة المنطقة جغرافياً وأفقياً، ثم جاء المشروع الصهيوني – الأميركي، الحرب المظلومة في لبنان أحد تجلياته، من أجل تفتيت بلدان المنطقة ومجتمعاتها اجتماعياً وعمودياً.

وحين ندعو إلى إخراج تلك الحرب إلى الأضواء وتكريم شهدائها من خلال تخليد أسمائهم في شوارع وساحات مدنهم وقراهم كحدّ أدنى، والبحث الجاد في دروسها وعبرها ونتائجها، وتعميق معانيها ودلالاتها، فلأننا نعتقد أن انتصارات الأمم لا تتمّ إلاّ بتراكم إنجازاتها، وتكامل طاقاتها والبناء على ما جرى تحقيقه، وأن أبرز أسباب انتكاسات حركة تحرّرنا القومي في العقود السابقة هي أنّ كلّ جيل كان يريد إلغاء من سبقه من أجيال..

_ الأمين العام السابق للمؤتمر القومي العربي

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WHY DO YOU SUPPORT SYRIA?

Posted in Syria on April 2, 2020 by Eva Bartlett. 

I get asked that a lot by Syrians who are genuinely curious or surprised by support of Syria by a non-Syrian.

And it’s sometimes hard to give a good reply, or at least a concise one, because the reasons are manifold.

Yesterday, I posed the question to followers on Facebook. The replies were fantastic:

Kamel El-Cheikh well I can tell you my personal experience with Syria. I was born in Lebanon of Shia Muslim decent, immigrated to Canada at 7 years old, became a proud Canadian Lebanese. The reason why we immigrated is that Lebanon was attacked by Israel and was already in a civil war because of Israel. We went to Syria to seek refuge many times and my experiences there were very pleasant.

Now, the tables have turned as Israel wants a puppet government in Syria so the Syrians fled to Lebanon for the same reasons. Both the Syrians and Lebanese helped each other in these imperialistic cases of the zionist agenda. So what you say from someone who hasn’t visited in over 30 years is not only your well learned opinion but is a fact for all the middle east. Your words as the proxy went on from 2011 until now echo the experience of my mom and dad telling me to look the other way at 5 years old because a few of our neighbours were killed by war planes as we either flee to Beirut or Syria and eventually Canada. This is why I have become a humanitarian supporting the oppressed or speaking for the voiceless or making good friends who are real journalist like you Eva.

Hendrick Smit Because the country is populated by kind people who do not deserve the atrocities of a proxy war?

Chris Edwards Could start from just being against Israel/US wars and then you get attached to the country and its people.
Cause they are brave and baring the brunt of the enemy and its proxies.

Valentina Capurri Because Western countries had no right to invade it and destroy it as they did. As someone living in one of these countries, it is my responsibility to make clear I do not support the crimes committed by my own government.

Eros Zagaglia I’d support any country enduring what Syria is enduring, terrorism, US empire plans. Plus, I discovered very friendly people and a great tradition. A gem in the Arab world

Donal Taaffe Because it has been unfairly and illegally attacked by international criminals like the US, UK, Israel etc. who then lied about a non existent civil war

Patrick Corbett For all the good reasons above (or below). And because Syria for me is a beacon on a dark night showing the way to the victory of a people’s fight for sovereignity, peace and solidarity in the face of brutal imperialism. They fight for us as well; we need to acknowledge their sacrifice for all.

Esteban El Suizo Because beautiful Syria with its intelligent and kind-hearted people is a main cradle of human civilization, some of the most valuable monuments in the world, including six Unesco World Heritage Sites, are located in Syria. True culture and civilization is found all over in Syria, not in junk countries without past & future like Saudi-Arabia. I LOVE this.
Because Syria is an undefeated stronghold against Zionist & colonial NWO-arrogancy. I LOVE this, too.

