Ukraine to Syria: How Imperialism & Sabotage Divided the Western Left for 100 years, w/ Ben Norton

The war in Ukraine has led to a closing of the ranks in the West, with media and politicians in lockstep united against Russia, and some self-described leftists have joined in. As with many recent conflicts the left has been riven by divisions over what is the correct position to take, with “Putinism” replacing “Assadism” as the new term used to excommunicate opponents of NATO and American intervention.

To understand the history of the Western left and how wars over the last century have caused divisions, Rania Khalek was joined by Ben Norton, an investigative journalist based in Latin America, and editor of the independent news website Multipolarista.

TIME CODES
0:00 Intro
2:05 Splits on the left over Ukraine
10:34 Vietnam, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Ukraine: Divisions on the left
21:11 Policing the anti-imperialist left
25:55 George Orwell
31:44 Social Chauvinists
36:28 Sabotage, infiltration, & assassination
45:36 Divisions over covid
57:40 Watching the war in Ukraine from the Global South
1:04:46 Benefits of multipolarity