I’ll get down on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again
— The Who
They called it Shake and Bake, a combination of high explosives and white phosphorous incendiaries that proved remarkably effective in the siege of Fallujah.
Those white phosphorous rounds, fat-soluble, burned right through to the bone, melting people away to just about nothing.
That’s pretty nasty stuff, a war crime actually, but it was done by the United States and the victims were Iraqis. There were no stern measures taken by France, Britain and Canada about what happened in Fallujah. The whole thing just quickly and quietly went away. No surprise there really.
That’s not the only thing that’s slipped by with a wink and a nod. Remember how the Iraqis used poison gas against the Iranians during their pointless and bitter war? They got their targeting information for that gas attack from the United States — with full knowledge of what they were going to do.
What about napalm and Agent Orange in Vietnam? Weren’t those chemical weapons? Depleted uranium shells also fit that description in my opinion. They pollute the area where they’re used with radioactive particles, with devastating effects that will last for generations. I’ve heard that birth defects in some parts of Iraq are almost as common as the flu.
But while the use of chemicals in war is evidently acceptable when done by the United States, it sure isn’t when it’s done by anyone else.
There’s an absolute media firestorm about this latest gas attack in Syria. Unacceptable. An abomination. Stern action must be taken.
Well, I’ll tell you right now, I don’t buy it.
Yeah, its abominable all right, but it’s also just too neat. The Americans drew a line in the sand about the use of chemical weapons in Syria and now they’ve been given their excuse to go to war a short time later.
Who had an interest in that? How about the so-called Free Syrian Army or Al Qaeda or any one of the dozens of jihadi groups fighting alongside them? They’ve been losing badly lately and they need western help. I wouldn’t put a false flag operation of this nature past them.
I think this is far too reminiscent of the lies used to justify the illegal war in Iraq. They say truth is the first casualty of war and I really believe that’s true. You just have to realize that the talking heads aren’t telling you the truth.
Not that it matters one bit what I think of course, or what you think, either. A poll this week done in the U.S. showed that only nine per cent of the people favoured military intervention in Syria, regardless of whether chemical weapons had been used. So, who exactly are Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry speaking for when they talk about America going to war yet again?
I have to wonder how many so-called humanitarian interventions and unprovoked wars have to be started by one country before people start to realize that maybe we’re not really hanging out with the good guys.
Make no mistake. What’s going on in Syria has nothing to do with humanitarian relief and everything to do with hardball politics, shocking cynicism and geopolitical agendas.
Canada should have absolutely nothing to do with it.
Support our troops. Keep them home.
Neil Horner is the assistant editor of The NEWS and a regular columnist
