Sunday, June 03, 2012

Syria, the new Bad Guy on the block...

The world is used to watching turmoil in the Middle East. The region has suffered decades of war at the hands of multiple aggressors – some domestic and some foreign – the results always being the same: Death. And lots of it.

Currently, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is leading a horrifying campaign of violence against his own people that has lead to thousands of deaths and injury, some of it so gruesome it is hard to even read about. The world is rightly condemning the Syrian government for its actions and calling for an immediate halt to the violence. Western countries are expelling Syrian diplomats, with Britain going as far as threatening to ban Syrian athletes from taking part in the Olympic Games this summer.

But as the US condemns Syria for its violence, it continues its war in Afghanistan and highly illegal drone attacks in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. The Arab world, and much of the rest of the planet regard US intervention in the Middle East as highly aggressive imperialism – a criticism that is not without merit. After all, far worse human rights abuses exist in countries with no oil reserves and there are no US troops fighting to liberate the helpless masses there.

(...)

The media portrays US aggression in the Middle East and benevolent and well intentioned. Assad’s aggression in Syria on the other hand is barbaric and illegal, despite there being no mention of Assad’s crimes against his people in previous years when he was considered a US ally. In fact, Syria was so valued a partner in the ‘War on Terror’ that it was the favored dumping ground for suspected terrorists from the US – many of whom were badly tortured without charge. In the words of former CIA agent Robert Baer: “If you want a serious interrogation, you send a prisoner to Jordan. If you want them to be tortured, you send them to Syria.” Full story...

Related posts:
  1. The Houla massacre: opposition terrorists "killed families loyal to the government..."
  2. Houla massacre in Syria sparks media blame-game: BBC caught lying...
  3. Phony ‘Houla Massacre’: How media manipulates public opinion...
  4. BBC News uses 'Iraq photo to illustrate Syrian massacre'
  5. First it was Saddam. Then Gaddafi. Now there's a vacancy for the ...
  6. Lew Rockwell on the USA's captive nations...
  7. We are sleepwalking into the Drone Age, unaware of the consequences...

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