A few weeks back we examined the anatomy of the Syrian opposition, noting the various factions, how they fit in to the Great Power chess-game now being played over the country—and asking whether there are any independent secular left elements that progressives in the West can support. It was just brought to our attention that on July 28, Solidarity Federation, website of the British section of the anarcho-syndicalist International Workers Association, ran a statement from a  young man identified only by the first name Mazen, who claims to represent a "group of young Syrian anarchists and anti-authoritarians from Aleppo." In plausibly stilted English, he details the eclipse of the civil opposition by armed factions, and the foreign manipulation of the latter—while laying much of the blame for the situation with the Assad regime and its bloody repression. An excerpt:

Hundreds of anarchists from all over the world gathered Aug. 8-12 in the town of Saint-Imier in the Jura region of Switzerland to mark the 140th anniversary of a congress which saw the anarchists break with the workers' movement dominated by Karl Marx. The International Anarchism Gathering called for public protests and strikes to oppose austerity measures imposed in response to the European debt crisis. "Capitalism goes from crisis to crisis, so this is an opportunity for us," said Aristides Pedraza, one of the event organizers.

Following a wave of protests on Okinawa against the planned deployment of a fleet of MV-22 Osprey aircraft by the US Marine Corps at the island's Futenma Air Station, the US Defense Department and Japan's government announced Aug. 5 that they will delay the deployment pending further tests of the aircraft's safety. The protests had the strong support of Takeshi Onaga, mayor of Naha, Okinawa's capital, and also won the sympathy of Yoshihiko Fukuda, mayor of Iwakuni, the city in southern Honshu's Yamaguchi prefecture where the 12 aircraft were to be assembled. In June, a US Air Force Osprey crashed in Florida, injuring all five airmen aboard, while a crash in Morocco in April left two Marines dead. The Ospreys, a hybrid craft that incorporates elements of both planes and helicopters, were to replace older CH-46 helicopters that are currently deployed at Futenma. (Japan Times, Aug. 5; RTT, July 27; AP, July 23; AP, July 20)

The FBI served search warrants at three homes in Portland. Ore. early July 25 as part of an "ongoing violent crime" investigation, according to agency spokesperson Beth Anne Steele. "The warrants are sealed, and I anticipate they will remain sealed," Steele said. Some residents in the area of Northeast Alberta Street were awakened to the sound of a helicopter circling overhead as some 80 agents from the FBI and local Joint Terrorism Task Force raided the homes, using flash grenades according to witnesses. No arrests have been made, but computers and other personal items were confiscated. Grand jury subpoenas were also issued to five individuals in Portland, Olympia, and Seattle. Local media reports suggest the case is related to "Black Bloc" protests in Seattle on May Day of this year. A photo of one of the search warrants was posted on IndyBay, showing that agents were seeking "anti-government or anarchist literature" as well as black clothing, paint and other items. (Oregonian, IndyBay, Green is the New Red, July 25)