Syria

The Pandora’s Box Of War

April 9, 2017 Chris Hedges, www.truthdig.com Educate! Assad, Donald Trump, Syria, Wars and Militarism

By Chris Hedges for Truthdig. War opens a Pandora’s box of evils that once unleashed are beyond anyone’s control. The invasion of Afghanistan set out to defeat al-Qaida, and nearly 16 years later, we are embroiled in a losing fight with the Taliban. We believed we could invade Iraq and create a Western-style democracy and weaken Iran’s power in the region. The fragmentation of Iraq among warring factions has left Iran the dominant Muslim nation in the Middle East and Iraq destroyed as a unified nation. We set out to topple President Bashar Assad in Syria but then began to bomb the Islamic insurgents trying to overthrow him. We spread the “war on terror” to Yemen, Libya and Syria in a desperate effort to crush regional resistance. Instead, we created new failed states and lawless enclaves where vacuums were filled by the jihadist forces we sought to defeat. We have wasted a staggering $4.79 trillion on death, destruction and folly as our nation is increasingly impoverished and climate change threatens us with extinction. The arms manufacturers, who have a vested interest in perpetuating these debacles, will work to make a few trillion more before this act of collective imperial suicide comes to a humiliating end.

U.S. Forces Entering Syria From Jordanian Border

April 9, 2017 Brandon Turbeville, www.activistpost.com Educate! Syria, Wars and Militarism

By Brandon Turbeville for Activist Post. Reports coming in from Lebanon and Syria are indicating that the United States is not done with its direct assault on Syria even as the al-Sha’aryat airbase that was targeted by American Tomahawk missiles is back up and running. As independent journalist, Sarah Abdallah, reports, around 20 U.S. armored vehicles have poured across the Jordanian border into Syria. At this time, it remains unclear as to what the purpose of the vehicles might be. Abdallah is based in Lebanon. Some suggest that the vehicles may simply yet another illegal American incursion into Syria of the routine variety, a prospect that is dangerous enough given current circumstances. However, there is also the possibility that the vehicles are part of something much larger such as an invasion of Syria by the United States, thus putting the U.S. in direct odds and likely military confrontation with both Syrian and Russian forces.

US Intelligence Already Knows Assad Did Not Drop Chemical Weapons

April 9, 2017 W. Patrick Lang, www.turcopolier.typepad.com Educate! Donald Trump, Syria, Wars and Militarism

By Colonel W. Patrick Lang for Sic Semper Tyrannis. Donald Trump's decision to launch cruise missile strikes on a Syrian Air Force Base was based on a lie. In the coming days the American people will learn that the Intelligence Community knew that Syria did not drop a military chemical weapon on innocent civilians in Idlib. Here is what happened: The Russians briefed the United States on the proposed target. This is a process that started more than two months ago. There is a dedicated phone line that is being used to coordinate and deconflict (i.e., prevent US and Russian air assets from shooting at each other) the upcoming operation. The United States was fully briefed on the fact that there was a target in Idlib that the Russians believes was a weapons/explosives depot for Islamic rebels. The Syrian Air Force hit the target with conventional weapons. All involved expected to see a massive secondary explosion. That did not happen. Instead, smoke, chemical smoke, began billowing from the site. It turns out that the Islamic rebels used that site to store chemicals, not sarin, that were deadly. . . .

Newsletter: Syrian Missile Attack Is Opportunity To Challenge Militarism

April 8, 2017 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org Newsletter Donald Trump, military spending, Refugees, Syria, US Empire, Wars and Militarism

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers. The US attack on Syria, in reaction to the unproven allegations that President Assad used chemical weapons on the people of Syria, was not a surprise. It took President Trump a few days of discussions with his military advisers to decide to use the tactic of bombing a military target with 59 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles. The Russians were given advance warning, personnel and some equipment were removed from the site and because a majority of Tomahawks missed their target, very little damage was done to the site. There are reports of Syrian aircraft flying out of the facility after the bombing. But damage was done to cities nearby the site and at least 25 civilians were killed, including 8 children and dozens were injured. This was an illegal act of war under international law.

