US and Russia defense officials today issued a pair of statements, each blaming the other, after a series of four airstrikes targeted the town of al-Mayadin, an ISIS-held town in Deir Ezzor Province. The strikes killed 23 civilians, and mark the first deaths since the ceasefire began Monday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the incident, but conceded they didn’t know who launched the airstrikes. The dueling statements both blamed the other side, while the State Department conceded there had been unspecified “violations” on both sides.
The ceasefire itself has been an overwhelming success, with violence nationwide down dramatically this week. Even these airstrikes technically aren’t a ceasefire violation, since ISIS isn’t a party to the ceasefire, though targeting civilians would be an embarrassment for whoever is ultimately to blame.
Both the US and Russia are active in Deir Ezzor Province, and both have targeted ISIS locations in the area in the past. It is therefore impossible to know at the moment which side actually launched this particular attack, let alone why.
The Intercept has reported that the Bush/Obama ‘Wars for Profit’ have cost the U.S. taxpayers nearly 5 trillion bucks:
The wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, and other overseas operations cost U.S. taxpayers $1.7 trillion between 2001 and August 2016 with $103 billion more requested for 2017.
Homeland Security (terrorism) prevention costs from 2001 to 2016 were $548 billion.
The estimated DOD base budget was $733 billion and veterans spending was $213 billion.
Interest incurred on (borrowing) for wars was $453 billion.
Estimated future costs for veterans’ medical needs until the year
2053 is $1 trillion.
And the amounts the DOD, State Department, and Homeland Security have requested for 2017 ($103 billion).
This doesn’t include the nearly 2 million Iraqis, Afghans, Pakistanis, and Syrians slaughtered in this ongoing fiasco.
One of the biggest problems with Americans is that they are much more worried about the 5 trillion bucks than they are concerned about the hundreds of thousand, or millions of their victims of their wars of aggression.
37 U.S. led wars of aggression since WW2 alone! Which one could reasonably argue has harvested more wealth than what those wars have cost the U.S.
G,
Read the last two lines on my post!
‘This doesn’t include the nearly 2 million Iraqis, Afghans, Pakistanis, and Syrians slaughtered in this ongoing fiasco.’
Funny how y’all always leave out what Russia and Syria’s air strikes are doing what do y’all think there not dropping bombs but a bunch of candies and balloons or what???You lose all credibility when you’re only saying one side is killing people and leaving out the other guys that are gassing babies and bombing hospitals but since y’all love the Russians and Syria’s president so much y’all should go vacation in Aleppo go out for a walk smell the chlorine gas in the air support a man that was handed down power from his father that kills his own people…BUT hey what do I know right evil America drops bombs full of destruction and Russia and Syria drop bombs full of cotton candy and lemon drops…USA
If the United States and Russia truly agree that Syria should not be fighting . Who is going to fight in Syria and how could they fight ?
The U.S. can’t tolerate a lasting peace. That would be equal to admitting that Syria is going to have to be taken off the list of PNAC conquests. And by extension, that means Iran too.
That can never do!
With the U.S. plan to oust Assad and install another U.S. puppet dictator in Syria like Egypt’s Fatah al-Sissi unraveling, and with the Saudi Foreign Minister, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, constantly bragging since 2011 that “Bashar Assad will have to go -either with a civil war or with a foreign military invasion (implying by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia), the Russian presence in Syria and the revival of the Syrian army – plus the formation of Syria’s Popular Mobilization Forces (a militia armed and trained by Iran, similar to Iraq’s Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces that ousted the Islamic State from West Iraq), the fortunes of the U.S. and Saudi Arabia’s 5 years mission in Syria to oust Assad is in shambles!
What is left when a 5 years military mission, and boasting braggadocio about ousting an opponent from power, hit the rocks? The political blame-game by the soon-to-be losers. It happened in Vietnam too! Let it begin in Syria now! Nikos Retsos, retired professor