Cecilia Nunez Because as MLK rightly said: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Branka Furi Trogrlic Syrian people have the right for self determination. Any foreign country which object that, forcing them to change, can not call themselves democratic countries. Those are imperialists.

Chris Vlaar I support it like I support Libya and Iraq, countries that have been obliterated, raped and murdered because of money (resources) and power. And not many seem to care.

Kari Angelique Jaquesson Westphalian sovereignty

It is a matter of principle for me.
Syria is a sovereign country with inviolable borders, and every Syrian has the unquestionable right to self-determination over their country and leadership without foreign intervention or meddling.

Then, also, I have fallen very fond of Syria and Syrians and I regard president Assad as a very competent and loyal leader, however affection, admiration or like/approval/ or not of leadership is not relevant when it comes to principle.

Either one believes in sovereignty or not, simple as that. I do.
Rima Najm Because I’m a human being with a functioning brain.

Rima Bidan Its the best country in the world enjoying a sublime cuture and a decent past
Its origin is respected, its climate is amazing…moderate and of four seasons… which means healthy food and nice weather, the land is generous, the people are good “if left alone” in the past religion was not a problem ,now if you are not aware and highly educated and open minded you would fall in the conflict… I believe and love the mentality of the leader and his wife but I hate the corruption and favouratism all aroundSo sad I left it in 2017 but promise to be back and enjoy my life thereAll can be fixed and done better in the coming years due to people like you Eva… inside and out

Bjarni Thomas I support Syria because it is the right thing to do.
Because if my country was being attacked from all sides, I would want the international community to support my country too.

O’Leathlobhair Keith I will never stand by silently and watch the bully of the playground terrorize an innocent kid.

Jean Sievers I support Syria because they are a sovereign country in their own right. All countries supposedly under International Law have the right to be autonomous. This isn’t how it works, in reality, the US Empire has a long history of invading countries that say no to their Imperial demands.

Ketil Øynes I hate imperialism and especially the role the US has taken upon themselves as the world police, when anyone with 2 braincells can see, that they are warmongers with no care for peoples life or international law.

Suzanne Sanders Because Syria isn’t trying to invade and colonize where I live. I don’t respect bullies! yes, I don’t respect my govt!

Michael Darr Because it’s where my grandparents were born and my ancestors are buried and it is me and I am it.
Carrie Lavender Because you, Eva, taught me the truth about Syria ever since I found you & Vanessa Beeley in 2016 h/t Caity Johnstone. Ever since then, I became fascinated with Syria and fell in love with it b/c of the kind-heartedness, steadfastness and unbending will of its ppl to defeat evil and stand in truth against all odds—against the Satanic empire of the military industrial complex with its lies, arming of terrorists & draconian sanctions.

George Makhlouf Makhlouf As first hand eye witness who went to Syria with a group of fact finders, I found that the propaganda machine in the US and the whole West beside the collaborator reactionary regimes in the gulf and the blood suckers ottomans all are behind the global conspiracy against Syria. Syria is the victim number one of dirty Zionists.

Judith Tanner Because some of the people I most highly regard in the world live there showing the rest of us what resilience and courage and kindness and inclusion looks like, even in the midst of war.

Zach Fresa Because I am a human being

Tiger Osullivan Eva I have followed your work in here since you have started it, me and lots of fellow Syrians see in you a very dedicated journalist with a big portion of dignity, integrity, honesty, morality wrapped with warm emotions and compassion…. you knew since the beginning what was going on in our beloved Syria, and you stood by us even when 99% of the world media was spreading fake news to deteriorate the image of our country and it’s regime….

I can talk for hours about how we appreciate your efforts standing by the oppressed side, but I will summon all that with one phrase: “Syria loves you EVA.” 

