Brits are at it again. \u201cCameron plays Tony Blair,\u201d said Patrick Cockburn. His \u201cgovernment has no more idea of what it is getting into\u2026than Blair\u2026in 2003.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s mindless. It sucks up to Washington shamelessly. It\u2019s a convenient pawn.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an imperial tool. It partners with American adventurism. It does so lawlessly.<\/p>\n
Its post-9\/11 US war alliances proved disastrous. Repeating failure defines insanity: Continuing failed policies. Expecting different results.<\/p>\n
Tories, New Labour and Lib Dems voted overwhelmingly to partner with Obama\u2019s war on Iraq. They approved a lawless imperial motion 523 to 43. Another 69 MPs abstained.<\/p>\n
They \u201crecognize(d) the (so-called) clear threat ISIL poses to the territorial integrity of Iraq and the request from the Government of Iraq (under extreme US pressure) for military support from the international community and the specific request to the UK Government for such support.\u201d<\/p>\n
It includes \u201cUK airstrikes to support Iraqi, including Kurdish, security forces\u2019 efforts against ISIL in Iraq.\u201d<\/p>\n
It supposedly excludes \u201cairstrikes in Syria as part of this campaign, and any proposal to do so would be subject to a separate vote in Parliament.\u201d<\/p>\n
Expect mission creep. It\u2019s coming. Cameron lied claiming \u201cno legal barrier\u201d to bombing Syria.<\/p>\n
Islamic State fighters aren\u2019t targeted. Or their ability to wage war.<\/p>\n
Claiming otherwise is false. It bears repeating what other articles stressed. IS is the pretext. Syria is the target. Regime change is the objective.<\/p>\n
Obama\u2019s objective ousting Assad. Replace him with a convenient US stooge. A supportive government. Replicating subservient Afghan, Iraqi and Libyan ones.<\/p>\n
On Friday, London\u2019s Guardian said UK bombing was imminent. It could start any time. Perhaps before announcing it. Six Tornado warplanes are ready to go.<\/p>\n
Parliamentary authorization was rubber-stamp. Guardian editors expect no better results this time than earlier. \u201cFew policies of this kind survive undented once\u201d they\u2019re implemented, they said.<\/p>\n
This time won\u2019t be different. Expect mission creep. Expect permanent war. Britain already has so-called \u201cadvisors\u201d in Iraq. MPs approved sending more.<\/p>\n
Cabinet ministers said terrorists can only be defeated by attacking them inside Syria. Expect expanded war.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s turn awaits. So does Lebanon\u2019s. Replicating what Israel did to Gaza is planned.<\/p>\n
Turning nations to rubble. Murdering hundreds of thousands of people. Mostly civilians. Targeting them willfully.<\/p>\n
Committing horrendous genocidal high crimes against peace. Calling war without mercy liberation.<\/p>\n
Getting most people to believe Big Lies. Mindless of Washington\u2019s imperial objectives. Its plan to redraw the region\u2019s map.<\/p>\n
Divide, conquer, colonize, plunder, exploit and control. Create instability, chaos, and dystopian harshness. It\u2019s longstanding US policy.<\/p>\n
Advancing America\u2019s imperium matters most. So does supporting powerful monied interests.<\/p>\n
George Galloway<\/a>\u00a0is one of Parliament\u2019s few profiles in courage. He was outnumbered, outgunned and ignored. He was up against hundreds of hawkish MPs.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat a tangled web we have woven is abundantly clear,\u201d he said. \u201cThe mission creep hasn\u2019t even waited for the end of the debate.\u201d<\/p>\n Is Syria next, he asked? \u201cThere is consensus here there will be boots on the ground. The only question is who\u2019s boots are they?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis debate has been characterized by members of Parliament moving around imaginary armies. The Free Syrian Army is a fiction.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cISIL itself is an imaginary army\u2026They don\u2019t have any bases\u201d to bomb. \u201cISIL is a (US created) death cult. It\u2019s a gang of terrorist murderers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not an army. And it\u2019s certainly not (one) that will be destroyed by aerial bombardments.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been bombing Iraqis for 100 years\u2026We dropped the first chemical bombs on them in the 1920s.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe helped the Ba\u2019ath party into power. We bombed them again throughout the 90s.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEvery matter will be made worse\u201d now, Galloway stressed. \u201cExtremism will spread further and deeper around the world just like it did after (Bush\/Blair\u2019s) Iraq war.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe last people who should be returning to the scene of their former crimes are Britain, France and the United States of America.