{"id":65094,"date":"2017-04-10T14:15:40","date_gmt":"2017-04-10T20:15:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=65094"},"modified":"2017-04-10T07:03:32","modified_gmt":"2017-04-10T14:03:32","slug":"trumps-missile-strike-on-syria-changes-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2017\/04\/10\/trumps-missile-strike-on-syria-changes-everything\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump&#8217;s Missile Strike on Syria Changes Everything"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/sputniknews.com\/authors\/john_wight\/\">John Wight<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Courtesy Sputnik.com<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"b-article__lead\">&#8220;A cloud no bigger than a man&#8217;s hand can be a harbinger of great storms to come.&#8221; So goes the biblical injunction and so are the potential ramifications of one &#8220;proportionate&#8221; and &#8220;limited&#8221; US airstrike carried out against a Syrian airbase, which in of itself was the military equivalent of a slap rather than a punch.<\/p>\n<div class=\"b-article__text\">\n<p>However the symbolism, breach of\u00a0trust, and return to\u00a0a world in\u00a0which Washington asserts the right to\u00a0act as\u00a0the judge, jury, and executioner of\u00a0international law instead of\u00a0being bound by\u00a0it has been mesmerizing in\u00a0its imperial and colonial arrogance, not to\u00a0mention contempt for\u00a0a world already scarred by\u00a0too many years of\u00a0US hegemony and domination.<\/p>\n<div class=\"b-inject m-inject-free m-inject-videoembed\">\n<div class=\"b-inject__media\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RYzqlVViUsI\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In embarking on\u00a0this reckless act of\u00a0vigilante justice against\u00a0a sovereign state, President Trump proves he cannot be trusted to\u00a0act rationally and with\u00a0restraint in\u00a0the midst of\u00a0a crisis. In so doing, he has shattered any prospect of\u00a0forging a partnership with\u00a0Russia against\u00a0a terrorist menace that recent events have once more confirmed threatens citizens of\u00a0both countries in\u00a0equal measure.<\/p>\n<p>Just after\u00a0he was elected president in\u00a0November 2016, I was <a href=\"https:\/\/sputniknews.com\/analysis\/201611151047453834-washington-trump-neocons-policy\/\">writing<\/a>, &#8220;Donald Trump&#8217;s pledge to\u00a0embark on\u00a0a new direction when it comes to\u00a0US foreign policy is both welcome and necessary. However if he is to\u00a0succeed, he will first have to\u00a0slay the beast of\u00a0neo-conservatism in\u00a0Washington.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"b-inject m-inject-min\">\n<div class=\"b-inject__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" title=\"US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump appears at a campaign roundtable event in Manchester, New Hampshire, US, October 28, 2016.\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputniknews.com\/images\/104745\/44\/1047454437.jpg\" alt=\"US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump appears at a campaign roundtable event in Manchester, New Hampshire, US, October 28, 2016.\" width=\"436\" height=\"232\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"b-inject__copy\">\u00a9 REUTERS\/ CARLO ALLEGRI<\/div>\n<div class=\"b-inject__content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sputniknews.com\/analysis\/201611151047453834-washington-trump-neocons-policy\/\">Why Trump Must Slay the Beast of Neoconservatism<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Five months on\u00a0we are left in\u00a0no doubt that rather than\u00a0slay neo-conservatism, Trump has been slayed by\u00a0a neocon establishment that is determined to\u00a0embark on\u00a0a new Cold War, one that has never been closer to\u00a0turning hot. It comes as\u00a0confirmation that when it comes to\u00a0foreign policy, his administration now conforms to\u00a0the adage, &#8220;Meet the new boss, same as\u00a0the old boss.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>For Russia the message sent by\u00a0this airstrike could not be clearer. Under Trump&#8217;s watch there will be no relationship of\u00a0equals and no multipolar world. It means that the lessons of\u00a0the disastrous consequences of\u00a0the alternative in\u00a0the shape of\u00a0US unipolarity\u00a0\u2014 i.e. Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and the eruption and spread of\u00a0Salafi-jihadi terrorism\u00a0\u2014 have been completely and egregiously ignored, sacrificed to\u00a0expediency on\u00a0the part of\u00a0a President who has decided to\u00a0abandon the pledges made during\u00a0his election campaign when it came to\u00a0departing from\u00a0his predecessors on\u00a0matters of\u00a0foreign policy.