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The Syria Barrel Bomb Hoax |
By
Stephen Lendman |
| Phony accusations about Syrian use of CWs and barrel bombs are the propaganda
equivalent of Saddam’s nonexistent WMDs. Repeated enough gets most people to believe these weapons are being used - to enlist support for escalated war against a sovereign state threatening no one. All wars are based on lies and deception. Truth-telling destroys their justification. Misreporting on Syria’s conflict is some of the worst in memory - willful disinformation to defend the indefensible. Under Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) supervision, Syria’s chemical weapons were destroyed. No evidence indicates any remain. Claims otherwise are Big Lies - to vilify Assad, along with justifying war. Washington wants him ousted. Trump appears poised to escalate conflict, regime change his objective, naked aggression his strategy. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump clearly indicated “a number of lines…were crossed last week.” “(I)f you gas a baby, if you put a barrel bomb into into innocent people…you will see a response from this president…We hold open the possibility of future action” - falsely claiming Trump’s attack on Syria’s Shayrat airbase was because of a “threat to our national security.” None whatever exists. Spicer lied. Trump warned of more attacks. He’s recklessly playing with fire. Russian lower house State Duma parliamentarian Mikhail Yemelyanov condemned his aggression, saying it went “far beyond Syria because, clearly, Russia supports the legal Syrian government and takes part to a certain scale in this conflict.” “Therefore, such strikes are an act not just against Syria, but also against Russia…(T)his situation may…repe(at) the Cuban missile crisis, which almost pushed the world (to) the edge of a nuclear war.” “(T)here was no (Syrian military) chemical attack” on Khan Sheikhoun or anywhere else…This is an excuse for” lawless US conflict escalation, he stressed. Fact: No evidence suggests Syrian forces used chemical or other banned weapons any time during over six years of war. Assad on the CW and barrel bomb hoax: Last October, he said claims about government forces using chemical weapons were “proven to be false.” There isn’t “a shred of evidence about the Syrian Army using” these weapons. “We don’t have” any. “Regarding the barrel bombs…what is the definition of a barrel bomb? If you go to our army, you don’t have in our records something called ‘barrel bomb,’ so how do you understand…what a barrel bomb is? We have bombs.” Assad also debunked false accusations about indiscriminate bombing, including against hospitals and other nonmilitary targets. Syria is combating foreign-supported terrorists. It’s protecting its people, not harming them. Ahead of his arrival in Moscow, Tillerson defended the indefensible, saying US forces will intervene “anywhere in the world” - on the phony pretext of protecting civilians. An unnamed G7 source said he intends offering Russia a choice between ceasing support for Assad or risking a Libyan-style war. On Monday, he said “(w)e rededicate ourselves to holding to account any and all who commit crimes against the innocents anywhere in the world.” No nations are more culpable than America, key NATO allies, Israel, and other rogue regional partners in high crimes of war and against humanity. Tillerson’s Moscow visit is unlikely to achieve anything substantive. Bilateral US/Russia relations are more strained than any time in recent memory. Russia intends no letup in combating terrorism in Syria. It maintains support for its sovereignty, territorial integrity and right of its people to decide who’ll lead them - free from foreign interference. Pressuring Moscow to change policy won’t work. The stakes are too high to surrender to US interests. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. |