The United States on Tuesday arrogantly accused Iran of surreptitiously meddling in Syria by setting up a pro-regime militia, forgetting to mention that the US and its allies face the very same accusations and are aiding rebel militias to oust the Assad regime.
“It is obvious that Iran has been playing a larger role in Syria in many ways,” US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said at a joint press conference with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, AFP reports.
Panetta claimed the US has evidence that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are “trying to develop, trying to train a militia within Syria to be able to fight on behalf of the regime.”
“We are seeing a growing presence by Iran and that is of deep concern to us,” Panetta added. If true, the accusation amounts to Iran is sending military aid to Syria, it’s longtime ally. This, of course, is in response to the proxy war funded and weaponized by the US and its allies with the aim of overthrowing the Assad regime. Yet, it’s Iran’s interventionism that is “of deep concern,” not America’s.
Panetta also claimed Iran is worsening an already violent situation in Syria. “We do not think that Iran ought to play that role at this moment in time, that’s dangerous…It’s adding to the killing that’s going on in Syria.”
But that is precisely what the US has been doing. Support for the rebels has emboldened the opposition, prolonged the conflict, prompted the arrival of new foreign fighters some with ties to al-Qaeda, and perhaps delivered a pretext for the Assad regime to crackdown.
UN rights chief Navi Pillay has condemned the continued flow of weapons from foreign powers to both sides in the Syrian conflict. “The ongoing provision of arms to the Syrian government and to its opponents feeds additional violence,” she said. “Any further militarization of the conflict must be avoided at all costs.”
Indeed, White House spokesman Jay Carney told a press briefing in May that “further militarization of the situation in Syria…would lead to greater chaos, greater carnage.” Then Washington proceeded to cement its policies of delivering arms from Saudi Arabia and Qatar to the rebels, as well as sending communications gear and intelligence assistance to the rebels, all while NATO ally Turkey trains rebel fighters in military combat.
Similarly, the Obama administration certainly excepted no criticism when it continued sending military aid to the dictatorship in Bahrain, and when US ally Saudi Arabia sent in its militias to brutally quell the democratic uprising there. But when Iran takes the same action, it receives rounds of condemnation from Washington.
The same hypocrisy holds in almost every case of international relations. What is acceptable and just for America, is cruel and nefarious for its enemies.
That means Iran is right for doing so?
Hey, Ronald Reagan is on the phone. He wants to give military assistance to some dictatorship so that they can efficently take out the rebellious trash.
The US and EU governments are made by good gods and they all are Angeles, like not that much of Angela Markell of Germany, or French Sarkozi or for that matter Hollanders, or if you prefer the English David Cameron or the Swedish Neo Fascism, having said that these angels have done no harm nor they are at it to do any harm and they have promised their god not to do any harm to anyone.
But throughout the years they have learned something, lie is their first memory, blaming is another memory of the learning, cheating is their third agendas and fourth is their daily social attitude toward their own people lying to them as well, fifth is to save money for the rich living poor to remain poor and get poorer yet they lying about it saying that, it is not their fault it is the Iranians fault, and thats why people need to suffer, otherwise they are angeles and sometimes, depending on the accession, they will dress as angela.
I'm sure Mr. Panetta's comments were duly noted in Tehran–as I'm sure the Iranian regime respects, and follows, anything that comes out of Mr. Panetta's mouth… Maybe if Tehran condemns US support for Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the 'issue' will be resolved.
This is not a "I know you are, but what am I" 'argument' between Nations. What is said is not 'random'. The people saying what is being said are not ignorant of the 'reality' of the situation or the "facts on the ground".
So a few days ago it was Hezbollah that was training the Nation of Syria's military, and today it's now time to condemn Iran for allegedly preparing a "militia" to be on high alert so that at some point in the future they can, if necessary, defend the Nation of Syria–all of this after admissions by US policy makers the US is aiding and 'coordinating' with the "rebels"….all this even after a meeting in Turkey to 'discuss' what 'more' can be done…
Maybe there is a bit more going on here than the fake narrative that this is about "freedom for the Syrian people"–or even exclusively about Syria itself…
But wait…going that far is some sort of "crazy conspiracy theory"…. (eyes rolling)….
Do these specimen of humanity know they are making jackasses of themseves america started all this one year ago for the sake of the zionist regime on occupied Palestinian lands to control the arab people they do not care how many die as long as their objective is attained.
I pulled the video of the news conference up (thanks C-SPAN!!) and watched this episode of BS. When it got to the accusations referenced in Mr. Glaser's article, not one, zip, nada, of the so-called journalists sitting in the comfortable chairs bothered to make the obvious point of hypocrisy. Not one. And we wonder how the US has become so "OK" with torture, rendition, and the general lack of truth told to the American people.
If the assembled "journalists" there were aware that the US is actively participating in this civil war (they are, of course) and they were listening to what was being said to them by the two sitting at the table (obviously they were) then the logical conclusion is that the "journalists" were on-board with the hypocrisy…or are just plain ignorant. Is this part of that "American exceptionalism baloney?
As long as we allow our media/press/journalists to accept without question what they are told by the government we will never ever rise to the level where the American people will be smart enough to vote intelligently.
Evidently the "journalists" are on board with the lies, deception and manipulation carried out by the corrupt system in which they live. Not only that, but they are a bunch of cowards who in selling their pens to the highest bidders have become whores of the system. Let's not forget also that their sense of self-importance must have shot skywards because they are respected mainstream "leaders of opinion", à la Zakaria, the plagiarist. I can imagine that their worst nightmare must be being ignored or considered irrelevant. But since these "journalists" spread the system's lies in a very effective way, they can sit their fat asses in comfortable chairs and be invited to "respected" news programs and write in "serious" newspapers to vomit the BS they are used to doing and in doing this so often they have ended up believing their lies. That's why you haven't seen anybody saying a peep in the face of the hypocrisy in these press conferences.
The only difference is that the US and friends are doing more of it, so far.
But if the Iranians make an effort, they have far more potential for militias. They are there, they are Muslim, and they have done it better than the US when they wished, see the skills of Hezbollah. US Muslim friends are a rich and isolated, self indulgent elite, while the Iranians and friends have a populist core, even if a repressive form of populism.
Sunnis now on the side of the West are near enough in numbers to the minorities and secular Sunnis siding with Assad that each side has more than enough recruits available, and there are plenty of Shiites next door who can do what the Sunnis next door are doing.
If this is to be a war of militias, full scale, they might well win.
Syria as an independent UN member State, has the legal right to defend its sovereignity and people against any neighboring or foreign State recruiting,training,arming,smuggling terrorist mercenaries to destabilize its security and murder its citizens….So far Syria did not use this legal right by targeting militarily Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other faraway belligerant countries cooperating openly to destroy it….
What to expect from Real Axis of Evil on Earth US "Knesset" and Israels Knesset. Iran will on the end fight – even if Iran gave in, then Sanction and blackmail would follow for decades. It would be such a THEFT OVER LONG PERIOD that would make Holocaust Industry into nothing …United Iranian people is aMUST….peter czech
Why is US hypocrisy a surprise? Hypocrisy and hubris are two of the Empire's pillars.
So it's now lawful as an American to send "aid" to the FSA & assorted rebels fighting in Syria (committing atrocious atrocities), but I can't give money to a Muslim/Palestinian charity without being thrown in Guantanamo…..what is this country coming too?
It's all us posturing re the Iran isreal dispute sanctions and snuffing irans close friends is all america is prepared to do at this stage in the hope of appeasing isreal
A better plan than an attack on Iran