ماهر أبوعسله الأسد You are Syrian my dear Eva more than a lot of Syrians

Babsi Schie I supported Syria as I started to see the play in place here in my home, Egypt.I realized they were victims of endless propaganda and that the reality presented in media doesn’t reflect the reality in the ground. Having gone through “Arab Spring” and the following counter revolution to dispose of the MB ruling in 2013, which I fully supported after Morsi called for a no-fly zone over Syria in April 2013, totally was w Syria and followed closely (daily) since 2012. Eid Wahda!

Ingunn No Gun Walsøe Because e I want the people to be able to chose how they want to live. I do not support the western founded religious extremists who want to implement sharia laws in Syria

Caro Ball Support for the Palestinians, and standing up against the Zio and Western Imperialist agendas, not to mention the unity of the Syrian people and love and respect for their President and army, just a few of the reasons why I love Syria.

Ramon Carrera Because no sovereign nation should be used as fodder for other more powerful nations to extract their sovereign wealth. Also to used to extend its geo political policies.

Richard Langlois Because I consider all the evidence with an open mind and its clear to me that the Western narrative is a lie.
I have no reason to distrust the Syrians but every reason to distrust the West.

Bridget Thomas Whitehead Because I have never believed the media and political lies by Western governments.

Kirill Kalinin Because unlike other countries its legitimate government has a chance to restore constitutional order and become a success story against colour revolutions

Birgit Lenderink I support any sovereign nation to choose its’ own leadership. Syria is a sovereign nation. The people of Syria have chosen their leadership. Period.

Bambang Ardayanto Because of this: ” We are born to love , love is our mother ” ~ ( Rumi said). But the Deep State and Devil Alliances of warmonger and the greedy of arm industry and bloody oil want to occupy Syria and destroy it like they do in Iraq & Libya also Yemen through other hands . Then if success , they will do the same with Iran.

Todd Deatherage Because they are good and kind people, accepting of others, fantastic musicians and artists, who are under a good administration that doesn’t discriminate against anyone or any group, as long as they respect others.

Genaro Efrain Martinez Oropeza Because of the love of her people , their self determination and their strength for not kneeling to Evil Empire’s interest , I’m Venezuelan I feel first hand what they are fighting for, Natura Guide and Protect Syria

Riahi Youssef We support Syria because both the government and the people are fighting a just cause

David Webster Syrians have just as much right to life, liberty and the pursuit of tail as anybody else.

Arthur Illner To defend Syria’s national independence is to defend the national independence of all countries

Michael Keefer Because I value justice and the search for truth, and I know that Syria has been the victim of a filthy proxy war–engineered by Western powers and their Middle Eastern satrapies, and carried out by those powers and the merciless fanatics who have been their tools.

It has been a war as well of smears, slander, deliberate inversions of actuality, and vicious lies–and the corporatist media and Western opposition parties, as well as many supposedly oppositional intellectuals, have been fully complicit in disseminating that propaganda.

I honour the courage of the Syrian people in resisting multiple attacks upon their country, and I honour the integrity of those journalists, academics, activists and whistleblowers who have laboured to expose falsehoods and tell the truth.

Riaz Malik Because the alternate is disastrous.

Earl Cheffield I support the truth because there is no democracy without truth and the war on Syria like the war on Libya and the war on Iraq and the war on Aghanistan before it, is a war based on lies, therefor it is a war on truth itself and a war on democracy.

Colin Brace Because Syria is a key link in the Axis of Resistance. 

Miguel Reis Cause i love the history of Civilization, i believe in secularism, in int.law, in solidarity and above all Righteousness.

Ahmad Hayek Syria is your second home you just have to visit to see that

Emmanuel R. Sabater Supporting Syria is supporting the truth.

Ostarra Langridge Because Syria was wickedly and insidiously attacked by the very evil and insidious Empire

Guy Crittenden Syria today is what Spain was in the 1930s — a rallying point for progressives opposed to the spread of fascism. So far, Syria has held the line, which is impressive since it the leading industrialized nations have tried to destroy it for eight years. Understanding what was attempted on Syria reveals the true nature of the American empire and its vassal states.

