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OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 8/29/13

The Subterfuge of Syrian Chemical Weapons

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When the 18th Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General   Martin   E.   Dempsey, before the reportedly chemical attack last week, admitted that the Syrian army was "gaining momentum," he did not "think it'll be sustainable," not because he was drawing on the facts on the ground, but most likely because he was privy to what was in store with his co- decision makers in Washington.

 

Maintaining a "balance of power" on the ground is a U.S. precondition to engage in and allow negotiations to solve the Syrian conflict peacefully. The U.S. cannot co -- host with Russia the repeatedly postponed Geneva -- 2 peace conference on Syria unless the military status quo on the ground is deprived of the gains won by the SAA.

 

Therefore, the U.S. is impatient to give "enough time" to the UN investigators to finish their mission with conclusive or inconclusive evidence, as requested by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki - moon on Wednesday. The UN envoy for Syria, al - Akhdar al - Ibrahimi, on the same day said that the military solution of the conflict is "impossible," but his appeal for a peaceful solution fell on deaf ears in Washington, where plans are being worked out by leaps and bounds for an imminent military strike.

 

Such a strike would only exacerbate the conflict, which al - Ibrahimi on August 23 said it " is undoubtedly today the biggest threat to peace and security in the world."

 

Would Obama decide on military action to take place while the UN investigators are still in Syria? The U.S. disrespect of the UN has several precedents to make the answer in the positive a realistic probability.

 

Time will tell however, some say within days, but if it takes place it will be an insult to the United Nations and the world community that will further hurt the international credibility of the United States, which is now pressured into military action as a "face saving move" presumably to save the credibility of its leader who has drawn publicly a "red line" on the use of chemical weapons in Syria at least five times during the last year.

 

Obama Gives in

 

Obama, the former professor of constitutional law, who as recently as August 22 warned in a CNN interview that " we have to take into account considerations" like a "U.N. mandate" supported by "international law" and "clear evidence," seems ready now to strike without any respect to the three factors, which they only can give legitimacy to any U.S. -- led strike against Syria.

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*Nicola Nasser is a veteran Arab journalist in Kuwait, Jordan, UAE and Palestine. He is based in Ramallah, West Bank of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.
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