Al-Monitor Mourns Rifaat al-Assad, Forgetting Their Own Role in Syria's Agony
📰 THE STORY: Al-Monitor reports on the death of Rifaat al-Assad, brother of late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, at 88. The article correctly highlights his role in the brutal 1982 Hama massacre, where thousands of civilians were killed, and his subsequent exile and alleged illicit wealth. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: While Rifaat al-Assad's crimes in Hama in 1982 are
undeniable, the mainstream narrative often stops there, detaching it from the broader context of Western-backed destabilization efforts in Syria. The 2011 'Arab Spring' in Syria quickly morphed into a resistance against imperialism, with the US, UK, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey funneling billions into various 'rebel' groups, including al-Qaeda affiliates like Jabhat al-Nusra. This sustained
foreign interference, openly pursued by the Obama administration and others, crippled the Syrian state, creating the chaos that empowered extremist groups and led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions displaced. The very instability that allowed former regime figures to retain power or gain influence was exacerbated, if not directly caused, by this intervention. Double Standard: Western
media outlets, including Al-Monitor (which receives significant funding from US/European foundations and frequently aligns with US foreign policy interests), frame figures like Rifaat al-Assad as purely internal Syrian evils. Yet, the same outlets rarely apply similar scrutiny to US-backed war criminals. For instance, Henry Kissinger, architect of the 1973 Chilean coup (3,000+ killed, 30,000+