by Stephen Lendman

France is part of the problem, not the solution, in Syria. It supported Obama’s war from inception. It partners in all US imperial wars, a key member of NATO’s killing machine, smashing one nation after another.

On Saturday, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius lied, blaming Assad for four-and-a-half years of war, ignoring Obama’s full responsibility and French complicity, backing his aggression on another independent country, using ISIS and other takfiri terrorists to do his dirty work.

“There has been a lot of comment in the last few days on the role of Assad and whether he can or should be a stabilizing element in Syria,” said Fabius. He lied calling him “the main person guilty of the current chaos. If we were to say to the Syrians that the future of Syria lies in Assad, then we'll expose ourselves to failure.”

“We have to redouble our efforts” to oust him - ignoring his overwhelming popularity along with core international law, prohibiting interfering in the internal affairs of other nations for any reason, except in self-defense if attacked.

Syria doesn’t threaten its neighbors. Assad wants peace, not war. He responsibly defends his country and people against foreign invaders - disgracefully bashed for doing his job.

On Sunday, France partnered with America, Britain, Canada, and Australia in bombing Syria. The objective: support ISIS terrorists. Ravage the country into submission.

Continued war assures more harm to long-suffering civilians than already, exacerbating, not diminishing human floods fleeing for safe havens.

A Hollande government statement lied, saying: “Our country thus confirms its resolute commitment to fight against the terrorist threat represented by Daesh (the Islamic State). We will strike each time that our national security is at stake.”

France is using the refugee crisis as an excuse to continue terrorizing Syrians, forcing more to flee for their lives, using the tired old national security canard, a phony reason to pursue its regional imperial interests along with America.

The way to insure regional and European security is by ending wars, not continuing them endlessly, creating an endless cycle of violence, chaos and instability, the opposite of good policy - except for hegemons wanting things their own way unchallenged, no matter the cost in human lives and suffering.

Putin’s agenda is polar opposite, criticizing Western “double standards and selfishness,” urging world leaders to unite against ISIS, go all-out to eliminate its scourge.

Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria established Baghdad-based a joint information center. According to an unnamed military-diplomatic source, the initiative’s “main goal…will be gathering, processing and analyzing current information about the situation in the Middle East - primarily for fighting IS.”

An official from each country will head the center on a three-month rotating basis. Its objective is coordinating plans to defeat IS, waging legitimate war on terrorism, polar opposite US policy.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said “Moscow is acting within the framework of international law, respecting the sovereignty of our county…”

“We do not hide anything under the table. We regard Russia as our friend and strategic ally which is honest in its actions.”

Its commitment to defeating IS and restoring regional peace and stability runs counter to Washington’s imperial agenda.

Expect no change in its permanent war policy. Ignore meaningless rhetoric claiming a commitment for regional peace.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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