U.S. bombs explode over Syria, 2014 (Shutterstock)
There Was Nothing Humanitarian About Our Strikes on Syria
We fired 105 missiles on April 14. That’s 10 times the number of Syrian refugees we’ve taken all year.
Just after midnight on April 14, the U.S. and its allies bombed three Syrian regime targets. The reason, they said, was to punish Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons in the town of Douma.
Now, the Syrian regime's brutality has been well documented. Maybe the allegations are true. But there's a lot about this that's simply fishy.
Only days before the strikes, U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis admitted that the U.S. was "still assessing" whether chemical weapons were used. Veteran journalist Robert Fisk has since spoken to local doctors there who cast doubt on the claims.
There's been no independent international investigation. In fact, the U.S. started bombing the day before international investigators were slated to arrive in Douma.
President Trump, of all people, insists there was a humanitarian imperative to skip the fact-finding. "This is about humanity," he said. But if we look at his response to other regional catastrophes, that doesn't even begin to add up.
For one thing, NPR reports, Trump's all-out war on refugees, especially Muslim ones, has meant that just 11 -- eleven -- Syrian refugees have been admitted to the U.S. this year. We fired about 10 times that many missiles the night of the 14th alone.
Ten missiles for every refugee doesn't strike me as terribly humanitarian. Especially when, as AirWars.org reports, U.S. coalition strikes have killed a minimum of 6,200 civilians between Syria and Iraq.
And just look at what U.S. allies are doing.
Around the same time as the fighting in Douma, Israeli soldiers were firing on nonviolent Palestinian protesters in Gaza. They killed at least 17 and injured over 1,000 in what Human Rights Watch calls a "calculated" assault on civilians.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia was dropping more bombs on Yemen. The Saudi-led war and blockade there have killed perhaps tens of thousands and put millions more at risk of starvation and disease. The UN calls Yemen the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
Far from running to the ramparts, the U.S. has abetted these crimes at every stage. After the Gaza killings, the Trump administration vetoed a UN resolution affirming Palestinians' "right to peaceful protest" and urging an investigation.
In Yemen, the U.S. is actually refueling the Saudi planes dropping the bombs. And American moguls, celebrities, and politicians -- including Trump -- lined up to celebrate the war's architect, Saudi crown prince Muhammad bin Salman, throughout his tour of the U.S. this month.
Our strikes on Syria, which ran completely afoul of both U.S. and international law, aren't about helping people. They won't end the war, and they may not even stop future chemical attacks.
It's more like Trump's putting on a big show. Like he had to do it just because he tweeted he would. "These strikes are like when a fistfight breaks out on the reality show Big Brother," writes regional expert Juan Cole.
Unlike Big Brother or Celebrity Apprentice, innocent people will die as a result. In addition to killing more Syrians, escalating now could put the U.S. into direct conflict with Russia -- Syria's nuclear-armed ally. All for an ineffectual response to an unconfirmed attack.
No wonder some senators are finally discussing reining in the president's war-making authority. I hope they cut it down to nothing.
FINAL DAY! This is urgent.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just hours left in our Spring Campaign, we're still falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Just after midnight on April 14, the U.S. and its allies bombed three Syrian regime targets. The reason, they said, was to punish Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons in the town of Douma.
Now, the Syrian regime's brutality has been well documented. Maybe the allegations are true. But there's a lot about this that's simply fishy.
Only days before the strikes, U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis admitted that the U.S. was "still assessing" whether chemical weapons were used. Veteran journalist Robert Fisk has since spoken to local doctors there who cast doubt on the claims.
There's been no independent international investigation. In fact, the U.S. started bombing the day before international investigators were slated to arrive in Douma.
President Trump, of all people, insists there was a humanitarian imperative to skip the fact-finding. "This is about humanity," he said. But if we look at his response to other regional catastrophes, that doesn't even begin to add up.
For one thing, NPR reports, Trump's all-out war on refugees, especially Muslim ones, has meant that just 11 -- eleven -- Syrian refugees have been admitted to the U.S. this year. We fired about 10 times that many missiles the night of the 14th alone.
Ten missiles for every refugee doesn't strike me as terribly humanitarian. Especially when, as AirWars.org reports, U.S. coalition strikes have killed a minimum of 6,200 civilians between Syria and Iraq.
And just look at what U.S. allies are doing.
