Translated "Avante!" article by Jorge Cadima, Member of the International Department
There is much to learn when one looks back on the past. Many the time, historical situations present (although natural differences) outstanding similarities with the current days. An example are the documents belonging to the Anglo-North American intelligence plans, produced in 1957, in order to destabilize Syria and create conditions for a foreign troops invasion and a change of regime.
The British Guardian (in 27.09.2003) reports that documents discovered by a researcher, among the British government headed by Harold Macmillan former minister of the Defence’s archives “reveal that Harold Macmillan and the USA president Dwight Eisenhower approved a CIA and M16 [British intelligence] plan in order to prepare false incidents in the boarders as a pretext for an invasion in Syria by its pro -Western neighbours and subsequently to “eliminate” the most influent triumvirate in Damascus. And it adds: “ the assassination of three leaders was in the core of the project”. The CIA-M16 plan had three targets, officially supported at the highest level, being “Abd al Hamid Sarraj, head of the Syrian military intelligence; Afif al Bizri, the Syrian Commander -in -Chief; and Khalid Bakdash, a Syrian Communist Party leader”.
The current days’ script seems to have been written in 1957. And yet, according to the Guardian, the plan was intended to “ produce small sabotage, incidents and sudden attacks, in the interior of Syria […]. The report stated that, once created the necessary fear levels, many boarder incidents and confrontations would take place, as a pretext for an Iraqi and Jordan military intervention. Syria was to “ be presented as a plot, sabotage and violence sponsor against the neighbour governments” the report says. “ The CIA and the M16 must use their means, both in the psychological and action fields, in order to increase tension”. That meant to operate within Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon, which would take shape as “sabotage, conspiracy and several types of force activities”, which responsibility would be conferred to Damascus”. Even the terminology does not differ much from the current days:” the plan had in view the creation of a” Free Syria Committee” and the armament for “political factions with paramilitary capabilities or other kind of actions” within Syria. The CIA and M16 would instigate national rebellions ( ex. the South Druses), help to liberate political prisoners from the Mezze prison, and incite the Muslim Brotherhood in Damascus”. If the political understanding of the objective seemed to be concealed within a current language, it is clear that - at that stage /then, as today - the Anglo-Saxon imperialist powers leaders’ concerns, were all but democracy and popular willpower: “The plan authors predicted to replace the Baas/ Communist regime by another, strongly anti - Soviet, but confessed that would not be popular and “probably the need of starting by repressive measures and power’s arbitrator exercise”.
These revelations bring about another ex-libris of the most despicable cynical and political enticement, carried out by imperialist leaders: Northwoods Operation (in Avante! 01.12.28). In this 1962 document, the USA’s Army General Command -in-Chief responded to a request from the Ministry of the Defence for “ a short description, but objective, of pretexts that might help to justify a USA military intervention in Cuba”. An unthinkable list of possible actions to be carried out by the USA, in order to create pretexts for the invasion, included a bombing campaign throughout the USA territory, Cuban counter -revolutionary refugees’ assassination and the setting up of a commercial flight fall, actions which would be falsely laid claim on Cuba.
Whoever insists in not believing in imperialism’s bellicose propaganda currently, ought to do best in studying the official imperialism own documents, concerning its conspiracies, provocations and aggressions.
