Stephen Lendman

Replacing him with a pro-Western puppet is what escalating US aggression in northern Syria and attacking its Shayrat airbase is all about.

It’s also about destroying the Syrian Arab Republic, balkanizing it, looting its resources, exploiting its people, and creating longterm war-related violence, instability and chaos, a pretext for America’s regional presence.

Will Trump order shock-and-awe terror-bombing of Damascus, repeating an Afghanistan/Iraq/Libya scenario? Obama bears full responsibility for destroying Aleppo, Syria’s commercial hub. Is Damascus next?

On CNN’s State of the Union airing Sunday, neocon US UN envoy Nikki Haley said “(t)here’s not any sort of option where a political solution is going to happen with Assad at the head of the regime.”

“If you look at his actions, if you look at the situation, it’s going to be hard to see a government that’s peaceful and stable with Assad. Regime change is something that we think is going to happen.”

She lied saying defeating ISIS is the administration’s top priority, created and supported by Washington, Trump no different than his predecessors.

On Saturday, Lavrov and Tillerson spoke by phone. Reuters quoted Russia’s Foreign Minister, saying “an attack on a country whose government fights terrorism only plays into the hands of extremists, creates additional threats to regional and global security.”

Accusing Syria of using CWs in Kahn Sheikhoun on April 4 doesn’t correspond to reality, he added. No evidence suggests it. He called for a thorough, impartial investigation, what Washington won’t tolerate.

On April 11 and 12, Tillerson is scheduled to be in Moscow. Russia should cancel his visit in protest against Trump’s aggression. Meeting with him won’t change US imperial policy. Neocon generals run it, not him.

Separately, UK Defense Minister Michael Fallon irresponsibly blamed Russia for “every civilian death” from CWs in Khan Sheikhoun last week.

He called Russia responsible “by proxy” as Assad’s “principal backer. This latest war crime happened on their watch,” he ranted.

“In the past few years, they have had every opportunity to pull levers and stop this civil war. Russia must show the resolve necessary to bring this regime to heel.”

He called Trump’s aggression “justified and appropriate,” a despicable perversion of truth. “We need a longterm solution to this conflict,” urging Assad’s ouster, saying he “cannot be the future leader of Syria.”

Britain allies with all US wars of aggression. Both countries, Israel and their rogue partners want the Syrian Arab Republic destroyed, Iran isolated ahead of pursuing regime change against its sovereign government.

Endless regional wars rage, peace prospects bleak.

A Final Comment

On Friday, Assad issued a statement, saying “(i)n an unjust and arrogant aggression, the United States targeted at dawn on Friday the airport of al-Shairat in the countryside of Homs.”

“Targeting an airport of a sovereign state by the US is an outrageous act that clarifies in conclusive evidence once again what Syria has been saying that the succession of administrations of this regime does not change the deep policies of its entity which is represented by targeting states, subjugating peoples and the attempting to dominate the world.”

Washington’s ruthlessness may end up destroying it.

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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.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.