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War Crimes
Author: BobR    Date: 04/06/2017 15:38:08

By now, everyone has heard, seen, and read about the chemical weapons attacks that occurred on Syrian rebels in the area of Idlib province. The use of gas like this has been a war crime for decades, and Assad definitely needs to be dragged before the Hague and sentenced. There is little chance of that happening, however, since Russia has his back. Of course - with all of the military support Russia provides to Syria, they may be complicit.

Autopsies performed in Turkey have confirmed that chemical weapons were used. Syria of course has denied they used gas, trying to imply "a government shell hit a building where rebels were producing chemical weapons". That is an absurd accusation, believed by no one. It's not the first time that Assad used chemical weapons against his own people.

For all his tough talk during the campaign, pResident tRump has been very mealy-mouthed about a response:
President Trump said the Syrian regime's apparent use of chemical weapons against its own citizens "crossed a lot of lines" for him, but offered no indication of any plans by his administration to respond to the attack.

[...]

Trump told reporters that his attitude toward Syrian President Bashar Assad "already changed very much" as a result of the attack in northern Syria, without specifying what the consequences of that new assessment would be. He only said he was "flexible."

He then once again blamed President Obama, and said "I now have responsibility, and I will have that responsibility, and carry it very proudly"... and bigly, I presume.

Nonetheless, he really has done nothing that could be considered a response (please excuse the use of The Daily Beast and its clickbait title - there is still good stuff there).

Meanwhile, Russia is puffing out its chest and asking tRump "what are you going to do about it?" (presumably while waving a urine-stained video tape).
Russia has challenged President Donald Trump to set out his strategy on Syria after he declared that an apparent chemical weapons attack had transformed his views on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

[...]

When asked if Russia would reconsider its backing for Assad, Russia's Foreign Ministry instead challenged the US to show its cards.

"Russia's approach to Assad is clear. He is the legal president of an independent state. What is the US approach?" ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told CNN in a text message.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned against "snap judgments" on what happened in Idlib. "It's indeed a very menacing course of events, dangerous and horrible crime. However, sticking labels on everyone, prematurely, is not a correct thing to do, in our opinion," he told reporters on a regular call Thursday.

The reactions from Capitol Hill lawmakers (particularly Republicans) have been mixed. Bob Corker (R-TN) has come out strongly against Assad. Senator McCain has advocated military intervention (no surprise there). But Tom Massie (R-KY) has advocated - in the face of children dying horribly - a hands-off approach (too much to quote from the link - but it's really amazing how much of an apologist he is for Assad, including repeating the dictator's official story).

The situation in Syria has devolved into a crisis of humanity. Russia is standing behind them daring us to do something about it. tRump is in way over his head (and likely compromised with Russia), and he and his supporters are confused as to what position they should be taking. Boots on the ground would be a nightmare, but maybe just punching holes in the runways of Syria's military bases, and taking out some radar and communication towers would be a good start. Anything to prevent them from committing further atrocities.


 
 
 

45 comments (Latest Comment: 04/07/2017 01:34:57 by Will in Chicago)
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