\u201d<\/p>\n Cameron warned against \u201crushing to join a conflict without a clear plan.\u201d Cockburn quoted boxer Mike Tyson saying \u201ceveryone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n Cameron lied claiming lessons learned from past failures won\u2019t be repeated. Uncontrollable chaos is ignored. So is guaranteed failure.<\/p>\n Activist Larry Pinkney was this writer\u2019s September 25 Progressive Radio News Hour guest. He said history doesn\u2019t repeat.<\/p>\n People repeat history. They compound past mistakes with new ones. They make bad situations worse.<\/p>\n Mission creep follows interventions. One quagmire follows others. Billions of dollars are spent waging wars. Vital homeland needs go begging.<\/p>\n \u201cJohn Kerry\u2019s rhetoric on ISIS insults our intelligence,\u201d said Robert Fisk<\/a>. He ignores reality. He substitutes fantasy for facts.<\/p>\n His \u201cattempts to explain America\u2019s crusade against its latest evil enemy are so awful, they are addictive.\u201d<\/p>\n His lame explanation reflects \u201csheer infantilisme (infantalism),\u201d said Fisk. \u201c(T)he French word captures it best.\u201d<\/p>\n Fisk dared readers to wade through Kerry\u2019s \u201cclaptrap (below) without a snort of disbelief.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s painful reading. Kerry finds new ways to embarrass himself.<\/p>\n To disgrace the office he holds. To display his incompetence. His sheer arrogance. His lawlessness.<\/p>\n In testimony before Senate Foreign Relations Committee members, he said \u201cI want to make sure that by the time we\u2019re done here today, I\u2019ve heard from you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know what you\u2019re thinking, and you\u2019ve heard from me and you know what we\u2019re thinking, what the administration is thinking, and that you have a clear understanding of what it is that we have done so far, of how we see this and how, hopefully, we can come to see it together, what we\u2019re doing now and of where we go next.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was all very complex, (and will) be remembered for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n Kerry represents Obama\u2019s fantasy world, said Fisk. He does so in a \u201cclod-hopping, schoolboy way\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Anyone familiar with Syria knows so-called anti-Assad \u201cmoderate\u201d elements don\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n The Free Syrian Army is more fantasy than real. Syrian soldiers say they\u2019re happy to fight FSA elements because they always run away.<\/p>\n In contrast, Islamic State\/Nusra Front\/Al Qaeda et al extremists \u201cfight to the death,\u201d said Fisk.<\/p>\n \u201cKerry is an ornate chateau of his own imagination,\u201d Fisk stressed. So is Cameron. Both officials reflect false self-confidence, lawlessness, might over right, and contempt for humanity.<\/p>\n Big Lies dot their rhetoric. Cameron prepared a laundry list. It includes four measures.<\/p>\n He lied claiming intervening in Iraq again will avoid past failures. They\u2019re \u201cragbag\u201d notions, said Cockburn.<\/p>\n They\u2019re \u201chigh on (false) moral tone.\u201d They\u2019re \u201cshort on specificity.\u201d They\u2019re warmed over Blair failures. They blame others for Western crimes.<\/p>\n They commit Britain to war without end. They ignore resolving conflicts diplomatically. They assure mission creep, quagmire and failure.<\/p>\n They guarantee enormous human suffering. Civilians suffer most in all wars. Hundreds of thousands may perish before current Middle East conflicts end. Maybe millions.<\/p>\n This time won\u2019t be different. Don\u2019t expect Cameron to explain. Or Obama. Or Kerry. Or others supporting America\u2019s killing machine.<\/p>\n On September 24, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov<\/a>\u00a0addressed Security Council members. He did so regarding terrorism threatening international peace and security, saying:<\/p>\n It\u2019s \u201cbeen growing stronger ideologically and financially and expanding through a connection with transnational organized crime, support from the drug business, seized oil deposits and extremist ideas, including ideas on religious and ethnic grounds.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s \u201cbecoming an indivisible part of regional conflicts.\u201d IS and likeminded groups infest Middle East countries.<\/p>\n They threaten \u201cthe future of whole nations, as evidenced by the examples of Iraq, Libya and Syria. The next targets are Lebanon, Yemen, Mali and the Central African Republic.\u201d<\/p>\n Russia \u201cpropose(d) convening a representative UN-sponsored forum of all countries in the region, the African Union, the Arab League, the permanent UN Security Council members and other concerned parties.\u201d<\/p>\n Agenda issues should include older conflicts,\u201d said Lavrov. Key is resolving Israel\u2019s longstanding war on Palestine responsibly.