<\/p>\n<p>One wonders if he or his teams have stopped to\u00a0consider that with\u00a0this unilateral action, all of\u00a0a sudden the presence of\u00a0NATO troops and aircraft close to\u00a0Russia&#8217;s borders, along\u00a0with the missile defense shield in\u00a0Romania, have been turned from\u00a0a security concern into\u00a0an imminent threat, one that amounts to\u00a0a dagger pointed at\u00a0Russia&#8217;s heart.<\/p>\n<p>Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=29JbM6qyD1g\">said<\/a> that the footage of\u00a0children dying such agonizing deaths in\u00a0the town of\u00a0Khan Sheikoun in\u00a0Idlib province, in\u00a0the wake of\u00a0this alleged chemical weapons attack is what prompted him to\u00a0act. Such an emotional response from\u00a0a man in\u00a0possession of\u00a0America&#8217;s nuclear codes entitles us to\u00a0infer that the dozens of\u00a0children blown to\u00a0smithereens in <a href=\"https:\/\/sputniknews.com\/us\/201703291052060740-us-bombing-iraq-civilian-casualties\/\">Mosul<\/a> recently, courtesy of\u00a0US bombs, did not induce any emotional response in\u00a0the Oval Office.<\/p>\n<p>Or how about\u00a0the Yemeni civilians, including children, who are being <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2015\/09\/yemen-the-forgotten-war\/\">blown to\u00a0smithereens<\/a> on\u00a0a daily basis, courtesy of\u00a0US-manufactured and supplied munitions to\u00a0Washington&#8217;s Saudi ally?<\/p>\n<p>Have we now entered an age where anguish over\u00a0the killing of\u00a0the innocents is calibrated according to\u00a0who is responsible for\u00a0their deaths? Is this how low the hypocrisy in\u00a0Washington has descended?<\/p>\n<p>Returning to\u00a0the awful events of\u00a0Khan Sheikoun, nobody at\u00a0this stage knows beyond\u00a0reasonable doubt who or what was responsible,<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>with\u00a0the Syrians deny they dropped sarin or any other chemical weapon on\u00a0the town, as\u00a0alleged by\u00a0Washington and its partners.<\/p>\n<p>Damascus claims that its aircraft did carry out\u00a0an airstrike in\u00a0the area, and that it destroyed a warehouse where Salafi-jihadi groups were storing chemical weapons.<\/p>\n<div class=\"b-inject m-inject-min\">\n<div class=\"b-inject__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" title=\"A civil defence member breathes through an oxygen mask, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib, Syria April 4, 2017.\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.img.sputniknews.com\/images\/105233\/10\/1052331097.jpg\" alt=\"A civil defence member breathes through an oxygen mask, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib, Syria April 4, 2017.\" width=\"427\" height=\"227\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"b-inject__copy\">\u00a9 REUTERS\/ AMMAR ABDULLAH<\/div>\n<div class=\"b-inject__content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sputniknews.com\/analysis\/201704051052330649-syria-chemical-attack-idlib\/\">Chemical Weapons Attack on Idlib: Why Questions Need to Be Asked<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Two competing narratives on\u00a0the same event and therefore, grounds for\u00a0an independent UN-led investigation in\u00a0order to\u00a0ascertain which one is accurate and which is false. Russia has called for\u00a0such an investigation, as\u00a0have the Iranians, yet in\u00a0Washington those calls have been contemptuously dismissed, swept aside in\u00a0service to\u00a0a rush to\u00a0judgement and, with\u00a0it, a hail of\u00a0tomahawk missiles.It is a rush to\u00a0judgement that invites the question: what are the Americans afraid of? Is this a repeat of\u00a0the UN investigation into\u00a0whether Saddam possessed WMD back in\u00a02003, when Hans Blix and his investigation team were precipitately withdrawn from\u00a0Iraq at\u00a0the point at\u00a0which it had become obvious they were about\u00a0to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/press\/en\/2003\/sc7777.doc.htm\">confirm<\/a> that Iraq did not have any WMD, thus destroying the then-Bush administration&#8217;s pretext for\u00a0unleashing a war it had already decided was going to\u00a0be unleashed no matter what?<\/p>\n<p>In the absence of\u00a0any such investigation concerning Idlib, here is what we do know beyond\u00a0doubt:<\/p>\n<p>1. The Syrians had no motive for\u00a0carrying out\u00a0this attack. It came at\u00a0a point in\u00a0the conflict when pro-government forces were enjoying the kind of\u00a0momentum they have not enjoyed in\u00a0five years. It also came just after\u00a0the Trump administration had confirmed that regime change in\u00a0Syria was no longer an objective, that its priority was defeating terrorism. With this in\u00a0mind, for\u00a0President Assad to\u00a0authorize this attack\u00a0\u2014 and given how close the alleged chemical weapons attack of\u00a02013 came to\u00a0precipitating military intervention then\u00a0\u2014 this would conform to\u00a0the actions of\u00a0man who was intent on\u00a0bringing about\u00a0his government&#8217;s demise.