A new statement from the UN Human Rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani warned that there is growing evidence that all sides fighting around the northern Syrian city of Aleppo are engaged in war crimes by conducting indiscriminate strikes in civilian-populated areas.
Shamdasani warned that while the UN lacked details to attribute individual attacks to different factions in the area, the indications are that everyone has basically ignored the “fundamental prohibition” on launching such attacks when civilians are present.
This has been a recurring concern for months in Aleppo, with large civilian casualties reported on a disturbingly regular basis. And while most of the international forces with an interest in Syria are keen to exclusively blame one side or the other, civilians in both sides’ neighborhoods are being killed.
Russia has paused their airstrikes against Aleppo over the past couple of weeks, though an escalation in fighting further west has meant civilian casualties have continued, with reports of chlorine gas attacks by Nusra forces against government-held areas.
But the US forces and those on the US payroll will NEVER face charges. The other meaning of “American Exceptionalism.”
And who are “all”? Clearly as Russians are not conducting airstrikes all the fighting for Aleppo is by ground forces. In UN attribution of guilt — equally criminal is the action of Syrian forces to liberate Aleppo citizens from Al-Qaeda and Al-Qaeda plus a number of associated US supported groups. They are equal — and the evaluation of their “equal” guilt is coming from the terrorist managed Aleppo center and a number of Western sponsored sources. No information is sought from either Syrian government or Russian sources. UN has careening into a slippery slope of destroying the authority of nation states, their sovereignty and the institutions that come from it. This type of announcement is just one in a long list of identical deviations from UN Charter. Some yet to be identified universal human rights supercede all national institutions — from their political system to Postal Office. Bullets of “oppksition” with no political agenda whatsoever except the demand for power — supersede constitution, laws and ballots.
The problem we have with the concept of “antiwar” is that it is getting behind the war machine of both parties. It is behind because it is not challenging the very right to intervene in any country without a congressional approval — for each and every intervention. And it is behind by not challenging the slow destruction of the rights of states in UN. The process leads to our own demise as citizens in a diluted global collection of special interest groups, various baskets of good or bad — to be sorted out by the ever more powerfull, rich and distant elite. What does it mean to be antiwar today? It means to reject out of hand every attempt to target another state and leadership verbally by derogatory adjectives, and advocate isanctions, information warfare, threatening military build ups, paying for internal turmoil in those countries
by funding “democracy”. NGO projects, giving money, or weapons to terrorist groups in the name of fighting for democracy. It all starts with the presumed right that it is ours to judge other countries institutions and political system. From there — the dye is cast — and by a force of habit — we almost appologetically try to point out how a “brutal dictatot killing his people” may just a little bit right. By allowing the war machine and their media praetorian guard the right to define any sovereign nation as subject of our right to be the judge and intervene in their affairs — we lose the most important battle. Everything else becomes only the debate of the degrees of rightful intervention — not its premise.
Congress is the culprit at home, UN globally. For as long as both are destroying the foundations of peace — the sovereignty of countries — in the name of higher humanitarian goals, and there are no grass roots or institutions to challenge them as entities, and their constituent memership — they are all sleepwalking into a trap. Today only a few countries are consciously confronting these well established “truths”. Some countries have been shut up — such as Argentina and somewhat Brazil. But others are in the orocess of excaping the trap. In Europe it is Hungary. Turkey barely survived, a d Philippines in turmoil. Egypt’s delivery of oil from Saudi Arabia just got cancelled following Egypt’s vote in favor of Russian resolution in UN.
The antiwar is needed more then ever — but must be moved up to target any attempts at demonizing countries that are targets of “democracy” installation engineering. By rejecting out of hand any attempts of justifying and helping subversive activities — non-vilent and violent — in any countries in the name of democracy. And internationally exposing the rot in UN that undermines the Charter and rights of sovereign states. Exporters of terrorism, enablers, financiers and media justification of terrorism goes hand in hand with the teo above. US has its brand of democracy and it is the result of US history and trafitions. Saudi Arabia has its own. And the Middle East will be a much happier place if US stops exporting democracy and Saudi Arabua its Wahhabism.