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Assad’s downfall was part of imperialism’s region-wide plan
Syrians celebrate the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government in the town of Bar Elias, Lebanon, near the border with Syria, December 8, 2024

THE fall of the Assad regime in Syria cannot be disassociated from the changed political and military geometry in the region. To a very considerable extent, imperialism is conditioning the outcomes of this series of interrelated crises.

Israel’s assault on the very existence of the Palestinian people — unchecked by the “international community,” sanctioned and armed by the US, with the active participation of the EU and Britain, with a massive US naval and airforce presence and with the RAF flying unnumbered missions in support of the Israeli war effort — has changed the balance of power.

The relative weakness of the so-called “axis of resistance” has left imperialism with the initiative. Just five days ago, the US carried out air strikes against Syrian military targets it described as a “threat to US and coalition forces in Syria.”

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