<\/p>\n<p>2. All the footage of\u00a0the aftermath of\u00a0the Idlib event has come from\u00a0pro-opposition sources. While this does not automatically invalidate the footage&#8217;s authenticity or accuracy, it does require us to\u00a0be careful not to\u00a0blindly take it as\u00a0read. No Western journalist or news crew would dare set foot in\u00a0Idlib, or any other part of\u00a0opposition-held territory in\u00a0Syria for\u00a0that matter. They know that as\u00a0soon as\u00a0they did they would be abducted and slaughtered.<\/p>\n<p>3. In 2014, the Organization for\u00a0the Prohibition of\u00a0Chemical Weapons (OPCW) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opcw.org\/news\/article\/destruction-of-syrian-chemical-weapons-completed\/\">confirmed<\/a> that all declared stocks of\u00a0chemical weapons held by\u00a0the Syrian government had been destroyed, per the agreement brokered with\u00a0the Syrians and the Americans by\u00a0Russia in\u00a0the wake of\u00a0the attack on\u00a0eastern Ghouta, just outside\u00a0Damascus, in\u00a0August 2013. The OPCW is an international organization whose work and convention are supported by\u00a0Washington. The rationale that the Syrians had, in\u00a0violation of\u00a0the agreement, retained chemical weapons stocks, does not add up\u00a0when we consider the damage it would do to\u00a0its alliance with\u00a0Russia, not to\u00a0mention the dire consequences, should the fact it had held onto\u00a0some, become known.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the most egregious aspect of\u00a0the current crisis to\u00a0date was the extraordinary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/04\/05\/world\/middleeast\/syria-chemical-attack-un.html?_r=0\">histrionics<\/a> of\u00a0Trump&#8217;s UN envoy, Nikki Haley, at\u00a0the emergency session of\u00a0the UN Security Council immediately after\u00a0the alleged chemical weapons attack occurred. As she got out\u00a0of her chair and produced images of\u00a0dead children, which she proceeded to\u00a0brandish at\u00a0her Russian and Syrian counterparts, the world&#8217;s collective memory was transported back in\u00a0time to\u00a0the very same locale fourteen years previously, when then US Secretary of\u00a0State, Colin Powell, brandished a tiny vial as\u00a0he indulged in\u00a0one of\u00a0the most shameful and dishonest speeches the UN has ever witnessed in\u00a0its 70-year history.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking for\u00a0the countless victims of\u00a0America&#8217;s brutal war on\u00a0Iraq was Bolivia&#8217;s UN envoy, Sacha Llorenti. Himself brandishing the image of\u00a0Powell at\u00a0the UNSC on\u00a0that infamous day, he reminded the US and the world of\u00a0the lies that were told to\u00a0justify the war on\u00a0the Iraqi people.\u00a0Mr. Llorenti\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2017\/04\/07\/remember-2003-bolivian-un-ambassador-blasts-us-another-illegal-attack\">said<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p class=\"marker-quote1\"><strong>&#8220;<\/strong>We were told that there were weapons of\u00a0mass destruction in\u00a0Iraq and this was the motivation for\u00a0the invasion. After the invasion there were 1 million deaths and it launched a series of\u00a0atrocities in\u00a0that region. Could we talk about [the Islamic State] if that invasion had not taken place? Could we talk about\u00a0the serious and horrendous attacks in\u00a0various parts of\u00a0the world if that illegal invasion had not taken place? I believe it is vital to\u00a0remember what history teaches us.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Never a truer word spoken.<\/p>\n<p><em>The views expressed in\u00a0this article are solely those of\u00a0the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Lankaweb. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John Wight\u00a0\u00a0Courtesy Sputnik.com &#8220;A cloud no bigger than a man&#8217;s hand can be a harbinger of great storms to come.&#8221; So goes the biblical injunction and so are the potential ramifications of one &#8220;proportionate&#8221; and &#8220;limited&#8221; US airstrike carried out against a Syrian airbase, which in of itself was the military equivalent of a slap [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65094\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}