Now that Syria Has Ousted & Exiled its Dictator - How Will Other Dictatorial Regimes Respond to the Warning...
Proves the adage: What goes around, comes around - everyone dictator gets their just due..
Syrian opposition fighters celebrate the fall of the Syrian government, in Damascus, Syria on December 8, 2024. Omar Sanadiki/AP
Many believed it would never happen - that is, the Assad regime would never topple, but after decades of family rule and oppression, it finally gave way. Now the question is, Who will fill the void left by the despot, and What will their new policies be?
We learned after the invasion of Iraq when Saddam Hussein was president of Iraq from 1979 to 2003 - his death was a brutal killing, once the Americans invaded. Because he often brutalized his own people with chemical weapons, it was not hard to believe he possessed stockpiles, and would use weapons of mass destruction on other people and nations. But there are plenty of dictators around the world who have harmed their own people. Currently there are authoritarian dictators in Russia, Hungary, North Korea, China to name a few…but what is the US trajectory? Is the US poised under Trump and Project 2025 to join the ranks of these authoritarians?
Unstable World
The toppling of the longstanding Assad dynasty in Syria will be a beacon of hope for the oppressed - but the outcome of the toppling that regime remains to be seen. But the overthrow should send a clear message - that oppression never works, and it is just a matter of time for people to revolt, reclaim their power - so dictators must take notice.
Many Americans alive today witnessed the “iron curtain” (dividing wall between East and West Germany) fall between 1989 and 1991. That “iron curtain” was so labelled, by former prime minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Winston Churchill in a speech he gave at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri in 1946. This “wall” was oppressive - it was meant to control the masses.
After all, it’s hard to be discontent, if you don’t know what you are missing.
The “Wall” was made of concrete and barbed wire and stood almost twelve feet tall, flanked with armed guards, guard dogs, and landmines - almost every draconian measure one could imagine. Hundreds of people were gun down, killed or committed suicide trying to escape - or even worse, to avert capture.
The Concept is Misinformation to Control the Masses
The idea behind the “Wall” was to keep the inhabitants unaware and misinformed of events and uprisings in their own country, and those around the world. As long before the “internet” came into vogue, dependency on radio remained the gold standard of communication. But with this iron curtain in place, those behind it had only available what their government allowed them to hear. This literally gives credence to the saying, “To control the narrative, is to control the people.” And this infamous “Berlin Wall” did so for 28 years - traversing a number of countries, and of course dividing the city of Berlin Germany in two.
After WWII, the allied nations: US, France and Great Britain began rebuilding West Germany into a democracy - while East Germany came under Soviet (Russian) communist rule.
The Wall’s Expanse - over 96 Miles Long:
"From Stettin [Poland] in the Baltic to Trieste [Italy] in the Adriatic an "iron curtain" has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia [Bulgaria]; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow."
The events that demolished the Iron Curtain started with peaceful opposition in Poland, and continued into Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia. Romania became the only socialist state in Europe to overthrow its government with violence.
But once the Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989, the nation that created it, the United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), fell just two years later, on December 25, 1991. What remnants remain of that failed nation-state today, is known as the Russian Federation or Russia, currently led by Vladimir Putin.
It Came Tumbling Down Because …
The factors behind the Berlin Wall coming down were several. There were a number of revolutions from within - weakening the Soviet communist bloc to the point of collapse. As a result of this collapse, a new world order came into being, and as many as fifteen nations reclaimed their freedom, sovereignty, and independence.
Those newly independent nations after the fall of the USSR include: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
What is important to note, during the Wall’s existence, there was only state-sponsored media in the areas under communist rule. Accurate information was not forthcoming, and people who lived under the iron-fist of the communists, had no way of communicating with those on the outside. Even their relatives who lived on the other side of the City of Berlin, were unable to communicate with each other. As a result, radio-free Europe broadcasts were created to reach the people behind the wall.
