July 5, 2017
When
Trump’s UN ambassador, Nikki Haley, asserts – as she did recently –
that the US is sending “not only Assad” but also “Russia and Iran a message”,
and that Washington is putting them “on notice,” she does so as the tribune of
a rogue state.
Haley
issued her ‘warning’ on the back of the dubious claim that Washington had
intelligence confirming Syrian forces were preparing a chemical weapons attack.
The claim and resulting threat revealed that the US continues to arrogate to
itself the status of the world’s policeman, with the right to act as judge,
jury, and – as the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya have learned to their
disastrous cost in recent years – executioner. It describes arrogance beyond
measure, conforming to the worldview of an empire whose guiding mantra is “Rome has
spoken; the matter is finished”.
The
“matter” so far as Syria is concerned is regime change, which it becomes
increasingly clear is Washington’s main objective going forward, using its
military campaign against ISIS as a stalking horse to justify the build up of
its military presence in the country with this in mind. Seen in this light, the
recent spate of US attacks on Syrian forces on the ground and in the air take
on an entirely different connotation – i.e. less to do with protecting
US-backed ground forces, as claimed, and more to do with testing Russia’s
response and resolve when it comes to supporting its Syrian ally.
