Anti-war activists and members of Los Angeles’ Syrian community gathered April 7 to reject Trump’s bombing campaign in Syria. The ANSWER Coalition—in which the Party for Socialism and Liberation is proudly an anchoring organization—convened and organized the demonstration.
The attacks on Syria signal an ominous pledge to continue the endless U.S.wars in the Middle East—something which the anti-imperialist movement gathered last Friday to resist.
This bombing campaign was comparatively sudden relative to the campaigns in Iraq, Libya and the many other countries attacked by the United States. Instead of the months-long demonization campaigns against the country’s leadership, Trump and the Pentagon simply attacked. The move was no doubt calculated in part to minimize the opportunities for a popular movement to build mass opposition to the war; this administration no doubt learned from the lessons of 2013 when the Obama administration had to back down from a war on Syria due to an outpouring of mass opposition.
Los Angeles’ march consequently was as much about resisting U.S. imperialism as it was about the suppression of dissent; though the march and rally themselves were clearly against the bombing and any future U.S. intervention in Syria, the acts of marching and rallying themselves were acts of defiance against the attempts to circumvent popular resistance.
Members of Los Angeles’ sizable Syrian-American community turned out in force. Their presence was felt not only in numbers, but also by their leadership in chanting and their speakers at the beginning and end rallies.
Of course, many other communities also were represented in a true show of solidarity, from the Korean-American community to the Latino/a community—communities which understand intimately the disastrous effects of U.S. interventions on the populations the hawk politicians claim to be “saving.”
As the Trump administration readies for war in Syria and elsewhere around the world, the need for a strong anti-war movement is felt more than ever. Check the ANSWER Coalition’s Facebook page and other social media for future action alerts.
