While the lack of retaliation by Russia to Trump's Friday night Syrian airstrikes surprised some, Russia defended its stance of shrugging in response (and not escalating to full blown world war), by asserting that Soviet-made missiles intercepted more than half of the 105 cruise missiles fired at three Syrian facilities (the Pentagon denied any missiles were hit), and that the US, UK and French blitz was generally less aggressive than most had feared, perhaps thanks to extensive advance warnings by Trump that an attack was imminent.
Yet if Russia's managed response is understandable, one country whose vocal outcry to US strikes has been a surprise, is China.
As we reported yesterday, China was the first superpower outside those directly involved to slam the US airstrikes: "Any unilateral military action violates the United Nations charter and its principles and international law and its principles. [The strikes] are also going to add more factors to complicate the resolution of the Syrian crisis," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement on Saturday afternoon.
Beijing also called for an investigation into claims of a Syrian poison gas attack on the rebel-held town of Douma that rescuers and monitors say killed more than 40 people, and prompted the Western action: "The Chinese side believes a comprehensive, impartial and objective investigation should be conducted into the suspected chemical attacks and it should come up with reliable conclusions ... Before this, no conclusion by any side should be made,” Hua said.
* * *
Then, on Saturday during the emergency session of the Security Council on Saturday, Russia proposed a resolution urging the US and its allies to “immediately and without delay cease the aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic and refrain from further aggressive acts in violation of the international law and the UN Charter." Not surprisingly, the proposal was voted down - and would have been vetoed by the US - but the roll call was surprising: Russia and Bolivia voted in favor of the resolution... alongside with China.
If there was any confusion on whose side of the Syrian conflict China finds itself, that confusion is now officially gone.
* * *
Finally, overnight China also reminded its population that while the US is engaging in a contained "hot war" with Syria, Beijing is currently fighting a trade war with Washington D.C. when in a front-page OpEd on the state-owned nationalist tabloid Global Times, the politburo authorized a scathing article in which it once again slammed Trump's involvement in Syria, claiming that "the facts cannot be distorted. This military strike was not authorized by the UN, and the strikes targeted a legal government of a UN member state... it has not been confirmed if the chemical weapons attack happened or if it did, whether government forces or opposition forces launched it. International organizations have not carried out any authoritative investigation."
And the most inflammatory accusation: the entire US attack was a false flag:
The Syrian government has repeatedly stressed that there is no need for it to use chemical weapons to capture the opposition-controlled Duma city and the use of chemical weapons has provided an excuse for Western intervention. The Syrian government's argument or Trump's accusations against the "evil" Assad regime, which one is in line with basic logic? The answer is quite obvious.
The US has a record of launching wars on deceptive grounds. The Bush government asserted the Saddam regime held chemical weapons before the US-British coalition troops invaded Iraq in 2003. However, the coalition forces didn't find what they called weapons of mass destruction after overthrowing the Saddam regime. Both Washington and London admitted later that their intelligence was false.
Finally, the Global Times pivots to what happens next, and how the US provocation could lead to further escalation in hostilities with Russia:
Washington's attack on Syria where Russian troops are stationed constitute serious contempt for Russia's military capabilities and political dignity. Trump, like scolding a pupil, called on Moscow, one of the world's leading nuclear powers, to abandon its "dark path." Disturbingly, Washington seems to have become addicted to mocking Russia in this way. Russia is capable of launching a destructive retaliatory attack on the West. Russia's weak economy is plagued by Western sanctions and squeezing of its strategic space. That the West provokes Russia in such a manner is irresponsible for world peace.
Finally, without stating it expressly, China makes it quite clear on whose side it would be should war break out between Russia and the US:
The situation is still fomenting. The Trump administration said it will sustain the strikes. But how long will the military action continue and whether Russia will fight back as it claimed previously remain uncertain. Western countries continue bullying Russia but are seemingly not afraid of its possible counterattack. Their arrogance breeds risk and danger.
Read the full Global Times op-ed here.
Comments
Remember the Lusitania!
The history of China:
http://thesoundingline.com/map-day-history-china-every-year/
In reply to Remember the Lusitania! by hedgeless_horseman
Xiriously...Treasury Paper Mâché Tiger Chicom holder of $1.6 Tn (incl. H.K. Belgium proxies) in Treasuries "LAUNCHING" MIC WARS...LOL!
In reply to The history of China: http:/… by Four Star
So much projection.
So little audience.
In reply to z by Déjà view
The Pentagon says that every missile hit its target - that can only be true if the missiles were looking to take out the Syria defence missiles... one at a time.
"Pentagon hails 71 successful strikes on ageing Syrian defences"
Even the anti-Assad Syrian Observatory says it "exceeded 65 missiles"
www.syriahr.com/en/?p=89324
In reply to So much projection. by Arnold
It's nice that China can point out our military aggression all the while threatening to invade Taiwan and claiming the whole South China Sea as its backyard pond.
In reply to The Pentagon says that every… by EuroPox
It's a "boy who cried wolf" thing.
The U.S. keeps bombing people because some lies appear in the media. At what point do they question the lies?
Or conversely, the U.S. keeps lying in the media so they can bomb people. At what point does the world question the lies?
Either way, since the Iraq/WMD lies, it's been an open secret. Probably way before that (Vietnam, the civil war?)
How do we get out of this?
In reply to It's nice that China can… by Pure Evil
Mongolia,Tibet, Paki, and India.
