On Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights issued a statement reckoning the results of the US-led coalition attacking targets across Syria since 2014. Four years later, they have killed around 3,300 civilians.
This is far in excess of Pentagon official figures on the number of civilians killed. There is no official figure for the US-led coalition just in Syria, but the combination of civilians killed in both Syria and Iraq are only 1,061 according to the Pentagon’s count.
The vast majority of the other killed were simply never officially documented, as the Pentagon found many of the largest death tolls “not credible.” The Observatory’s reckoning suggests that the civilians are among the 12,000 “rebels” killed overall by the coalition.
While NGO groups like the Syrian Observatory and Airwars have limited access to information on death tolls, they both tend to come up with similar tolls, far higher than the official figures. This is unsurprising, as the official groups have little interest in keeping track of who they’ve killed, and ample reason to hide the worst incidents of civilian deaths.
Despite President Trump’s instinctual position as a saber-ratting negotiator who ultimately desires peace and prosperity, most of his advisers and cabinet officers, who subscribe to Bush-Obama casuistry, believe that the US-UK-Israeli axis must act to protect and empower its al Qaeda and other jihadi allies and continue the mission to spread massive death, destruction, poverty, chaos, anarchy and irredentism across North Africa and the Middle East until only Israel and Saudi Arabia remain as viable states. It makes no difference that most Syrians, especially Christians and Alawites, support Dr Assad and that the jihadis would be far worse than he is alleged to be. They are as unconcerned about the likely genocide of Alawites and Christians, should their strategy succeed, as they have been in other countries in the region, and they do not care that the Assad government is the only defense against a massive genocide.
Another of the US’s proxy Islamic extremist forces, the Saudi military, is destroying Yemen because the Houthis have a weak alliance with Iran. John Bolton incessantly parrots the lie that Iran is the “leading state sponsor of terrorism”, and when challenged with the facts, he says “because they are the leading sponsors of terrorism”. Actually, the US unquestionably deserves that title. This is what passes for logic, morality and analytical thought in Washington. All of this might very well eventuate in World War III, pitting Iran, Russia, Syria and probably China against the US and Israel, and with the possible exception of the UK, its NATO allies are unlikely to follow the US into the suicidal quagmire. Let’s hope that international law, morality and enlightened self-interests prevail.
Amen! Thank you for your spot on assessment UK Dr for Peace!
International law and morality are foreign to the USA under any administration. Israel is even proud of not being ruled by international law, and the USA does what Israel wants eg quitting the JCPOA.
If even these groups find such figures, things are probably worse, especially since the USA has absolutely no right to be in Syria at all;
This is absurd, the USA provide funding, weapons and training to the groups that got this war going and kept it going. We deserve credit for far far more than a mere 3300. I feel insulted.