Don Harder I support Syria for the exact opposite reason I don’t support the country of my birth. Syria is a non aggressor state. It and its people are victims just like Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Serbia and sadly, many dozens of others. They deserve their right to exist peacefully as all humans do.

Stella Emm Because it is the first time my eyes were open to the blatant corruption and lies of war, ‘organisations’ and government corruption.
Because I’ve never seen more dignified people dealing with criminality that ‘my government’ imposed on them.

Because I never knew how everyday people can close their eyes to their own crimes against Syria.
Because they taught me what ‘proxy war’ looks like.
Because I never knew the true meaning of ‘hero’ and ‘martyr’ until I met Syria.
Because Syria inspires me to be a better ‘me’.
Because Syrians inspire strength as well as faith.
Because Syria showed me its far better to stand and speak than sit and cover my ears.
Because Syria is a rare jewel of the world and worth fighting for.
Because I respect their President, their people and their sovereignty
Because Syria fights for me, so I will fight for Syria  

Sam Novid Before the war, I visited Syria. People were extremely kind and helpful to me. As soon as they found I was “ajnabi” (meaning foreginer), they paid for my taxi fare or gave me extra help (I.e. going out of their way to make sure i found my destenation, even holding my arms which is a sign of friendship, etc.)…I was so impressed that I made a promise to myself to help Syrians if I see them in Iran. For years I was looking out to help a Syrian until the war broke out, and after learning what’s really going on (thanks to Eva’s eye opening talk at UN), I became an advocate for Syria thinking that’s the way I can finally repay their hospitability and kindness.
__________
Funny story regarding the word “ajnabi”:
We also use the Arabic word “ajnabi” in Iran too, but unlike the original Arabic meaning, this word has a very negative connotation and a very specific usage in Persian. It is exlcusvily used in political context of Western imperialism (mostly British or American governments or their agents, like CIA or MI6.)
The first time a security guard (casually) asked me if I was an “ajnabi”, I almost screamed saying “NO, NO, NO, I am Iranian, I am not an ajnabi”, thinking he might arrest me as a spy or something, which is doubly funny since back then I was barely an adult, and looked much younger (I think Iooked 15)….The guard must have thought I was crazy. lol….when I was called ajnabi again, I realized it just means foreigner, and not an imperialist agent .

Peggy Howells Initially Syria was just a name to me. I knew very little about the country, although, I knew enough about our wars to be skeptical of mainstream reports. A link to the preview of Tim Anderson’s ‘Dirty War on Syria’ was shared on a WikiLeaks thread. From there I because interested to learn more of the country and its people, and began to make Syrian friends. The more I learned, the more I came to love the country and its brave and clever people. And its champions in the West, such as yourself Eva. I will visit one day and I expect it will be like going home. In fact, my own country is becoming less and less recognizable. Syria to me represents hope. Its struggle is a struggle of light against darkness. I look forward to day when every inch has been liberated. We need our victories. There have been too many countries destroyed.

Pye Ian Aside from core sovereignty issues, it’s a bulwark of defense against “Syrian War Lies and the Greater Israel Project”

Linda S. Heard Syria has been unfairly treated by the West ever since Assad blasted Blair over the Iraq War. Since reporting on Syria has been not only angled but peppered with outright lies. Assad did not open the door to foreign terrorists, the US despatched most of them and the U.K. ramped up the anti-government propaganda with its funding of the White Helmets and Syrian Observatory. The idea that Syria would deploy chemical weapons on the very day UN inspectors came to Damascus was absolutely bonkers. This entire tragic episode was triggered by the usual Arab Spring crowd but was hijacked by big powers out for regime change on behalf of Israel. Thanks to Putin they have failed but still will not give up trying.

