The government of Syria has fallen.

What does this mean for the people of Syria?

What does it mean for the people in Palestine?

What does it mean for the people throughout the Middle East

and for the new era of global politics?

We need a new system.

We need a new society. We need to demand that which may have sounded impossible even a few weeks ago, but is not only realizable, but an imperative necessity. Welcome to the Socialist Program. I'm your host, Brian Becker.

Today we're talking once again with journalist and author Vijay Prashan. VJ. is the executive director of the Tri-Continental

Institute for Social Research. Chief editor of Leftward Books. He is a prolific author, most

recently publishing a book with Noam Chomsky called On Cuba Reflections on 70 Years of Revolution and Struggle.

Vijay, welcome back.

Thanks a lot, Brian.

Great to be with you.

You know, we have often cited Vijay, that famous quote that sometimes things don't happen for long stretches of historical period for decades,

and then within a few weeks, decades happened. I think it was Lenin who said that, often quoted.

Things happen very, very quickly in Syria in the last few weeks, but if we start the story in the last few weeks,

we don't understand what's actually happening. It would be like coming into the movie in the last

10 minutes. Let's go back to the last quarter century, because in order to understand Syria,

you have to start not even in 2020 or 2015 or 2011 with the Arab Spring.

You can start at the beginning of the 2000s.

Anyway, let's get started.

Yeah, you know, it's true that in December, when in 11, 12 days,

...