On 4/17/14 3:21 PM, Michael Smith wrote: > 'Consensus' seems a bit strong. For one thing, in order for the > analogy to really work, one would have to posit that the Assad > government has something in common with the Sandinistas. > A claim few would make.
You are right. Nobody goes to Syria on tours sponsored by Global Exchange, nor do the rebels share any of the leftist ideals of the FSLN when it was in the mountains. The best way to look at the rebel movement is in terms of the original goals of the Arab Spring, which was to overturn dictatorships that rested on crony capitalism. Syria, like all other countries in the region, developed a peaceful mass movement. The armed groups that emerged as a defensive measure have not proven capable of defeating one of the most powerful militaries in the region that is supported by Russia and that has been joined by Hizbollah. > I imagine that people who refer to the FSA as 'contras' > are really making a more limited point, to wit that the various > anti-Assad groups are largely of foreign manufacture, ginned up with > a view to destabilizing the existing government. Yes, that is the point they are making. But it is wrong. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