Malu Ribeiro After the history of NATO and US interference, yes, with Israel in the background, maybe as the boss (this part I admit, of IS in LA, I’ve only been learning in recent years), people have to be wilfully blind not to see how the Empire works! over 59 interventions in LA, I don’t even know how many in the ME, always fomenting fake Cold War and destabilisation of Europe, … we’ve to see who’s the problem!!
Plus,  … hhhh … I lived my childhood in BR and Syrians brought delicious food to Sao Paulo and are very productive members of the community … I’ve never met a dumb or lazy syrian, as stereotypes go … if anyone thinks a little, we’re all a little syrian .. 

Brian Gray As an anti-imperialist and in understanding myself as a neo-Platonic Humanist, importantly because of my affiliation with the LaRouche political movement, actively involved as a fulltime activist from 1976 to 1981 and continueing as an advocate of LaRouche policies… I support and have supported the sovereign nation of Syria going back to Hafez al Assad’s administration with the understanding that the attacks on the Assad leadership is typical of the dying desperate British/US/NATO axis’ strategy against any all sovereign nations that don’t abide by the dictates of the so-called “rules-based” western neo-liberal “democracies” and importantly are sanely aligning with the opportunities for global peace thru global development and reconstruction offered by China’s BRI and Russia’s EAEU. When Vladimir Putin finally had had enough of the British/US/NATO deployment and protection of their terrroist proxies so-called “civil war” which was gaining momentum in threatening the Assad government and deployed Russian military into Syria on September 30th 2015… the world profoundly changed.

William Nolan Syria is a beautiful country with ancient roots. Its people are warm and generous. Various Christian and Muslim sects live side by side in harmony. The majority love their elected president.
The U.S. and its allies tried to do to Syria what they did to Libya so they could install a puppet government.
The Syrian people united against the Salafist terrorists who attacked them and, with the help of allies, beat back the barbarian hoards.
My heart and soul are with the Syrian people. May they once again live in peace, harmony and prosperity.

Carlos Tierra Because Syria deserves the right to self-determine – without the genocidal U.S and Zionist Israel interfering with that.

Peter Karig It was around 2015 or 2016 I think when I became informed about Syria and the false flag gas attacks. It was you, Vanessa, and Catlin Johnstone who really got my attention first, and then for some reason I became obsessed. Syria is obviously nothing like what western media says it is, and Assad, his wife, the Syrian army, they are in reality greatly loved. Syria is also a beautiful country that doesn’t need to be destroyed and turned into a terrorist jihadist hell hole.

Michael Robertson No written statement from me can describe fully or adequately express the monumental RESPECT I hold for both the Syrian and Palestinian people..Their unbelievable sacrifice and bravery astounds and humbles me every day compounding the absolute shame I feel as a UK citizen for the evil actions of my own country

Ahmed Amado Asgher Because Syrians are generally good people and educated. They respect their women and they have an ancient history. They are also made up of various ethnic groups with diverse religeous beliefs, who have lived together in peace for many generations. Sadly Saudis with tacist American and Israeli approval wrecked Syria by causing chaos in that land. It is a known fact that most of these thugs were Al-Qaeda recruits paid for by the Saudis. They had no regard for life nor for the ancient historical sites in Syria. I am 72 years, travelled the world and read/write 3 languages fluently, including Arabic.

Roula Alhassan *Because Syria is a country in itself, with its strength and steadfastness in the face of all challenges, even if these challenges were against any other country, it would have completely collapsed….
*Because its leadership, its people and its army are the same in opinion and wisdom.
*Because its people grew up loving the homeland and other people.
* Because it is my home.

Kef Elmassih For the same reason I support Palestine…“…Because it is a just cause, a noble ideal, a moral quest for equality and human rights.” – Edward Said

Peter Bagwasi Any normal person would stand with the innocent against the devil.

Stewart Ollett The list of countries that oppose apartheid Israel is getting shorter. Russia and Iran (in this instance) take a bow….. Shame on the West…

Hector Williams A secular Christian, I support the govt which protects them. As someone who loathes neocons, globalists, wahhabis, banderites and Zionist s, I also support the people who fight against them!!!

