Syria, Palestine, and Questions of a United Pan-Arab Nation in the Future

Pictured left to right: Hafez al Assad, Muammar Gaddafi, and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat.

Several years before his death on June 10, 2000, the late Syrian Arab Republic President Hafez al Assad (father of Bashar al Assad) lamented bitterly that, "When France entered our countries they were united [as one: Syria]. When it left they were disunited [partitioned into four separate countries.]"

Prior to Syria liberating itself from French colonialism, with the Ba'ath Arab Socialist Party taking power, and establishing the independent Syrian Arab Republic, the French (and the British) had divided the formerly single, united nation into four separate countries, effectively redrawing the world map in the years between 1918-1923. These four countries were: mainland Syria, Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon. In fact, Palestine used to be Syria's southern third province and was actually called Southern Syria. As for Jordan: the British created it as a kingdom for the Hashemite dynasty.

Hence the reason why Syria is probably the most militant anti-Zionist Arab state and arguably the fiercest advocate of the Palestinian cause in the region (in large part due to the tireless efforts of Hafez al Assad), other than Palestinian groups such as the PFLP and the now-ineffectual Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). As well as the reason why Syria takes in the most Palestinian refugees and quickly integrates them as citizens into their society. As Stephen Gowans explains in his latest book, Israel, a Beachhead in the Middle East: From European Colony to U.S. Power Projection Platform, Syria sees Palestine in the same way that North Korea sees South Korea, meaning: it is territory that was unjustly partitioned from them by the imperialists who would later install a 'usurper regime' (the state of Israel in Palestine; and the ROK in South Korea), and that they should be one, united, Arab nation standing strong together against imperialism -- just as the DPRK wants one united Korea standing strong together against imperialism. Syria would also like Lebanon and Jordan to be a part of that united Pan-Arab nation. Of Lebanon, Hafez al Assad once said, "Syria and Lebanon are a single country. We are more than brothers." Not to mention, one of the Ba'ath pillars is Pan Arabism, or Arab unity, and uniting on the basis that they are Arab first and foremost, and that they are to overcome ethnic divisions and religious differences. It also means recognizing that U.S. imperialism -- and its regional allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia -- is the enemy, which further stresses the importance of standing united in the face of an overarching threat.

This goal of reunification and forming a united Pan Arab nation is indeed a very ambitious goal. Can it eventually happen in the future? That remains to be seen. Most likely, if it were to happen, Palestine and Lebanon may be the first to possibly join; getting Jordan to join, however, will be extremely difficult, to say the least. Of course, when the Syrian Arab Republic says it will welcome Jordan into this Pan Arab unity, they more than likely are referring to ordinary, working Jordanians because the Jordanian monarchy, a U.S.-British puppet regime that shares many similarities with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, is diametrically opposed to their goals -- of which they are very well aware of. The Jordanian monarchy has also collaborated with Saudi Arabia and the other NATO-aligned Gulf countries several times against Syria to try and destabilize it, providing support to Wahhabist and Salafist terrorist proxy forces both in the past and in more recent years. Not only that, but, as Gowans explains in his book, the Hashemite dynasty is extremely well protected by the CIA:

"The monarchy also built an extensive security apparatus, whose operatives were -- and continue to be -- trained and equipped by Western powers, to suppress opposition to the Hashemites' tyranny. Emblematic of the Pantagruelian dimensions of Jordan's secret police is the reality that the largest building in Amman, the country's capital, is the headquarters of the internal security service." (p. 87)

In addition to that, the Jordanian monarchy has always seen (and continues to see) Israel as a natural ally:

"[King] Abdullah, as we've seen, machinated with the Zionists to divide Palestine in the First Settler-Native War. Hussein, Abdullah's grandson, took the informal alliance further, beginning secret meetings with the Israelis in May 1963. In those meetings, Hussein sought Israeli help to counter Nasser, while pledging to suppress anti-Israeli activity in the West Bank, at that time under Jordanian control. At the same time, Jordanian intelligence entered into a cooperative arrangement with the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency." (pp. 86-87)

Although chances of winning Jordan over are very slim, one cannot deny that a united Pan Arab nation -- and by extension, united Pan African, Pan Asian, and Pan American (Latin American) nations -- will be a force to be reckoned with in the face of late stage capitalism.

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Recommended further reading:

Gowans Stephen (2017). Washington’s Long War on Syria. Montreal: Baraka Books.

Gowans, Stephen (2018). Patriots, Traitors, and Empires: The Story of Korea’s Struggle for Freedom. Montreal: Baraka Books.

Gowans, Stephen (2019). Israel, a Beachhead in the Middle East: From European Colony to U.S. Power Projection Platform. Montreal: Baraka Books.