Syria censures US warmongering policies, calls Obama as bully

Syria's Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar al-Jaafari lashed out at the United States for its warmongering policies against Syria, calling US President Barack Obama a “bully”. “Who appointed the American administration to anticipate ... the outcome and the findings - the final findings - of the UN mission...? How could the United States of America act unilaterally… from outside the context of the United Nations,” asked the Syrian envoy to the UN. Last week, a team of the UN chemical weapons inspectors finished its work on the site of a chemical attack in Syria. A Swedish military lab has reportedly been assigned to the task of analyzing samples collected by the team, the Islam Times reported. Al-Jaafari went on to criticize Obama’s warmongering polices and said, “Who asked Obama to be the bully of the world? President Obama speaks about not changing the regime. He said that it will not be Afghanistan, it will not be Iraq. Who guarantees the day after… who guarantees what will happen the day after?” The rhetoric of war against Syria first gained momentum in the recent past on August 21, when the militants operating inside Syria and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition claimed that 1,300 people had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds in the Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar. Damascus categorically rejected having had any role in the chemical attack. Nevertheless, a number of western countries, including the US, France, and the UK, quickly started campaigning for war. On Tuesday, August 27, speculations became stronger about the possibility of a military attack on Syria. Media outlets reported US plans for likely surgical attacks, which would be in the form of “cruise-missile strikes,” and “could rely on … US destroyers in the Mediterranean Sea.” The plan was said to be awaiting US President Barack Obama’s go-ahead. Later, however, domestic and international calls against a potential war seemed to have forced some of the warmongering countries to tone down their stances. On August 29, the British parliament voted against participation by Britain, the United States’ closest ally, in any potential military intervention in Syria, putting the decision about a British role off to when the UN inspection team releases its findings. On Friday, August 30, NATO also distanced itself from participating in any military intervention in Syria, with the chief of the Western military coalition, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, saying he did not “foresee any NATO role” in a war on Syria. However, Washington remained defiant, saying that it is willing to go ahead with its plans for a strike on Syria without the approval of the United Nations or even the support of its allies. Under mounting pressure, US President Barack Obama said on Saturday, August 31 that his administration will first seek authorization from the Congress. Although the American legislators were highly skeptical of any US war on Syria at first, criticizing a draft resolution sent to them by the Obama administration, they seem to have given in to the White House campaign to promote war. The US lawmakers have now drafted a bipartisan measure imposing a 90-day deadline for US military intervention and banning the “deployment of any US troops on the ground” in Syria. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee may consider the newly drafted resolution on Wednesday. All of this comes while the team of UN inspectors, who recently visited Syria to probe the sites of chemical attacks, have yet to release the findings of their inspection. Al-Jaafari also warned of the consequences of any possible military intervention in his country, and said any strike on Syria will constitute a war of aggression according to the UN Charter. The Syrian UN envoy also said, “Barack Obama put an end to the American military presence in Iraq; Barack Obama promised to withdraw from Afghanistan; Barack Obama got the Nobel Peace Prize, Barack Obama went to Cairo to address the Arab and the Islamic world and he said there that there would be no more wars. Where is this Barack Obama?”