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With tough talk and
crocodile tears for those killed in the chemical attack, President Obama made a
tactical retreat from his insistence on an immediate attack on Syria. Though he
left the attack option on that table, this retreat should be seen as a victory
for those who oppose a new U.S. war on Syria.
The Tuesday, Sept. 10
speech took place in the context of the near total isolation of the warmaking
Obama administration at home and around the world. The British parliament voted
down Prime Minister David Cameron’s proposal to back the U.S. president. German
Chancellor Angela Merkel opposed it as did virtually all traditional U.S. allies.
No support was forthcoming from forces ranging from the Arab League to the Pope.
With no immediate options
before him, Obama was compelled to at least momentarily jump at Russia’s
proposal that Syria put its chemical weapons into international safe keeping.
The Syrian government, while accepting this proposal, nevertheless continued to
insist that it did not use the chemical weapons and had no intention of doing
so. To date no U.S. government agency or the United Nations team on the site
has refuted this position. Indeed,
Secretary of State John Kerry insisted that it was too late for the facts – too
late for any UN report. With nothing but
circumstantial evidence that the chemical sarin gas attack was used by the
Syrian government, Obama’s speech assumed this as fact and the basis for
attacking Syria. The U.S. record is
replete with similar false allegations to justify war, from the Vietnam era
Tonkin Bay “incident” that proved to be History demonstrates that
U.S. pretexts for war are invented with impunity and with monstrous results.
Four million Vietnamese died in that 10-year war along with 57,000 U.S.
soldiers, many still suffering from the poison chemicals employed by the U.S. 1.5 million Iraqis died decades later; no
“weapons of mass destruction” were ever found. The U.S.-backed Saddam
Hussein regime, with the approval of the U.S., employed sarin gas against the
Iranian people in that eight-year war that took the lives of more than one
million Iranians and Iraqis. The
international chemical weapons convention prohibits the production, storage,
and use of chemical weapons. If Obama
was truly concerned about chemical weapons in the region, why is he not calling
for the destruction of all chemical
weapons – those owned and used by allies as well as foes? This would then apply equally to the Syrian
government, rebel forces, Israel, and the Egyptian military – none of which
have signed the convention - and of course, the U.S., which does not adhere to
international The U.S. government has
no political, legal or moral standing to use force against any nation. The
warmaking would-be cop of the world has an unbroken record of imperial
interventions that have murdered millions to advance the interests of the elite
few, not those of the vast majority. The incredible
revelations of Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning should suffice to caution
everyone that the U.S. "national security state" will use any
and all measures to advance its interests and that these "interests"
have nothing in common with those of the American people. Yet the Obama
administration has not abandoned its imperial objective in Syria – to put into
place yet another government subservient to the corporate objectives of the
U.S. one percent.
The
most remarkable and revealing statement in Obama’s speech was his assertion
that “for nearly seven decades, the United States has been the anchor of global
security. This has meant doing more than forging international agreements -- it
has meant enforcing them. The burdens of leadership are often heavy, but the
world is a better place because we have borne them.” He goes on to say: “Our ideals and principles,
as well as our national security, are at stake in Syria, along with our
leadership of a world where we seek to ensure that the worst weapons will never
be used…. That’s what makes America different. That’s what makes us
exceptional. With humility, but with resolve, let us never lose sight of that
essential truth.” This
incredibly arrogant and dangerous statement of a self-appointed American
‘exceptionalism’ means that the U.S. has the right and the “burden” of acting
militarily in American interests because the U.S. alone (and possibly some of
our chosen allies) has ideals and principles, always of the highest order, and
for the betterment of humanity. What
hypocrisy and what bald-faced lies. The
70-year record of the United States of bringing death, destruction, and
domination to the The U.S. antiwar movement
must seize this likely temporary moment in history to deepen its opposition to
war against the people of Syria. We have won some precious time to organize a
massive movement to compel the government to bring the troops, warships, and
planes home now. We must continue to demand: No U.S. War on Syria! U.S. Hands
off Syria! No New U.S. Wars! Bring the Troops and War Dollars Home Now!
Money for Jobs, Education and Health Care Not War! If your antiwar or social
justice organization has not yet become affiliated with UNAC, we urge you to do
so now so that the movement will be in a stronger position to stop any further
moves towards war. For your group to affiliate with the UNAC coalition, please click here and fill out the
form. 9/12/13
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