Five Top Papers Run 18 Opinion Pieces Praising Syria Strikes–Zero Are Critical

April 8, 2017 Adam Johnson, www.fair.org Educate! Media Literacy, Propaganda, Syria

By Adam Johnson for FAIR - Five major US newspapers—the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and New York Daily News—offered no opinion space to anyone opposed to Donald Trump’s Thursday night airstrikes. By contrast, the five papers ran a total of 18 op-eds, columns or “news analysis” articles (dressed-up opinion pieces) that either praised the strikes or criticized them for not being harsh enough

The Essential Pundit Take: ‘Trump Became President’ By Bombing Syria

April 8, 2017 Jim Naureckas, www.fair.org Educate! Donald Trump, Syria

By Jim Naureckas for FAIR - President Trump recognized that the president of the United States does have to act to enforce international norms, does have to have this broader moral and political purpose. President Trump realized, as every president has for many decades now, that presidents always believe they have inherent legal authority as commander in chief. And they don’t need to go to a pesky Congress every time they want military force. It’s entirely true that candidate Trump felt differently. Candidate Obama felt differently than President Obama on these issues. So I think that what is interesting is even the way in which he justified his actions, President Trump did–for the first time...

Has Trump Launched Next Mid-East Disaster With Syria Attack?

April 8, 2017 Jefferson Morley, www.alternet.org Resist! Donald Trump, Middle East, Syria, Trump Administration

By Jefferson Morley for AlterNet - It was that rarest of occasions when Barack Obama and Donald Trump were thinking very much alike. In September 2013, President Obama was besieged by demands to attack Syria over a ghastly chemical attack in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta that killed 1,500 people. Obama's logic tracked with Trump’s. There was no upside to attacking Syria, only a tremendous downside. Obama reached that conclusion by careful study of his options. Trump reached that conclusion by the seat of his pants. Today President Trump faces much the same predicament as his predecessor, and has already ordered an initial military strike, launching 59 tomahawk missiles at a Syrian Government airbase.

“Illegal Act Of War”: Trump’s Unilateral Attack On Syria Condemned

April 8, 2017 Nadia Prupis, www.commondreams.org Resist! Bombing, Donald Trump, Syria

By Nadia Prupis for Common Dreams - Peace groups and activists around the world on Friday condemned President Donald Trump's missile strikes on Syria, calling the move reckless, illegal, and hypocritical. In the U.S., a coalition of organizations—including CREDO, MoveOn.org, Peace Action, and Win Without War—warned that Trump's move was "not leadership" and "will not make our country safer nor end the tragic human suffering in Syria." "Make no mistake, this was an illegal act of war, launched in violation of the U.S. Constitution and international law. Congress should immediately cancel its planned recess and debate and vote before any further military engagement by Donald Trump in Syria," the groups stated.

Escalation In Syria A Mistake No Matter Who Did Chemical Attack

April 7, 2017 Joshua Frank, www.counterpunch.org Resist! Syria, US Foreign Policy

By Joshua Frank for Counter Punch - It was a false flag! Al Qaeda did it! Why would Assad use chemical weapons when he’s winning the war? It had to be those evil terrorists. These are the petty cries by some on the conspiracy-minded left with regard to this week’s barbaric chemical attack in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun, which took the lives of at least 74 and injured another 350. Of course the United States lays all the blame for the attack at the feet of President Bashar al-Assad, who has been implicated in many war crimes over the years. And unsurprisingly, the Russians, Assad’s chief allies, have countered, claiming the Syrians bombed a toxic weapons depot that unleashed the deadly nerve agent.

Is Trump Going To Commit The Next Great American Catastrophe In Syria?

April 7, 2017 Vijay Prashad, www.alternet.org Resist! Syria, Trump Administration

By Vijay Prashad for AlterNet - At the United Nations Security Council on April 5, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley held up pictures of children killed by a gas attack in Khan Shaykhun, south of the Syrian city of Idlib. Estimates suggest about 50 to 60 people died in this attack. The United States, the United Kingdom and France placed a resolution before the Security Council condemning the attack and asking for an investigation of it. There is no call for armed action against anyone because the Council is divided on who perpetuated the act. Strikingly, Ambassador Haley then said, "We don’t yet know about yesterday’s attack," meaning nobody had definitive intelligence about the attack. Yet, there was a hasty dash to judgment in the West that the perpetrator was the government of Bashar al-Assad...

