I was prompted to post this article for two reasons. When I was discussing Syria with a very old friend the other day, it soon became apparent that the dominant narrative largely shaped his views on the war, namely that Bashar al-Assad was a “lesser evil”. He was preoccupied with ISIS but when I pointed out to him that the vast portions of eastern Syria that it controlled were thinly populated, he seemed surprised. There are two cities (Raqqa, Deir al-Zour) each having 220,000 or so residents but Palmyra, the third and most infamous, only has around 7000. Most of the conflict is in the west of the country where ISIS is not much of a presence. Of course, I only knew this because I try to keep abreast of Syrian politics on a daily basis. So, to help him get up to speed, I thought I would pull together a list of websites I consult.
Although I can hardly describe him as a friend, it occurred to me that John Wight could use such a list as well since he posted a comment on my blog the other day that supposedly proved that the Sunnis supported Assad. When I clicked the link in his comment, I was directed to the West Point Anti-Terrorism Center. I wrote my “idiot’s guide to ‘anti-imperialism’” in jest but apparently Wight was recommending such a resource in earnest. I advised him to read the Middle East Research and Information Project instead, a journal written from a left perspective. Although I doubt that he will bother, my inclusion of that website and others will surely prove useful to those trying to understand Syria in terms other than as a conspiracy hatched in CIA headquarters. full: http://louisproyect.org/2015/10/14/a-resource-guide-for-understanding-syria/ _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
