Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Pentagon working on plan to convert the Islamic State caliphate into a US-backed Syrian rebel redoubt

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Pentagon working on plan to convert the Islamic State caliphate into a US-backed Syrian rebel redoubt

Click here to access article by Stephen Gowans from his blog What's Left.

I regard Stephen Gowans as a top tier political analyst, and I regard this piece as an illustration of his excellent skills at parsing what the deception-infused US policy really is in Syria and nearby areas. It attempts, and I believe succeeds, to clear up the many mysteries and strange reports regarding our actions in Syria and adjacent areas.

Because Syria has tried to pursue policies that are independent of the Empire's interests, they have become a target for destabilization and regime change much like Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Ukraine. Now it appears that Venezuela has been re-added to the Empire's list.

The motto of the governing Ba’ath Party [the ruling party in the Syrian government], unity (of the Arab nation), liberty (from foreign domination), and socialism, is light years from the motto Washington would prefer states emblazon on their banners. We embrace atomism, welcome foreign investment, apotheosize capitalism, and are open to US military bases on our territory, is more along the lines of a motto a good member of the “international community” is expected to adopt. You need know little more than the foregoing to understand why Washington insists that Assad and his fellow Ba’athists step down.

He goes on to delineate the Empire's strategy and objectives for Syria:

The Wall Street Journal sketched out how the United States will carry on its war against the Syrian state. Reading between the lines, the war will be pursued under the guise of eliminating ISIS, and while this will be the immediate outcome of the war if the campaign is successful, the ultimate objective will be the conquest of Syrian territory held by the caliphate. The war will be pursued on the ground by Sunni Arab fighters trained and equipped by the special operations forces of the United States and its allies. US proxies on the ground—the Sunni Arab fighters recruited and equipped by the Pentagon—will capture territory currently held by ISIS, backed by US air strikes. Once captured, the territory will remain in the hands of the US surrogates.