Top 10 Lies, Damn Lies, And Lies About Syria

April 7, 2017 David Swanson, www.davidswanson.org Educate! Propaganda, Syria

By David Swanson for Let's Try Democracy - This is not the case. Death and dismemberment are horrific regardless of the weapon. No weapon is being used legally, morally, humanely, or practically in Syria or Iraq. U.S. bombs are no less indiscriminate, no less immoral, and no less illegal than chemical weapons -- or for that matter than the depleted uranium weapons with which the United States has been poisoning the area. The fact that a weapon has not been banned does not create a legal right to go into a country and kill people with it. Does shoplifting justify looting? If a Hatfield poisoned a McCoy, would another McCoy be justified in shooting a bunch of Hatfields? What barbarism is this? A crime does not sanction another crime. That's a quick trip to hell.

Another Dangerous Rush To Judgment In Syria

April 6, 2017 Robert Parry, www.consortiumnews.com Educate! Propaganda, Syria, US Foreign Policy

By Robert Parry for Consurtium News - One possible scenario was that Syrian warplanes bombed a rebel weapons depot where the poison gas was stored, causing the containers to rupture. Another possibility was a staged event by increasingly desperate Al Qaeda jihadists who are known for their disregard for innocent human life. While it’s hard to know at this early stage what’s true and what’s not, these alternative explanations, I’m told, are being seriously examined by U.S. intelligence. One source cited the possibility that Turkey had supplied the rebels with the poison gas (the exact type still not determined) for potential use against Kurdish forces operating in northern Syria near the Turkish border or for a terror attack in a government-controlled city like the capital of Damascus.

Syria Gas Attack Is Almost Certainly a ‘False Flag’

April 5, 2017 Gerry Condon, www.popularresistance.org Educate! Saudi Arabia, Syria, Wars and Militarism

By Gerry Condon for Popular Resistance. The chances that the Syrian military actually carried out the gas attack in northern Syria are pretty much ZERO. The Syrian government has absolutely nothing to gain from such an attack, and a lot to lose. They are steadily gaining more ground, and the terrorist groups are on the run. The Trump administration announced this week that it will not seek Assad's ouster. Peace talks to end the war are about to resume. So who benefits from this horrific attack? The sources for the gas attack reports are the rebel forces, their own media, and the "White Helmets," who are notorious for creating "regime change" propaganda against the Assad government. Famed investigative reporter Seymour Hersh has documented that the last large sarin attack blamed on the Syrian government was actually carried out by terrorist groups with the support of Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Media Spin Downplays US Responsibility for Mosul Massacre

April 2, 2017 Ben Norton, www.fair.org Educate! Iraq, Media, Propaganda, Syria, Wars and Militarism

By Ben Norton for FAIR. If you read the headlines of major corporate media outlets, you’d think hundreds of Iraqi civilians coincidentally died in the same location that just so happened to be hit by a US airstrike. A March 17 US attack in the city of Mosul resulted in a massacre of civilians. The monitoring group Airwars estimated that between 130 and 230 Iraqis were killed in the incident. Iraqi media reported similar figures. Civilian victims of the US-led bombing campaign to oust ISIS from the major northern Iraqi city, which has been terrorized by the extremist group for three years, have received little media coverage. The Washington Post (3/28/17) noted, nevertheless, that the recent airstrike “was potentially one of the worst US-led civilian bombings in 25 years.” Yet just a few days before the Post published this stark fact, leading news networks went out of their way to craft some of the most euphemistic headlines imaginable.

Trump Drives US Deeper Into Middle East War Quagmire

April 2, 2017 Medea Benjamin, www.theguardian.com Educate! Donald Trump, Iraq, ISIS, Islamic State, Syria

By Medea Benjamin for the Guardian. Donald Trump loudly criticized President Obama’s air campaign against Islamic State as “too gentle” and called for a reassessment of battlefield rules designed to protect civilians. The US military insists that the rules of engagement have not changed, but Iraqi officers have been quoted in the New York Times as saying that there has been a noticeable relaxing of the coalition’s rules of engagement since President Trump took office. President Trump has also escalated US intervention in Syria. In March, he authorized the deployment of 400 more troops to fight the Islamic State in Syria, and has upped the number of US airstrikes there. According to the UK-based organization Airwars, for the first time since Russia intervened in Syria’s civil war in 2015, US strikes in Syria are now responsible for more civilian casualties than Russian strikes. Among the most devastating incidents was a strike on a school sheltering displaced people outside Raqqa that killed at least 30 people, and an attack on a mosque in western Aleppo that killed dozens of civilians while they were attending prayers.

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