Around the same time as the fighting in Douma, Israeli soldiers were firing on nonviolent Palestinian protesters in Gaza. They killed at least 17 and injured over 1,000 in what Human Rights Watch calls a "calculated" assault on civilians.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia was dropping more bombs on Yemen. The Saudi-led war and blockade there have killed perhaps tens of thousands and put millions more at risk of starvation and disease. The UN calls Yemen the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
Far from running to the ramparts, the U.S. has abetted these crimes at every stage. After the Gaza killings, the Trump administration vetoed a UN resolution affirming Palestinians' "right to peaceful protest" and urging an investigation.
In Yemen, the U.S. is actually refueling the Saudi planes dropping the bombs. And American moguls, celebrities, and politicians -- including Trump -- lined up to celebrate the war's architect, Saudi crown prince Muhammad bin Salman, throughout his tour of the U.S. this month.
Our strikes on Syria, which ran completely afoul of both U.S. and international law, aren't about helping people. They won't end the war, and they may not even stop future chemical attacks.
It's more like Trump's putting on a big show. Like he had to do it just because he tweeted he would. "These strikes are like when a fistfight breaks out on the reality show Big Brother," writes regional expert Juan Cole.
Unlike Big Brother or Celebrity Apprentice, innocent people will die as a result. In addition to killing more Syrians, escalating now could put the U.S. into direct conflict with Russia -- Syria's nuclear-armed ally. All for an ineffectual response to an unconfirmed attack.
No wonder some senators are finally discussing reining in the president's war-making authority. I hope they cut it down to nothing.
Just after midnight on April 14, the U.S. and its allies bombed three Syrian regime targets. The reason, they said, was to punish Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons in the town of Douma.
Now, the Syrian regime's brutality has been well documented. Maybe the allegations are true. But there's a lot about this that's simply fishy.
Only days before the strikes, U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis admitted that the U.S. was "still assessing" whether chemical weapons were used. Veteran journalist Robert Fisk has since spoken to local doctors there who cast doubt on the claims.
There's been no independent international investigation. In fact, the U.S. started bombing the day before international investigators were slated to arrive in Douma.
President Trump, of all people, insists there was a humanitarian imperative to skip the fact-finding. "This is about humanity," he said. But if we look at his response to other regional catastrophes, that doesn't even begin to add up.
For one thing, NPR reports, Trump's all-out war on refugees, especially Muslim ones, has meant that just 11 -- eleven -- Syrian refugees have been admitted to the U.S. this year. We fired about 10 times that many missiles the night of the 14th alone.
Ten missiles for every refugee doesn't strike me as terribly humanitarian. Especially when, as AirWars.org reports, U.S. coalition strikes have killed a minimum of 6,200 civilians between Syria and Iraq.
And just look at what U.S. allies are doing.
Around the same time as the fighting in Douma, Israeli soldiers were firing on nonviolent Palestinian protesters in Gaza. They killed at least 17 and injured over 1,000 in what Human Rights Watch calls a "calculated" assault on civilians.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia was dropping more bombs on Yemen. The Saudi-led war and blockade there have killed perhaps tens of thousands and put millions more at risk of starvation and disease. The UN calls Yemen the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
Far from running to the ramparts, the U.S. has abetted these crimes at every stage. After the Gaza killings, the Trump administration vetoed a UN resolution affirming Palestinians' "right to peaceful protest" and urging an investigation.
In Yemen, the U.S. is actually refueling the Saudi planes dropping the bombs. And American moguls, celebrities, and politicians -- including Trump -- lined up to celebrate the war's architect, Saudi crown prince Muhammad bin Salman, throughout his tour of the U.S. this month.
Our strikes on Syria, which ran completely afoul of both U.S. and international law, aren't about helping people. They won't end the war, and they may not even stop future chemical attacks.
It's more like Trump's putting on a big show. Like he had to do it just because he tweeted he would. "These strikes are like when a fistfight breaks out on the reality show Big Brother," writes regional expert Juan Cole.
Unlike Big Brother or Celebrity Apprentice, innocent people will die as a result. In addition to killing more Syrians, escalating now could put the U.S. into direct conflict with Russia -- Syria's nuclear-armed ally. All for an ineffectual response to an unconfirmed attack.
No wonder some senators are finally discussing reining in the president's war-making authority. I hope they cut it down to nothing.