<\/p>\n Failure to do so \u201cis one of the main reasons why terrorists continue to receive \u2018moral support\u2019 and recruit new members,\u201d Lavrov stressed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are willing to cooperate on an equal basis, starting with an honest cooperative analysis to identify the reasons behind the problems and to find a way out of this chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n US-led Western crusaders are at it again. Millions of lost lives don\u2019t matter. Twisted logic gets most Americans to support what\u2019s vital to stop.<\/p>\n Washington supports some of the world\u2019s most ruthless despots. It wages war on independent nations. Against any opposing its agenda.<\/p>\n Iraq\u2019s Al-Malaki wasn\u2019t convenient stooge enough. His refusal to join Obama\u2019s war on Syria alone sealed his fate.<\/p>\n His ties to Iran. Other policies he pursued opposite America\u2019s regional agenda. He had to go. Fuad Masum replaced him.<\/p>\n He\u2019s Washington\u2019s man in Baghdad. He\u2019ll remain so as long as he remembers who\u2019s boss. The same goes for other regional leaders.<\/p>\n They\u2019re some of the world\u2019s most ruthless regimes. Saudi Arabia is Exhibit A.\u00a0\u00a0James Petras<\/a> calls it \u201ca repugnant kingdom\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n It \u201croutinely decapitates its prisoners in public without any judicial process\u201d whatever. Torture is official policy.<\/p>\n So is ruthlessness writ large. Atrocities are commonplace. Corporal punishment is longstanding policy. Whipping police flog anyone outside during prayer times.<\/p>\n IS decapitations pale in comparison to Saudi ones. In August alone, \u201cRiyadh beheaded fourteen prisoners,\u201d said Petras.<\/p>\n \u201cSince the beginning of the year, the Saudi monarchy has decapitated more than 46 prisoners and chopped off the arms and limbs of many more.\u201d<\/p>\n During Obama and Kerry\u2019s recent Riyadh visit, \u201chorrendous decapitations were displayed in public.\u201d<\/p>\n Media scoundrels ignore Kingdom atrocities. Washington\u2019s regional agenda alone matters. Bombing Syria conceals its real objectives.<\/p>\n Hype substitutes for reality. IS, Nusra Front, Al Qaeda and likeminded groups are America\u2019s shock troops against Assad.<\/p>\n Bombing began Monday night local time. It continues intensely daily. Targets include vital Syrian infrastructure, its northern oil fields, and empty buildings.<\/p>\n CNN said IS fighters may have been tipped off days in advance. They evacuated buildings they occupied.<\/p>\n They dispersed. They\u2019re largely unscathed. Washington planned it this way. Expect nothing different going forward.<\/p>\n Official reports feature Big Lies. Media Scoundrels repeat them. Their information is polar opposite truth.<\/p>\n World leaders know what\u2019s going on. So can anyone taking the trouble to find out.<\/p>\n Britain joined Washington\u2019s crusade. So did Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n So far they\u2019re confining their belligerence to Iraq. London and Paris don\u2019t rule out attacking Syria.<\/p>\n On Friday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin Dempsey said Obama may establish a no-fly zone over Northeastern Syria.<\/p>\n To protect civilians from Syrian airstrikes, they said. Security Council authorization is required. It\u2019s not forthcoming. Russia and China will block it.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t matter. Washington operates lawlessly. Its bombing campaign aims to oust Assad.<\/p>\n Expect Britain, France and other NATO allies to join its crusade. Expect war winds to reach gale force.<\/p>\n Rogue states operate this way. State terrorism is official US policy. So is war on humanity. World peace hangs by a thread.<\/p>\n Stephen Lendman<\/strong> lives in Chicago and can be reached at\u00a0lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net<\/a>. His new book is titled \u201cHow Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War\u201d. www.claritypress.com\/Lendman.html<\/a> Visit his blog site at www.sjlendman.blogspot.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Brits are at it again. \u201cCameron plays Tony Blair,\u201d said Patrick Cockburn. His \u201cgovernment has no more idea of what it is getting into\u2026than Blair\u2026in 2003.\u201d It\u2019s mindless. It sucks up to Washington shamelessly. It\u2019s a convenient pawn. It\u2019s an imperial tool. It partners with American adventurism. It does so lawlessly. Its post-9\/11 US war […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[461],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-140045","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-editorials"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140045\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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