Renowned American academician Noam Chomsky says the recent Russian proposal aimed at halting a potential US strike against Syria has saved President Barack Obama a political fiasco.
œRussian plan is a godsend for Obama. It saves him from what would look like a very serious political defeat,” said Chomsky in a Wednesday interview with Democracy Now.
œHe (Obama) has not been able to obtain virtually any international support for this — the action he™s contemplating. Even Britain wouldn™t support it. And it looked as though Congress wasn™t going to support it either, which would leave him completely out on a limb. This leaves him a way out,” he added.
On September 9, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem said Damascus welcomed a proposal by Russia for the Syrian chemical weapons to be put under international control.
Obama has said that plans for a military strike against Syria could be averted if the Syrian œgesture” regarding the Russian proposal is œreal.” Obama said it takes time œto tell whether this offer will succeed.” He has, therefore, asked the US Congress to postpone a vote on the plan for an attack on Syria.
Chomsky argued that Washington™s threat of force against Damascus is a crime under international law and noted, œThe core principle of the United Nations Charter bars the threat or use of force, threat or use of force. So all of this is criminal, to begin with, but he™ll continue with that.”
œThe United States is a rogue state. It doesn™t pay any attention to international law,” the analyst pointed out.
The rhetoric of war against Syria first gained momentum on August 21, when the militants operating inside the country and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition claimed that over a thousand people had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds on the outskirts of Damascus.
The Syrian government categorically rejects the allegation and says the militants carried out the attack to draw in military intervention.
Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.
In a recent statement, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the number of Syrian refugees, who have fled the country™s 29-month-long conflict, has reached two million.
The UN refugee agency further said some 4.2 million people have also been displaced inside Syria since the beginning of the conflict in the Arab country.
ASH/NN
Copyright: Press TV