Reason to Be…
Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty were created by the National Committee for a Free Europe (NCFE), and the American Committee for Liberation from Bolshevism (AMCOMLIB) created Radio Free Europe (RFE) and Radio Liberty (RL) during the Cold War. It’s purpose: to serve as surrogate broadcasters providing trustworthy, locally relevant news, analysis and cultural programming to audiences subject to Communist propaganda. Both outlets grew, evolved, and eventually merged in the 1970s. And today their mission remains the same - bringing news and information to those who would otherwise hear only state-sponsored propaganda.
Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty:
RFE/RL’s mission is to promote democratic values by providing accurate, uncensored news and open debate in countries where a free press is threatened and disinformation is pervasive. RFE/RL reports the facts, undaunted by pressure.
While historically known for radio broadcasting behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, today’s RFE/RL seeks to reach audiences where they are, prioritizing digital platforms and innovative censorship circumvention strategies.
During the cold war, RFE/RL served as surrogate broadcasters, providing trustworthy and locally relevant news and analysis. They brought that along with cultural programming to audiences exposed only to Communist propaganda. Both of these broadcaster merged in the 1970’s.
The American Misinformation Media
All of this brings to the forefront the issue at hand. What will modern-day despots, dictators learn from the events taking place? Trump has chosen Keri Lake, former TV personality, failed Gubernatorial and Senatorial candidate for the state of Arizona, and current conspiratologist and Q-Annon groupie, to head Voice of America. This startling revelation is exceedingly troublesome, as Lake is known to spread lies and disinformation on just about everything - still insisting Trump won the 2020 election, and illegal immigrants are voting, when there is not even a scintilla of evidence to back her up.
According to one Publication in her Home State, the Arizona Mirror:
But in true Trump fashion, Lake refused to acknowledge that she had lost, instead making outlandish claims about election fraud that were supported by no evidence. When she brought those allegations to court and asked to be declared governor, they were rejected — in two separate trials — after she failed to provide any proof. Her final appeal was dismissed barely a month ago when the Arizona Supreme Court declined to take up her case.
That dismissal came a day after the 2024 election, which saw voters again reject Lake, this time in a bid for the U.S. Senate against Democrat Ruben Gallego. Lake lost that election by almost 81,000 votes; this time, she didn’t contest it or try to overturn the results.
That same paper notes:
Trump has in the past been a fierce critic of Voice of America, including saying in 2020 that “things they say are disgusting toward our country,” and a White House publication accused it of using taxpayer money “to speak for authoritarian regimes” because it covered the lifting of lockdown in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus first emerged.
Voice of America was founded during World War II, and its congressional charter requires it to present independent news and information to international audiences. Upon taking office in January 2021, President Joe Biden’s administration swiftly removed a number of senior officials aligned with Trump from Voice of America.
Mainstream Media is Not Doing Its Job…
So if Kari Lake takes the helm of Voice of America, and the American Media continues doing such an abhorrent job of reporting the news to the American people, and Trump keeps threatening to shut down media outlets by removing their FCC licenses (Federal Communications Commission), and put journalists in jail for what they report - Aren’t we becoming the voiceless, the oppressed - just as those in former Soviet bloc?
Stand Up and Fight for What’s Right
Americans must take heed in what the Syrian people just did: fight for their rights, fight against oppression, fight so that their voices will be heard. In a true democracy voices cannot simply be silenced because someone, somewhere, opposes what you have to say. So American people take heed of what dictators can do - while dictators must also take notice. There is a price for oppression; it is not just one-sided. Freedom will always spring eternal. When that day happens - and it certainly will, the tide will turn, the oppressed will be free, and their oppressors will flee, be exiled, or be silenced.
The Take-Away for Home-Grown Dictators and Oppressors
So all those in charge of promoting Project 2025 take notice. You may be in charge for awhile, but like Assad and others before him, who thrived on oppression and subjugation, your days too will be numbered. So tread wisely - for those you oppress today, may one day rise up - and they will not tread lightly on you.
Copyright 2024, Mary Kay Elloian, Esq. - The Legal Edition® - Legal, Business & Policy News - All Rights Reserved. TheLegalEdition.com