On December 8, following an "overwhelming advance" by "rebel" forces, the Assad regime fell after more than 50 years of rule.

It did not take long to get confirmation that the whole operation enjoyed the approval of the US and NATO and that the "liberation" of Syria is a "regime change" under the aegis of the imperialist West.

Before moving on to the analysis of the situation, it is good to clarify what the regime was that was last led by Bashar al-Assad, now a refugee in Moscow. Although described by some vulgates as "socialist", "anti-imperialist" and a "bastion of secularism", the neo-Baathist regime was a corrupt, arrogant, parasitic and nepotistic dictatorship belonging to the Alawite minority.

The prisons, torture and attacks on the Syrian Arab Republic were reserved not only for Islamists and some pro-imperialist fringes, but also for progressives, anti-imperialists, consistent communists. The Arab nationalism that inspired it, in reality a hateful sectarianism, split the country as a result of decades of discrimination against national minorities.

The bombing of PLO camps during the Syrian intervention in Lebanon in 1976, to prevent the defeat of the Maronite allies and for hegemony in that country, were one of the most shameful pages in the history of this brutal and corrupt dynasty.

Just as it is not possible to forget the alignment with the US and other Western powers in the war against Iraq, the neoliberal measures increased the social divide, etc. With the loss of popular support, especially from 2011 onwards, the fall of Russian protection, the weakening of Hezbollah and Iran, this regime, hated by most of the Syrian population, which has also been subject to hateful sanctions, has collapsed.

Its place has been taken by the radical Islamists of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and the National Army, bloodthirsty terrorist groups supported by Turkey (a NATO country), the USA and Zionism (let us not forget that in Syria there are also direct Turkish and US occupations of its territory).

The large-scale attack by these reactionary gangs was launched from Syria's northwestern border on November 27, 2024, the same day that the cessation of the war between Israel and the Lebanese resistance was signed. The cities were occupied one after the other without significant resistance, as the Syrian army continued to withdraw each time under the pretext of "redeployment" or of "concern to save blood", until it virtually vanished along with the security services and other Syrian institutions that "peacefully handed over" Damascus to the Islamists.

With the new Islamist regime, Syria will not only maintain all the contradictions and distortions of the previous bourgeois regime, but will also find itself under the heavy cloak of obscurantism. There is also the spectre of the continuation of hostilities and of political and religious division into cantons, of chaos.

The people of Syria are paying the price, including the Kurds, who risk annihilation by the Turks and Islamists, with US lack of interest in them looming.

The negative repercussions on the Palestinian people are considerable, since the new regime does not oppose Israel unlike the previous one which in some way could benefit its cause, together with Hezbollah.

What happened in Syria is closely linked to the genocide underway in Gaza and to what happened in Lebanon. The imperialists, Zionists and Arab and Turkish reactionaries demanded and obtained the fall of the Syrian regime in order to cut off all ties between it and the Palestinian resistance.

The destruction and dismantling of Syria is an extension of the aggression against Gaza and Lebanon, with the aim of ensuring Israel's hegemony over the region and blocking the way for any form of support for the resistance. It is no coincidence that the new masters of Syria in their speeches make no reference to the Palestinian question or the Zionist occupation of the Syrian Golan. On the contrary, they did not fail to express their thanks to Zionism for helping them to take power, promising to recognize Israel and normalize relations with it.

Among the states involved in the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the Iranian theocracy stands out, which sees its internal contradictions sharpening and loses important allies after the decimation of Hamas and the beheading of Hezbollah. The pro-Western faction of the Iranian bourgeoisie, the so-called reformists, is being strengthened.

For its part, Russian imperialism, which has dominated the country since the time of the revisionist USSR, risks being deprived of its military bases overlooking the Mediterranean and its direct presence in the Middle East.

We say "risk", because the abandonment of Bashar al-Assad was linked to agreements approved at the Doha meeting that brought together Russia, Iran and Turkey. The green light for the new invaders was given in exchange for special Turkish guarantees to Russia, so that some of its vital interests would not be harmed.

Finally, China, which had secured agreements with Assad for the reconstruction of the country and membership of the "Belt and Road Initiative", sees its influence in the region reduced.

The developments in Syria are part of the project of redefinition of the Middle East directed by US imperialism, in which regional powers are participating, aimed at establishing new spheres of influence, perpetuating control of energy resources and weakening the anti-imperialist resistance of the peoples, primarily the Palestinian peoples. One of the major objectives of the imperialist countries that belong to NATO is to expel Russia and China from the region.

It is above all the Zionist state that is gaining from the new situation, which loses an opponent in the north, strengthens its position in the area and can annex new territories.

Erdogan's Turkey is advancing with its neo-Ottoman project and will be able to deepen the struggle against the Kurdish people. The advantage of the United States and the Qatari petro-monarchy, which have largely benefited from the weakening of a Russia engaged in the war in Ukraine and the checkmate of the Iranian theocracy, may still increase and this will depend on the developments of the conflict.

The suspension of proceedings concerning asylum applications from Syria was the first reaction of the Italian government to the "change of power" in the country. The garrison of the Italian borders from the danger of the "migratory collapse", into which Syria would fall, is the refrain of bourgeois reaction to spread the feelings of suspicion and incomprehension among the peoples.

At the same time, the reopening of the Italian embassy in Damascus would appear to be a demonstration of the ability of Italian imperialism to assert itself into the "new" Syria, in agreement and rivalry with other imperialist powers.

As communists, we stand with the democratic and revolutionary peoples and forces of Syria, we support the right to self-determination of oppressed peoples and nations against all imperialist interference and national oppression, and we hope that they will succeed in driving out the obscurantists who have seized power and their imperialist and Zionist masters.

Now disillusioned and made experts by their decades-long struggle against the Assads, they will increase their vigilance and know how to fight for their class and revolutionary demands, while warmongering imperialism and its reactionary servants will increasingly unmask themselves before the eyes of the masses.

We reiterate our support for the cause and resistance of the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples. It must be understood that the conspiracies, regime overthrows and attacks that are taking place are centered on the Palestinian issue that the imperialists and Zionists want to bury, leading to normalization with Israeli Zionism within the framework of Trump's "Deal of the Century" and his "Abraham Accords". The task of proletarian revolutionaries is to reject all attempts to instill the idea that liberation, independence, democracy, progress and social justice can be brought to fruition by foreign powers and their local lackeys rather than by each people.

Scintilla, January 2025 Issue 150