Israel Threatens More Attacks on Syria

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Stephen Lendman
Activist Post

May 15 is Nakba Day. It follows Israel’s May 14 Independence Day. This year was no exception.

Clashes erupted across the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel confronts peaceful demonstrations violently. Fundamental human rights are spurned. Rogue governments operate that way.

Preemptively attacking other countries is official Israeli policy.

On May 4 and 5, Israeli warplanes targeted Syria. Doing so was preemptive, unprovoked, lawless aggression.

On May 15, The New York Times headlined “Israel Hints at New Strikes, Warning Syria Not to Retaliate.”

An unidentified Israeli official suggested further military strikes ahead. Allegedly it’s to stop “advanced weapons” transfers to “Islamic militants.”

Assad was warned. Retaliate and face “crippling consequences.” The Israeli official said:

Israel is determined to continue to prevent the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah. 

The transfer of such weapons will destabilize and endanger the entire region. 

If Syrian President Assad reacts by attacking Israel, or tries to strike Israel through his terrorist proxies, he will risk forfeiting his regime, for Israel will retaliate. 

Israel has so far refrained from intervening in Syria’s civil war and will maintain this policy as long as Assad refrains from attacking Israel directly or indirectly.

It bears repeating. There’s nothing civil about Washington’s war on Syria. US-backed death squads invaded. Hired guns are Obama’s shock troops. They’re directed to kill, destroy and commit unspeakable atrocities. They’re operating as instructed.

Alleged weapons transfers are a ruse. Israel’s May 4 and 5 attacks were a joint US/Israeli operation. They were lawless. They were provocative.

They were launched to goad Syria to respond. Doing so would facilitate greater intervention. Assad wasn’t fooled. He’s fully engaged internally. He’s not about to give Washington, Israel, Turkey or other belligerent states reason to attack.

The Times said the “precise motives for Israel’s warning were uncertain.” Perhaps it’s preparing another strike. If so, why would warning Syria precede it?

After Israel’s May 4 and 5 attacks, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said “(w)e will respond immediately and harshly to any additional attack by Israel.” He justifiably called Israel’s aggression a “declaration of war.”

Israel’s very much part of Obama’s war on Syria. Whether it plans more provocations remains to be seen. Both countries operate jointly.

America wants Assad ousted. It’s longstanding US policy. Turkey’s a co-conspirator. Prime Minister Erdogan arrived in Washington. He’ll press for Obama to act more aggressively against Syria.

Before leaving Ankara, he said “Syria will be our main topic. We will draw a road map.” He claims he’s bringing evidence of Syrian chemical weapons use.

Whatever he has doesn’t wash. No evidence suggests Syrian use. Insurgents used toxic weapons several times. Expect Erdogan and Obama to claim otherwise. Doing so provides greater pretext to intervene.

Erdogan met earlier with John Kerry. He and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will discuss Syria. They’ll do so at the Pentagon. Perhaps war plans will be finalized.

Obama’s incrementally tiptoeing toward full-scale intervention. How and when remains to be seen. Critics say he’s not moving fast enough.

Washington Post editors want war. Editorials advocate it. Previous articles discussed them. On May 8, they headlined“What if the US doesn’t intervene in Syria,” saying:

Whatever the risks of intervening, inaction risks more, they claim. Post editors want more arms for insurgents. They urge an air campaign. “(T)he situation in Syria has grown more dangerous to US interests.”

It’s “increasingly clear that the greatest risk to the United States lies in failing to take decisive action to end the Assad regime.”

In late February, they called John Kerry’s first trip as Secretary of state “Washington’s last chance to help Syria.”

If the Obama administration is to lead on Syria, it must commit itself to steps that can bring about the early collapse of the regime and its replacement by a representative and responsible alternative. 

Only direct political and military intervention on the side of the opposition can make that happen.

On May 14, WaPo editors headlined “Obama administration hopes Putin will deliver Assad,” saying:

Instead of urging direct military intervention, “Kerry seems to have reversed his strategy. Rather than taking steps to turn the tide against (Assad, he’s) rushing to convene a peace conference.”

Not a shred of public evidence suggests that Mr. Assad is willing to negotiate his own departure. 

It appears as if the administration again is hoping that the Russian government of Vladimir Putin will deliver Mr. Assad. 

The administration made that same wishful bet last year, only to be stiffed by Mr. Putin. 

