Stephen Lendman

Peace talks are on life-support - no breakthroughs achieved, none likely after Tuesday’s Kahn Sheikhoun chemical weapons (CW) attack.

It had all the earmarks of a false flag incident aimed at perpetuating war, likely escalating it for the same objective as earlier - destroying Syrian sovereign independence, replacing it with pro-Western puppet rule, isolating Iran ahead of a similar strategy against its government.

Imperialism is dirty business, Trump up to his neck in it, perhaps over his head by delegating warmaking issues to neocon generals.

They thrive on endless conflicts. So do hawkish extremists infesting Washington. Resolving wars diplomatically for a new era of world peace is considered heresy.

It’s inconceivable that Syria had anything to do with Tuesday’s Kahn Sheikhoun incident - explained in earlier articles. No evidence implicates its government or military with any CW attack throughout over six years of war.

Previous accusations proved false, US-supported terrorists responsible for previous CW attacks, likely behind the latest one, if not committed by the CIA and/or its intelligence partners.

US administration comments following Tuesday’s incident are cause for great concern, boding ill for what’s likely coming.

Together with Jordan’s King Abdullah at the White House, Trump sounded like a warrior, not peacemaker, saying:

“Yesterday, a chemical attack…that was so horrific, in Syria, against innocent people, including women, small children, and even beautiful little babies.”

“Their deaths w(ere) an affront to humanity. These heinous actions by the Assad regime cannot be tolerated.”

“The United States stands with our allies across the globe to condemn this horrific attack and all other horrific attacks, for that matter.”

“(T)he Obama administration had a great opportunity to solve this crisis a long time ago when he said the red line in the sand. And when he didn’t cross that line after making the threat, I think that set us back a long ways, not only in Syria, but in many other parts of the world, because it was a blank threat.”

Tuesday’s attack “crossed a lot of lines with me. When you kill innocent children - innocent babies - with chemical gas…that goes beyond red lines.”

“My attitude toward Syria and Assad has changed very much. What happened yesterday is unacceptable to me.”

He declined to say how he’ll respond. His remarks signaled continued US-led military operations, not diplomatic conflict resolution steps.

During a Security Council meeting on Tuesday’s attack, remarks by Washington, Britain and France differed markedly from Russia’s.

Moscow’s acting UN envoy Pyotr Illyichev rejected a rush to judgment - made by his Western counterparts. He called for an independent OPCW fact-finding mission to investigate the Khan Sheikhoun attack.

Despite no evidence suggesting it, US UN envoy Nikki Haley lied, saying “(w)e know that yesterday’s attack bears all the hallmarks of the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons. We know that Assad has used these weapons against the Syrian people before.”

“Evidence reported from the scene indicates that Assad is now using even more lethal chemical agents than he did before.”

No evidence exists - not so far, virtually certain when available to absolve Syria of responsibility for what happened.

It may be too late with Washington and its rogue allies seemingly hellbent for escalated conflict.

Haley: “We know that if nothing is done, these attacks will continue.” Calling the legitimate Syrian government “illegitimate,” she falsely accused if of “committ(ing) untold atrocities against its people,” despicably claiming:

“Assad has made it clear that he doesn’t want to take part in a meaningful political process. Iran has reinforced Assad’s military, and Russia has shielded Assad from UN sanctions.”

“When the United Nations consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life of states that we are compelled to take our own action” - barely stopping short of a unilateral US declaration of war against the entire country, beyond its ongoing aggression in its north.

Syria categorically denied responsibility for Tuesday’s incident. No evidence suggests otherwise.

Syrian parliamentarian Halid Abud bluntly said the Khan Sheikhoun CW attack “was carried out to blame on the Syrian government.”

Minimally, it’s “a way for Western countries to put pressure on” Damascus, to escalate conflict, to destroy chances for peace. Russia’s intervention at the behest of Assad foiled their imperial objectives.

Tuesday’s attack was a likely attempt to revive them. A rush to judgment against Assad, supported by media scoundrels, is reminiscent of how Saddam and Gaddafi were demonized ahead of full-scale US-led wars on their countries.

Is greater war on Syria coming than already? Are peace talks dead? Is US/Russia confrontation possible?

Nothing in prospect looks positive. Tuesday’s likely Khan Sheikhoun false flag gave US dark forces a pretext for greater war on humanity than already.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He 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 WW III."

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

Visit his blog site at http://www.sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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