Fast-Tracking Toward War on SyriaStephen Lendman Presidents do solemnly swear (or affirm to) faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of (their) Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Congressional members do solemnly swear (or affirm to) support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; (to) bear true faith and allegiance to the same; (to) this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and (to) well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which (they are) about to enter: So help (them) God. Straightaway in office they spurn them. Presidents do most of all. Wealth, power and privilege alone matter. It shows in how they govern. Thomas Jefferson said When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty. He also said Experience hath shewn (sic), that even under the best forms of government, those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny. Thomas Paine said The duty of a true patriot is to protect his country from its government. According to James Madison, If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. Americas war on terror explains. When nations have no enemies, they invent them. Washington does so in the extreme. Benjamin Franklin warned that sacrificing freedom for security assures losing both. Its shocking how bad things are. Ahead expect worse. Obamas already fighting multiple direct and proxy wars. Hes got more death and destruction in mind. Hes escalating war on Syria. He intends doing more than already. He bears full responsibility for tens of thousands of deaths. Assads wrongfully blamed for his crimes. Rogue states operate this way. Shameless pretexts are invented. John Kerrys more mad bomber than diplomat. He replicated Madeleine Albrights moment. Whats the point of having this superb military that youre always talking about, she asked then Joint Chiefs Chairman Colin Powell, if we cant use it? Her comment urged war on Yugoslavia. Kerry wants Syria bombed. He wants Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin Dempsey launching it. Doing so requires taking out Assads sophisticated air defense systems. It involves neutralizing his command and control capability. It means Yugoslavia or Libya 2.0. Take your pick. It assures destroying another country. Its doing so for power and profit. It doing it by hundreds of sorties. It means unconscionable mass killing and destruction. It risks genocide. It assures destroying essential infrastructure. It guarantees long-term environmental contamination. It ensures vast numbers of birth defects, cancer and other diseases. It means potentially millions displaced on their own. Albright told 60 Minutes viewers that half a million dead Iraqi children was a small price to pay. She referred to lawless sanctions responsible for killing them. Kerry matches her roguishness. Power-hungry officials ignore horrific consequences. Mass killing and destruction dont matter. Crimes of war and against humanity reflect business as usual. Imperial priorities count most. Another country will be entirely destroyed. Albright got what she wished for. So may Kerry. Events seem headed that way. Replacing Assad remains policy. Western-sponsored death squads alone cant do it. They need air support. They need round-the-clock terror bombing. US policymakers understand. Replicating Yugoslavia and Libya looks likely. Pretexts are in place to do it. Others will be invented if needed. War winds blow more strongly. Theyre heading toward gale force strength. What will freedom-loving people tolerate before they react. Rogue states have no legitimacy. Americas by far the worst. War on Syria risks embroiling the region. Doing so risks WW III. Putin drew Russias red line. He sent Assad sophisticated air defenses. He promises more. He supplied other weapons. Hell ship whats needed. Hes aiding a valued ally. Hes got every right to do so. Friends in need are friends indeed. Russian warships patrol the Mediterranean. Theyre delivering needed supplies. Theyre protecting Moscows regional interests. Doing so leaves no ambiguity. Imperial madness must be stopped. Washington positioned Patriot missiles, F-16s, and US troops inside Jordan. Theyre on Syria border. Israel has its Golan forces mobilized. Theyre not for defense. Their presence is menacing. Perhaps theyll be used aggressively. Syria and Russia have no illusions. AP cited Interfax saying Moscows planning to send marine units to Syria. Ostensibly its to protect Russian citizens and remove property from Tartus. Its Moscows sole Mediterranean naval facility. Its strategically important to protect. Showing the flag supports Assad. Putin opposes no-fly zone imposition. He wont tolerate one. He committed to protect Syria. He wants conflict ended diplomatically. He wants Syrian sovereignty respected. He wants Syrians alone to decide wholl lead them. He wants rule of law principles observed. He knows whos friend and foe. Diplomats choose words carefully. Putins more outspoken than most. Hes concerned about reckless US belligerence. If regional allies fall, Russia and China are next. He not on the sidelines idle. Hes acting in Moscows best interests. He may have more aggressive measures in mind. Deterring America demands confrontation. Hopefully it stops short of greater conflict. Best to prevent it before initiated. Perhaps its Putins plan. Events going forward bear watching. Theyll unfold in the fullness of time. Hopefully a clear red line will explain best. Drawing it may get Washington to back off. Its time to go all out and see. At issue is lots more than Syria. Its New World Order harshness. Its state-sponsored terrorism writ large. Its globalized central control. Its madness instead of sanity. Its claiming war is peace. Its monied interests pushing conflicts. Its manufactured crises and permanent ones. Its profiteering from human carnage. Its living with the threat of mushroom-shaped cloud destruction. Its plundering the earth for profit. Its exploiting people the same way. Its neoliberalism on steroids. Its giving capital divine rights. Its money power in private hands used destructively. Its out-of-control corporate power. Its giving corporations the same rights as people. Its freeing them from equal responsibilities. Its letting them become private tyrannies. Its government of, by and for privileged elites alone. Its popular needs gone begging. Its social America on the rocks and dying. Its holding farcical elections. Its back room deal making in charge. Its duopoly power running things. Its preventing democracy by doing so. Its mocking rule of law principles. Its consigning them to historys dustbin. Its ignoring growing poverty, unemployment, hunger, homelessness and human misery. Its sacrificing healthcare, education, clean air and water, safe food, social safety net protections, and other vital services and needs. Its leaving worker rights unprotected. Its creating ruler-serf societies. Its militarizing them for control. Its substituting managed news misinformation for truth and full disclosure. Its transferring wealth disproportionately to corporations and rich elites already with too much. Its entrapping people and nations in debt. Its sacrificing civil and human rights. Its substituting wage for chattel slavery. Its filling prisons with societies unwanted. Its institutionalizing torture as official policy. Its power without accountability. Its heading America and other Western societies toward tyranny. Its making them unfit to live in. Its ignoring deep-seated corruption, special interests over common ones, failed families, basic needs, ecocide, and global injustice. Its letting unconscionable wrongdoing metastasize beyond control. Its making wrong choices. Its living in a world unsafe to be in. Its heading down a path toward oblivion. It risks destroying ourselves in the process. RELATED ACTIVIST POST ARTICLE: Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.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/ linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 