Bashar al-Assad – aka the "Butcher of Damascus " – is responsible for torture and murder of more than half a million of his own citizens and is universally condemned a war criminal – except in Moscow and Tehran. Amazingly, he still has supporters among the German left and the far-right, mainly due to a reflexive hatred of the United States and Israel. The most visible Assad supporter is the "journalist" Karin Leukefeld, who reports frequently for the former Stasi-papers Junge Welt and Neues Deutschland. Leukefeld passes herself off as an "expert" on Middle Eastern affairs, with special focus on Syria . She is a frequent commentator on the Russian propaganda outlet RT-Deutsch, and a welcome guest on Holocaust-denier Ken Jebsen's YouTube Channel KenFm as well as the Kremlin-Portal and conspiracy site NachDenkSeiten. But Frau Leukefeld's "expertise" appears limited to regurgitating press releases coming out of Moscow and Damascus. Typical is her "analysis" of the US missile strike on the Syrian airbase, where she takes Putin's position that Syria does not possess chemical weapons:
Der russische Präsident Wladimir Putin bezeichnete den US-Angriff als völkerrechtswidrige Aggression auf einen souveränen Staat und beantragte eine Dringlichkeitssitzung des UN-Sicherheitsrates. […]Syrien hatte 2013 die Chemiewaffenkonvention unterzeichnet und sein Arsenal unter internationale Kontrolle gestellt. 2015 erklärte die UN-Organisation für den Schutz vor Chemiewaffen, alle derartigen Waffen aus Syrien seien aus dem Land abtransportiert und vernichtet worden.
(Putin's complaint of "völkerrechtswidrige Aggression auf einen souveränen Staat" is rather hilarious given his Anschluss of Crimea and his constant military incursions into eastern Ukraine).
Hard to comprehend, but most of the reviews and commentaries I found online about Leukefeld's articles and books are positive. An exception is commentary by the Austrian blogger Thomas Rammerstorfer from a year ago:
(Leukefelds) Grundthesen, zumindest stellt es sich mir aus den online vorliegenden Artikeln so da, sind relativ leicht erklärt:
– Am Bösen auf der Welt, insbesondere in Nahen Osten, sind Israel und die USA Schuld. Ein bisschen vielleicht noch Europa.
– Syrien war ein aufstrebendes Land, das plötzlich und ohne größere Mitverantwortung der eigenen Regierung durch ausländische Mächte in einen Bürgerkrieg gestürzt wurde.„Der von außen angeheizte Krieg, die politische Isolierung und die Sanktionen von USA und EU haben ebenso die aufblühende Ökonomie zerstört wie die syrische Reformbewegung“ (1) schreibt sie. Dass die Sanktionen z. B. der EU erst verhängt wurden, als der Aufstand gegen Assad bereits begonnen hatte (im November 2011), scheint ihr entgangen zu sein.
(Leukefeld's basic ideas – from what I can ascertain from her articles found online, are relatively simple to explain All the evil in the world – especially in the Middle East – is the fault of Israel and the US. Europe also shares some of the blame. – Syria was a developing country which suddenly - without any fault of its government – was plunged into a civil war by foreign powers. The resulting war fomented by outside forces, the political isolation and the sanctions imposed by the US and EU have destroyed the blossoming economy and the Syrian reform movement. (She evidently misses the fact that the sanctions were only imposed after the resistance to the Assad regime began (in November 2011)).
Not surprisingly, Leukefeld's work does not conform to the minimum standards of professional journalism: she rarely cites any sources for her "facts" (ie Fake News), her books lack a bibliography and footnotes as well as quotes and citations. As mentioned, she basically just translates into German propaganda put out by the Assad regime or the Kremlin.
So why is she viewed as an "expert" by so many in Germany? Rammerstorfer speculates as follows:
Warum Leukefeld trotz ihrer parteiischen, unwissenschaftlichen, sich widersprechenden und zeitweise schlicht falschen Behauptungen Erfolg hat? Es gibt wohl ein gewisses Milieu an linken und rechten ObskurantInnen, das förmlich nach „alternativen“ Welterklärungen dürstet, besonders solchen, in denen die USA und Israel die Bösewichter sind.
("Why, in spite of her partisan, unscientific and contradictory or false statements, does Leukefeld have success? There is a certain milieu of left and right-wing obscurantists which is thirsting for "alternative" explanation for world events – especially for those in which the US and Israel are the bad guys.")
So Assad can continue gassing his citizens, and Russia can keep bombing hospitals in Syria – and Karin Leukefeld and her legion of fans will know it is always the fault of the US and the Jews Israel.
