In Episode 23 [16] of the CounterVortex podcast [17], Bill Weinberg notes the assassination of Raed Fares [18], a courageous voice of the civil resistance [19] in besieged Idlib [20] province, last remaining stronghold of the Syrian Revolution. The resistance in Idlib, which liberated the territory from the Bashar Assad regime in popular uprisings seven years ago, is now also resisting the jihadist forces [21] in the province, expelling [22] them from their self-governing towns and villages. Their hard-won zones of popular democracy face extermination if this last stronghold is invaded by Assad and his Russian backers. As Assad and Putin threaten Idlib, Trump's announced withdrawal [23] of the 2,000 US troops embedded with Kurdish forces in Syria's northeast is a "green light" to Turkey to attack Rojava, the anarchist-inspired Kurdish autonomous zone [23]. The two last pockets of democratic self-rule in Syria are each now gravely threatened. Yet with Turkey posing as protector of Idlib, the Arab revolutionary forces there have been pitted against the Kurds. The Free Syrian Army and Rojava Kurds were briefly allied [24] against ISIS and Assad alike four years ago, before they were played against each other by imperial intrigues. Can this alliance be rebuilt, in repudiation of the foreign powers now seeking to carve up [25] Syria? Or will the US withdrawal merely spark an Arab-Kurdish ethnic war [26] in northern Syria? Weinberg calls for activists in the West to repudiate imperial divide-and-rule stratagems, and demand the survival of liberated Idlib and Rojava alike. Listen on SoundCloud [16], [27] and support our podcast via Patreon [28].
Music: Idlib (The Revolution Lives) [30] by Dylan Connor [31]
Production by Chris Rywalt [32]
We ask listeners to donate just $1 per episode via Patreon [28]. A total of $30 per episode would cover our costs for engineering and producing. We are currently up to $13.
New episodes are produced every two weeks.
We need your support [33].
