Washington’s Long War on Syria: Stephen Gowan’s Canadian Book Launch Tour
Hosted by Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War and Canadian Peace Congress
Canadian political commentator, Stephen Gowans, will launch his authoritative new book, “Washington’s Long War on Syria”, in a number of Central Canadian cities over the next two months.
Below is the actual chronological order of the remainder of the tour.
MISSISSAUGA: Sunday April 23 @ 2 pm, at Burnhamthorpe Library, 3650 Dixie Road in Mississauga. Sponsored by the Canadian Peace Congress, People’s Voice and the Committee of Progressive Pakistani-Canadians.
TORONTO: Monday, April 24 @ 7:30 pm – GCDO Hall, 290 Danforth Ave., Toronto – Co-sponsored by Canadian Peace Congress, New Labour Press, and People’s Voice.
HAMILTON: Catch Gowans’ book launch at 7 pm on Tuesday, April 25, at New Vision United Church, 24 Main Street West, Hamilton L8P 1H2, diagonally across from Hamilton City Hall. Doors open 6:45 pm. Sponsored by the Hamilton Coalition To Stop The War, hcsw.ca, [email protected], call Ken at 905-383-7693. Endorsed by Democracy Probe International.
HAMILTON MCMASTER book launch added for lunchtime (12:30 pm to 2:30 pm) on Wednesday, April 26, at the McMaster University Student Centre, Rooms 311 & 313. MUSC can be accessed by many HSR buses from downtown. Paid surface parking is available on lots near the Student Centre. Sponsored by the Hamilton Coalition To Stop The War. Endorsed by Democracy Probe International.
ST CATHARINES: The launch is at 7 pm on Wednesday, April 26, at St Thomas Anglican Church, 99 Ontario St, St Catharines (downtown near Montebello Park). Plenty of free parking at the rear of church off Cherry St. Sponsored by Niagara Coalition For Peace. Contact [email protected] and 289 990 7683.
TORONTO (again): Stephen Gowans will be speaking at A Different Booklist Cultural Centre on Thursday, April 27 at 7 pm. The event, sponsored by A Different Booklist will take place at the Cultural Centre, 777-779 Bathurst St. (at Bloor). Contact info: [email protected]
MONTREAL: Gowans’ bilingual Montreal talk and launch will be held on Tuesday, May 2, at the Centre St-Pierre, 1212, rue Panet, Room 101 at 7 pm. The Montreal event, sponsored by Baraka Books, will be held in both French and English. Contact: [email protected]; 514-808-8504.
All launches feature FREE ADMISSION and are open to the public of all ages. Gowans will lecture about his analysis of the imperial origins of the war on Syria, answer questions, and sign and sell his new book, which retails at $25. All venues are wheelchair accessible and are close either to paid or free parking as well as to public transit.
As more book launches of this most authoritative book on the Syrian war are organized, they will be announced here.
Below are reviews, abstract, and praise of the book.
REVIEWS
“The war over Syria has been, in truth, a fight for control over the global economic and political order—a last, failing stand for a declining American empire to forestall the current shift toward a new global balance of power. Unlike so many hastily-written books on Syria that miss this point, Stephan Gowans’ work will prove to be an essential primer on the Syrian conflict for years to come. A must read.” —Sharmine Narwani, Journalist and Analyst of Mideast geopolitics.
“Stephen Gowans is internationally known. His blog is read all over the world, and his book is coming out in multiple languages. Gowans writes about important issues of US foreign-policy, including the timely subjects of Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, and North Korea. Gowans is notable for understanding the Syrian conflict in terms of the struggle between three main forces – US imperialism, political Islam, and Arab nationalism. In his book, Gowans explores the intricacies of political Islam as expressed in contending relationships between nationalism, imperialism, and economic development. A (free) lecture not to be missed!” —Brendan Stone, co-chair, Hamilton Coalition To Stop The War
ABSTRACT
When President Barack Obama demanded formally in the summer of 2011 that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad step down, it was not the first time Washington had sought regime change in Damascus. The United States had waged a long war against Syria from the very moment the country’s fiercely independent Arab nationalist movement came to power in 1963. Assad and his father Hafez al-Assad were committed to that movement.
Washington sought to purge Arab nationalist influence from the Syrian state and the Arab world more broadly. It was a threat to Washington’s agenda of establishing global primacy and promoting business-friendly investment climates for US banks, investors and corporations throughout the world. Arab nationalists aspired to unify the world’s 400 million Arabs into a single super-state capable of challenging United States hegemony in West Asia and North Africa. They aimed to become a major player on the world stage free from the domination of the former colonial powers and the US.
Washington had waged long wars on the leaders of the Arab nationalist movement. These included Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, and Syria’s Assads. To do so, the US often allied with particularly violent forms of political Islam to undermine its Arab nationalist foes. By 2011, only one pan-Arabist state remained in the region—Syria.
In Washington’s Long War on Syria Stephen Gowans examines the decades-long struggle for control of Syria. This struggle involved secular Arab nationalism, political Islam, and United States imperialism, the self-proclaimed Den of Arabism, and last secular pan-Arabist state in the region.
PRAISE
“Stephen Gowans paints a very clear portrait of the Syrian Arab Republic, and documents the extensive efforts from the Pentagon to bring it down. With the mainstream media spewing regime change propaganda 24-hours a day, Gowan’s book is a must-read. It tells the true story of the Syrian people and their struggles for independence and development, a story that desperately needs to be heard. This book would make even the most ardent interventionist question Washington’s policies. Gowan’s tells truths that are so deeply hidden in western countries, but yet are so vital in understanding world events.” Caleb Maupin, Journalist & Political Analyst
“Gowans’ book is a timely and indispensable resource for those seeking to understand recent events in Syria.” Eva Bartlett, Independent Canadian Journalist
“Washington’s Long War on Syria” is a well-researched and highly readable account of why the United States has launched a major crusade to overthrow the Baathist government in Damascus. Needless to say, the story it tells is completely at odds with the US-sponsored fairy tale about a brutal dictator crushing a democratic protesters, leaving noble Americans no choice but to ride to the rescue.” Dan Lazare, Journalist and Author
Stephen Gowans runs the popular and widely read What’s Left webzine. Often interviewed on The Taylor Report (CIUT 89.5, Toronto), Stephen Gowans lives in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
