On Syria and the Resistance

The big talking point on X Spaces right now is Syria. There is an argument going on between the pro-Assad (and pro-Iran/pro-Russian) side and the people that wanted Syria to be rid of them. Caught in the middle of this is Palestine.

The pro-Assad side sees the goings-on in Syria as a loss to the resistance against Israel; another massive blow to the Syrian-Iranian-Hamas axis. This view follows that the people who disposed of Assad, their supporters, and even anyone who is happy with Assad’s removal from power (even Syrians themselves) are against the resistance and are acting in favour of Israel.

This is, of course, out of sync with what I’m hearing from Palestinians. I’m still yet to hear anyone in the community begrudge the Syrian people their shot at freedom or think that Assad as a Russian-Iranian proxy was good for them. From the non-Palestinian side of Palestine activism, I have even noted a certain amount of gleeful anticipation of the future failure that may envelop Syria. As if some of them are waiting for an ‘I told you so’ moment. Again, not what I’m seeing from Palestinians.

Unsustainable resistance

My response to the argument that Assad’s fall is bad for the resistance is that the resistance was bad for the resistance.

In short, Syria’s role in the resistance under Assad (as a proxy of Iran and Russia) was at the expense of the Syrian people. At the end of the day, people are going to react to the situation on the ground that they face. After 14 years of war, Assad’s inability to rule effectively, hundreds of thousands of Syrians dead, and millions scattered around the world, it could only end this way.

Something that the ‘resistance first’ pro-Assadists need to understand is that grand geopolitical narratives will never trump the lived realities of people on the ground. And, to think otherwise is quite frankly in line with a Western approach to the region. Didn’t the US invade and attempt to reshape Iraq to further its own aims over and above the concerns of the Iraqi people before finally losing it to Iran? Haven’t Iran and Russia lost out on Syria in a similar way (to who, if anyone, remains to be seen) because of their own arrogance and ignorance?

You might want to blame anti-resistance forces for targeting Assad’s Syria because it was part of the resistance to Israel, but when you factor in the Syrian people, it’s clear Russia, Iran, and Assad played their part too. That is to say, you can only bleed a country dry for so long.

Sustainable resistance

From the resistance side of the argument, the consensus seems to be that Syria is lost to the Palestinian cause and that there is no way back under its new leaders. I’m also hearing a certain amount of hope for an Iranian and/or Russian resurgence. However, do not forget how the Syrian war started: the people taking to the streets, demanding their rights as part of a movement that did not morph into the armed conflict of the past 14 years but has existed alongside it ever since and will continue to exist as long as the Syrian people aren’t free.

In the interests of the resistance, the best thing to do, in my opinion, would be to support the Syrian people in their quest for freedom no matter who they are struggling against. It’s my contention that the people of the region naturally support Palestine, and this would be most effectively realised if they were truly free, rather than having to focus on their own survival first.

What’s needed is a long-term view. The resistance, as it was, was short-term. Iran and Russia exercising a brutal control over a country to exact its support was always going to implode in the mid-term (now). Rather than a lurch backwards, Syria needs time to recoup and fight off the forces of oppression from outside and within before being in a position in which its people can effectively support Palestinian resistance.

I realise it may seem like I am ‘making’ this about Palestine, but I am writing in response to arguments I’ve been hearing. I wish the Syrian people all the best for THEIR future.