Rina Paki because it is the true and correct thing to do!

Huss Sureh Because Syria is with the truth and the truth is with Syria!!!

John Thatcher Because they are fighting against US/Israeli tyranny.Plus disgraceful regimes like S Arabia.

Greg Schnürle Because I am fed up with the Anglo-American lies since they created and supported the `Mudshahedin´ in Afgahnistan to kill Soviets and gave money, weappons and training to the modern islamistic Terrorists the whole world is now suffering from.*And from here:

Antony Moore How Syria has survived the onslaught of Western backed terrorists is staggering and only by the grace of god with a little help from Russia, Iran etc. I’m disgusted at UK government involvement and will wholeheartedly support the Syrian people in their fight even if I can only supply morale support, plus a few letters to my local MP.

John Eichman After researching the conflict in Syria via numerous independent sources and mainstream media it is clear that Syria is the latest victim/target in western imperialism and as such deserves my support.

Dmitry Drozdov Because they’re being bullied

Nigel Hanrahan 1. The whole structure of international relations, even with the presence of the US Empire, rests upon the sovereignty of states, etc.. If one state can be attacked, then any state can be attacked. This isn’t even particularly radical. It’s simply advocacy for law-governed international relations instead of the current fake law-governed international relations.

2. anti-imperialist solidarity, natch. And if you don’t know what imperialism is, or don’t think it’s a problem, then you are part of the problem.

3. Because Syria has a great an ancient culture that I don’t want to see harmed. “In their rich variety and diversity, and in the reciprocal influences they exert on one another, all cultures form part of the common heritage of humanity”. [UNESCO]

Poppy Sage You and Vanessa Beeley doing great job being there while other so called journalists are just following the regime plan change by the Pentagon. Gen Wesley Clark made it clear it was a long time plan to get Assad out along with other Mideast leaders. White Helmets also obvious, real criminals.

Kevin Tang I call out what’s wrong is wrong. What’s being done to Syria since 2011 is simply wrong.

Thomas P. Ross On June 22, 2006 my wife’s granddaughter (my step granddaughter) was killed by a single act of violence by a baby sitter in Virginia Beach. She was 15 months old. That death left a permanent void in our lives.

In 2012 Syrian Girl, (Mimi al Laham) began posting news articles including videos published by al Qaeda of Iraq and Jabhat al Nusra, (al Qaeda of Syria). The videos would be uploaded to You Tube and would remain there for about 7 or 8 hours and then be taken down by You Tube as they violated their content policy. I noticed that these videos were of ordinary citizens or police officers or Al Assad’s forces (SAA) being put to death in the most inhumane ways imaginable and I started to understand that it made no sense that our media was claiming Assad was killing his own people, when the video’s shown on You Tube were of his own army members being killed by what appeared to be religious zealots. I didn’t know anything about Wahhabism at the time, but Mimi al Laham provided an education of what was really going on in Syria and it all began to make sense. I followed the battles from any alternative media I could find. I grew a greater distrust for our media. I knew what was being reported by our media was a vast lie promulgated by all the major networks.

Having experienced the great loss we suffered losing our Kristen, I recognized that my country was causing that same loss for untold numbers of people living in Syria and in Libya. Except the loss might even be considered as being greater because the loss was just not a mother or father but in many cases, the bread winner and/or the nurturer. I wondered how many children were orphaned and were required forage on their own.

I could not comprehend that my government could be responsible for any of this but I knew it was true. And by my government’s actions, that made EVERYONE in my country complicit in these crimes. I spoke out every chance I had to anyone and everyone who would listen. I posted every article I could find relating to the crimes that were being committed in Syria and our country’s involvement. I convinced some. I irritated many. And I caused many to think I was a little crazy retelling what I believed to be true when it was in absolute conflict with what our media was reporting.

