look at syria, for example.

assad is a secular leftist and holds the broad support of the secular urban population.

western imperialist ambitions in the region are supporting radical islamic fundamentalists, that want to set up a brutal theocracy. and, why can't the superpower win in a little country like syria? because these groups have no popular support at all. yet, the relativists will stand up for these groups on the grounds of cultural relativism out of orientalist ignorance; what they're really doing is just pushing western propaganda, for the purposes of generating support to carry through with strategic american geopolitical objectives. they're useful idiots.

there's some problems with speech rights in the country, sure. but, if it's a binary choice, a leftist should side with assad on every level - as an anti-imperialist, as a secularist and as a supporter of democracy and self-representation.