The anti-American campaign Mr. Putin has been waging continues apace, as shown by the Cold War-style propaganda operation staged in Moscow Tuesday following the arrest of an alleged American spy.

Kerry’s initiative, “like those before it, is more likely to provide excuses for US passivity than an end to Syria’s carnage.”

WaPo editors want war. So does contributor David Ignatius. He has close ties to US intelligence. He openly favors arming anti-Assad death squads.

He wants Assad ousted. So do Charles Krauthammer, Jackson Diehl and other WaPo contributors. They’re not alone. US media scoundrels urged it since 2011.

Only their policy recommendations differ. They’re indifferent to human suffering. They point fingers the wrong way. They blame Assad for Washington’s war.

They support America’s imperial ambitions. They’re comfortable with whatever it takes to achieve them. They promote Washington’s war on terrorism.

They’re mindless about policy priorities to ravage the world one country at a time or in multiples. They ignore US crimes of war, against humanity and genocide. They’ve said nothing about torture as official US policy.

They’re silent about escalating domestic tyranny. They claim America’s economy is improving at a time of deepening main street Depression. Half or more of US households are impoverished or bordering on it.

Millions are one pay check or medical emergency away from homelessness and/or bankruptcy. The state of today’s America is lawless, ruthless, oppressive, and contemptuous of fundamental democratic values.

War on the world is policy. Innocent victims fill America’s gulag. Human need increasingly goes begging. War and corporate priorities take precedence.

Washington’s alliance with Israel threatens humanity. Both countries reflect unspeakable evil. Wealth, power, privilege and unchallenged dominance alone matter. Murder, Inc. is official policy.

Lies, damn lies, and media scoundrel misinformation facilitate it. Fiction substitutes for fact. Victims are called villains. War criminals are hailed as liberators.

America, key NATO partners and Israel get away with murder. They do so by claiming wars are fought for peace. Humanitarian intervention’s about spreading democracy.

Nations are systematically destroyed to free them. Monied interests benefit most. Media scoundrels aid and abet imperial crimes. Truth is the most dangerous disinfectant. Suppressing it keeps millions uninformed.

Syria was largely peaceful before US proxies invaded. So was Libya in 2011. Iran’s moment of truth awaits. Longstanding plans prioritize regime change.

It’s official US policy. It’s next in line after Washington finishes destroying Syria. It’s well along toward doing it.

A Final Comment

On May 15, the UN General Assembly adopted an anti-Assad resolution. It’s non-binding. It was Arab League-led. Washington co-sponsored it. It followed four others since 2011.

Grave concerns were expressed. Voting 107 for, 12 against, with 59 abstentions, the body strongly condemned Assad. It accused him of “widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

It called the pro-Western National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (Syrian National Council) an “effective representative interlocutor for a political transition.”

Ahead of the vote, General Assembly president/Serbian foreign affairs minister Vuk Jeremic said:

Over the past 800 days, the conflict has continued to escalate, threatening the establishment of ethnic or sectarian fiefdoms – thus gravely imperiling the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria. 

Violence is begetting more violence; hatred, more hatred – carving deeper and deeper wounds into Syria’s society. 

If we are unable to do anything to stop this tragedy, then how can we sustain the moral credibility of this Organization? 

It is high time to say ‘enough is enough;’ enough to complacency and enough to fratricide.

He blamed Syria for Washington’s war. Syria’s permanent UN representative, Bashar al-Jaafari, said passage inflames conditions.

Ahead of the vote, he said:

It is surprising that the draft resolution was presented within the item titled – prevention of the outbreak of armed conflicts – while the context of the draft totally contradicts this noble address as it has sought to escalate the crisis and instigate violence in Syria through creating a dangerous precedent in the international relations, which try to give legitimacy to offering weapons to the armed terrorist groups in Syria.

Russia’s deputy permanent UN representative, Alexander Pankin, called the measure “irresponsible, unconstructive, and it aggravates the situation in Syria, in addition to hindering the international efforts to implement the Geneva Communique.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi said:

The resolution has been issued at a time when Syria and the region need peace and stability more than ever.

Passage won’t resolve things. Doing so makes anti-Assad terrorist crimes more likely. Washington, key NATO partners, Israel, and rogue regional allies aid and abet them.

Replacing Assad with pro-Western puppet leadership remains policy. Syria’s being ravaged and destroyed to achieve it. Expect stepped up efforts ahead to hasten it.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at [email protected]. His new book is titled How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening. http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/