But I believed it was more important to convince people as to the truth even if it meant people lost respect for me. Knowing the loss we suffered losing our grandchild to a single act of violence, I knew the grief was felt no less to those experiencing death in Syria. That is the problem with many people throughout the world including many people in the United States. Many of us have a tendency to believe that some lives matter more than others. The adoption by many idiots in my country that we should make America great again plays into this illusion that we are or should be superior to the other people of this world. I am ashamed of my country. It is not the country I grew up knowing and loving as a child.

But the job of bringing attention to the plight of the Syrian people is not over. They are still under U.S. sanctions and those sanctions should be removed. And our forces are still in Syria. We are stealing the oil of the Syrian people and we are still supporting terrorists. I can not ever, in any capacity, undo the harm my country has caused the Syrian people. But I can still bring attention to their plight in my country and offer my own apology, insignificant as it is.

Here is the story of my granddaughter. Her death was worthy enough to report. But to be honest, in a perfect world, every person who lost their lives to our proxy terrorists in Syria deserve to have their names immortalized forever, here in the United States, on a vast memorial, names etched in granite near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington D.C. so that we all understand our crime and deter us from ever repeating it.
Donna Nassor I support Syria because it is the right thing to do. My country and its collaborators are responsible for so much suffering there. It is my duty to speak out, share the truth and work toward an end to the proxy war. During my visits to Syria I am uplifted and welcomed by Syrians. I am grateful they understand the difference between my government and individuals who support Syria. I will not stop my advocacy until Syrians achieve 100% victory and all of interlopers are gone.

Dimitri Kiriakidis I have that strange feeling that Syria is my country…. I see myself in the face of every Syrian soldier or citizen

Porgi Amor many reasons…
1) your previous speaking engagements with Canadian Peace Congress, which of course debunked what Canadians were being fed (by the biased CBC news coverage)
2) your in depth account of the fake white helmets
3) your description of humanitarian corridors, allowing the Syrian people to escape from terrorism & also allowing the terrorists to walk away
4) your unwavering consistency in reporting
5) your believability
6) your humanity in acknowledging others, like Mark Taliano, Vanessa Beeley, Cory Morningstar, etc.
7) Donald Lafleur’s brief trip to Syria
8) your previous coverage of Palestine

Areti Spiropoulos Because it has stood the test of time. Because it is a beautiful and ancient culture. Because it has been done wrong too many times by the imperialists west. Because Assad.

Verena Eiwen At some point what we are spoonfed through the MSM did not make sense anymore – so I researched, found your and Vanessas writing, found Janices writing, as well as the writing of a German law student with Syrian roots. The Syrian people must be exceptional in every way- and what the US led coalition is doing to them is abhorrent. They deserve any help they can get. I have deepest respect for all these men and women and children for fighting a truly unfair and „for all the wrong reasons“ war. Thank you for going there and writing about the truth.

Bonnie Hamilton Syria is a sovereign country with a democratically elected president voted for by I believe 80% of voters.
Regime change and pinning fake false flag attacks on Assad in order to carry out this agenda is evil and nothing more than resource and land grabbing by those who feel they have the power to do this to any country that has something they want or stands in their way.
Let’s ask the Syrians what THEY want.
Get all troops out including white helmets.
I don’t buy for one minute that Assad ever carried out attacks on his people. On insurgents fighting against his army, probably. Against his own people? I will never believe that. There’s zero proof.

Kev Har Because the Syrians and their leader have been brutally and visciously attacked by a cowardly playground bully.

Briannette Zatapatique Because over the years Assad’s narrative and the Syrian narrative – provided by you and others has remained a constant time line, logical and never changing or reverse engineered. The Western narrative is constantly changing – as soon as lies are told, more lies are needed to cover them up. As simple as that.*I applaud and agree with these comments, and after coming here 14 times now, many of those for months-long visits (2016), I would also add: because of the people of Syria.

Here are some additional reasons [more on my Syria playlist]:

Here are some additional reasons [more on my Syria playlist]:

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!