Clearing the FOG: Ajamu Baraka on the US-Backed Coup in Syria and Anti-Anti-Imperialism

Date: December 17, 2024
Hosts: Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese
Guest: Ajamu Baraka (Black Alliance for Peace, Black Agenda Report)

Episode Overview

This episode focuses on the recent US-backed coup in Syria, analyzing its implications for the Syrian people, Palestinians, regional geopolitics—especially regarding Iran—and the broader anti-imperialist movement. Ajamu Baraka, a leading voice in anti-war and Black liberation circles, offers deep insights into Western interventionism, the axis of resistance, and the importance of ideological clarity in anti-imperialist organizing. The discussion also critiques mainstream narratives and the so-called left's frequent alignment with US imperial policy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Uhuru Three Sentencing & Solidarity Gaps

• Background: The Uhuru Three, activists charged under dubious “foreign agent” allegations, receive probation and community service, rather than prison time.
• Ajamu's Commentary:
  • Charges amounted to “prosecution of thought and action” (10:43)
  • Critique of limited support from mainstream US left for anti-imperialist targets.
  • “Large sectors of the so-called left in the US did not pay much attention to it... That’s important because... we see the same kinds of contradictions, the same kind of abandonment of principles related to what has happened and what’s unfolding in Syria coming from the so called left.” (13:59)

2. The December 8 Coup in Syria: Military Defeat or Regime Change?

• Baraka frames the Assad government’s ouster as a result of insidious deals rather than pure military defeat.
• “What we saw was in fact the result of some insidious agreements that... helped to explain what happened with the fall of Damascus and with the ending of the government of Assad.” (16:24)
• Explains this as a deliberate blow to the “axis of resistance”—Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, and others resisting US/Israeli agendas—which will deeply impact Palestinian resistance and Lebanese security (via Hezbollah).

3. Link to US Imperial Tactics and the Ukraine Precedent

• Draws parallels with the 2014 Ukraine coup and the rewriting of history by Western media.
• Notes increasing alliance and convergence of neoconservatives and liberal interventionists in shaping policy (21:31).
  • “There were some very powerful forces... saw... a historic opportunity to redo the entire so called Middle East.” (23:01)
  • Obama’s statement that “Assad has to go” “provided a tremendous opportunity for those forces pushing for military intervention.” (24:10)

4. HTS (Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham) and the Manufactured ‘Moderate Rebel’ Myth

• Explains rebranding of al Qaeda–aligned forces (Al Nusra → HTS) as “moderate” for Western public consumption.
• Highlights the hypocrisy and complicity of US/Western intelligence in supporting jihadist groups, both in Libya and Syria.
  • “They started going through a process of rebranding... Now they had a new name with the possibility of a new, new rebranding.” (27:15)
• Comparison with the cleaning up of Nazis in Ukraine to make the coup palatable.

5. Consequences for Syrians: Violence, Retaliation, Chaos

• Rise in retaliations and violence by jihadist factions not even fully under HTS’s control (32:33).
• Ongoing turf wars: Turkey-backed “New Syrian Army” versus US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (34:03).
• US and Israel decimate remaining Syrian military infrastructure. US still occupies strategic northeast territories and oil fields.
• Release and return of ISIS fighters to the battlefield as a means to justify continued US presence (38:34).

6. Regional Power Dynamics: Israel’s Expansionism & Threat to Iran

• Israel is emboldened to press for “Greater Israel” by exploiting Syria's collapse and targeting Lebanon (via southern Lebanon incursions) and possibly Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt (40:11).
• The broken Iran-Lebanon land bridge, crucial for resistance, changes battlefield calculations.
• Anticipation of a “new phase” of regional conflict, with preparations for greater aggression against Iran.

7. Role of Russia and Iran: Why the Resistance Failed

• Russian and Iranian support for Assad was hampered by sanctions, resource depletion, and Russia’s entanglement in Ukraine.
  • “Sanctions... made it very difficult for the Syrians to continue to keep a mobilized military in place.” (43:23)
  • The two conflicts are “fundamentally interconnected.” (45:12)
  • “You can’t expect the Russians to be more Syrian than the Syrians.” (46:36)

8. Imperialism, Manufactured Consent, and Lessons for the US Left

• The Syrian state’s own repression of the left historically—how the US-backed armed insurrection snuffed out grassroots reform opportunities (51:00).
• Need for clarity and ideological firmness among anti-imperialist activists in the West:
  • “We’ve got to defeat this arrogant tendency... to provide political and ideological cover to Western imperialism...” (56:46)
  • Criticizes “anti-imperialist left, social imperialist as a matter of fact,” for betraying genuine movements.

Notable Quotes

• Ajamu Baraka:
  • "Charges seem to be more oriented toward a prosecution of thought and action than anything else." (11:51)
  • “These charges seem to be more oriented toward a prosecution of thought and action than anything else.” (11:53)
  • “Large sectors of the so called left in the US did not pay much attention to it, did not do much work to highlight it, and did not really take a visible stance with the Uhuru 3.” (13:57)
  • “What we saw was in fact the result of some insidious agreements... with the fall of Damascus and... the ending of the government of Assad.” (16:24)
  • "This ability to starve off the... ambition of the Israeli state is going to be very challenging with the collapse of Syria and the land bridge between Iran and Lebanon now being compromised.” (18:56)
  • "There was a process of rebranding... basically to allow US and Western governments to support these groups" (27:17)
  • “We are finding very rapidly developing... a replay, but even more nefarious one, that we saw unfold in Libya.” (34:04)
  • “You can’t expect the Russians to be more Syrian than the Syrians.” (46:36)
  • “We’ve got to defeat this arrogant tendency on the part of so called left forces to provide political and ideological cover to Western imperialism.” (56:46)
  • “You can have your own critique of them... But there has to be a reason why these states find themselves in the crosshairs of US destabilization.” (57:41)

Additional Memorable Moments

• On US/Israeli regional strategy: “This is just the beginning of the chaos... Because chaos and the dismemberment of the Syrian state was always an objective of both US and Israeli policymakers.” (19:56)
• On Anti-Imperialist organizing failures: “Why do we have a left that seems to be always on the side of US imperialism?” (57:13)
• On Syrian left opposition pre-2011: “There were opportunities... to see more democratic space created that could have resulted in some shifts in governmental power... But that was basically choked off as the consequence of... these external actors.” (54:35)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [10:43] — Ajamu on Uhuru Three sentencing; judicial skepticism; lack of left support
• [16:24] — Syria coup/collapse: Military defeat or regime change?
• [21:31] — US neocon/liberal interventionist convergence; Obama’s Syria policy
• [27:15] — Rebranding of Syrian jihadist groups and media manipulation
• [32:33] — Retaliations, violence, chaos for Syrians
• [34:03] — Syria’s “Libya replay,” internal chaos, US/Turkey proxy conflict
• [38:34] — US uses ISIS resurgence as pretext to stay
• [40:11] — Israel’s strategic ambitions increased post-coup
• [43:23] — Russian/Iranian inability to defend Syria
• [51:00] — Pre-intervention leftist opposition in Syria; role of Ba’athism, missed reform
• [56:46] — Ajamu’s call for an anti-imperialist ideological reckoning in the West

Final Thoughts: What’s Next? (56:27)

• Baraka urges US activists to confront imperialist narratives, support real anti-imperialist struggle, and reject complicity under any guise:
  • “If we could... build a stronger anti imperialist movement, that would be the greatest contribution that we can make to collective humanity.” (59:07)

Summary prepared to reflect the episode’s depth, clarity, and urgency for those seeking truth beyond mainstream geopolitics.