Historically there have been border squabbles and philosophical fisticuffs with the former Soviet as well...
In reply to It's by toady
Currently: Spratley island "claims"; South China Sea "adventurism"...
Never mind Taiwan, Hong Kong.
When nine hundred years old you become, look this good you will not.
In reply to Moongolia, Paki, and India… by Arnold
The Chinks always have a funny view of the world.....
In reply to Currently: Spratley island … by DaBard51
They don't wear their hair braided down their backs any more either.
Weird to see hip chinks with Topknots.
In reply to The Chinks always have a… by jcaz
I know, right? Is the top knot a cultural thing, or are they just copying the hipster doofus trend in the U.S.?
In reply to They don't wear their hair… by Arnold
I think China's indirect point can be summed up in this thought experiment:
Suppose we have another civil disturbance in St. Louis. The antifa and BLM are accusing the alt right of some bogus chemical attack on one of their rallies. Syria and Russia blame Trump for giving the order. Out of the blue, their missiles rain down and hit an alt right "base". Some innocent Americans are indiscriminately killed. Russian and Syrian media hail this act of war as "justifiable".
I know this all may seem too insane to grasp, but it's essentially what is happening in the Middle East with the above-mentioned nations in opposite roles.
In reply to I know, right? Is the top… by toady
"Launching Wars On Deceptive Grounds"
Yep! It was all for Israhell.
Artist's IMPRESSION of Satanyahoo RIDING Trump
In reply to I think China's indirect… by J S Bach
The fake Iraq WMDs is just one example. Remember the "incubator babies" that were used to justify the first Iraq invasion "desert storm"? The incubator baby psy-op is now a confirmed, admitted hoax. How about the gulf of tonkin attack that the US used as it's justification for war in Vietnam....it is now confirmed that it never happened.
It's called propaganda, and its so old and tired there's no excuse to fall for it anymore. All governments use it so dont start thinking that the US is the bad-guy and Putin/Xi are the good guys. They're all full of shit. And PS...if you havent figured it out yet, the media is just another propaganda arm of the government....there is no such thing as "independent media". Its the government, and yes, they are lying to you most of the time.
In reply to Launching Wars On Deceptive… by beepbop
... meanwhile, “Army Spokesman: Saudi Forces Use Chemical, Biological Weapons in Yemen's Ma'rib” ...
>>> http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940721001520 ...
... and the F,UK, US reply? ... crickets ...
... and let us not forget ...
...”According to UN estimates, 17 million Yemenis, more than 60% of the population, are in urgent need of food. Out of these, 7 million are facing famine. The destruction of infrastructure has also left 15 million without any access to healthcare and generated an unprecedented cholera outbreak, with 900.000 cases and thousands dead already. 50.000 Yemeni children have died in 2017 as a result of disease and starvation. There is no hyperbole needed, this is a humanitarian disaster that is beyond words. Only it is not a natural catastrophe. More than something that is being allowed to happen, it is something that is being deliberately imposed on the Yemeni people.” >>> https://www.investigaction.net/en/yemen-a-western-sponsored-genocide/
In reply to The fake Iraq WMDs is just… by brushhog
JS - I fear you are giving the MIC ideas for domestic false flags....
In reply to I think China's indirect… by J S Bach
Regarding the Chinese op-ed, I particularly like the paragraph that asks the question about “basic logic.” Indeed. Did Syria NEED to drop one chlorine bomb on one apartment to clear out the rest of that city of its enemies?
This helped them how? This would/could hurt them how?
And the Chinese ask the other key question. Why couldn’t the U.S. and Brits wait a few days and let the fact-finding team investigate some facts?
In reply to I think China's indirect… by J S Bach
So many people in the West are fucking braindead sheep all too eager to swallow the stories, the illusions that they hail from the heroic side here to save the world. In actual fact, the West is just another full spectrum-esque empire, and all such empires are fundamentally based on extortion and deceit. Lots of it.
The MSM is totally taken over by CIA shills, the anti-war movement has been compromised from within and the propaganda is getting worse.
Zionists, Banksters and Imperialists are a big problem.
In reply to Regarding the Chinese op-ed,… by Give Me Some Truth
And soon the Congress will be taken over by CIA and MIC shills!
In reply to So many people in the West… by Brazen Heist
I think it's fair to say that a majority of informed US citizens disapprove of ALL the recent US aggression, whether they love the D or the R. But, what can they do?
Taxes are taken before people ever see the money.
Voting does diddly squat.
Lynching will work, at most, once.
So, sit back and wait for the flames to take it all?
In reply to And soon the Congress will… by CanadaGoose
Only to have them discover it was the US and Brits (i.e., The Hexagram) instigating this fiasco in the first place? Never!
In reply to Regarding the Chinese op-ed,… by Give Me Some Truth
Have no fear, the local Grand Dragon of the KKK mustered the good old boys from all over Missouri the last time this "civil" disturbance occurred. Really don't need any outside help except to quote "nuke the site from orbit" as a final mop-up operation.
You'd be amazed at some of the gun collections I've seen.
In reply to I think China's indirect… by J S Bach
"I'm just thankful that Syria din't bomb us for poisoning the children of Flint or gassing natives at Standing Rock."
Amber Zirkelbach, Wooster
https://imgur.com/EMqjFY2
In reply to I think China's indirect… by J S Bach
" I know this all may seem too insane to grasp..."
Why? Because nobody could be as insane than the US? I would agree with that, but even I think sometimes, when the US is again and again bombing the other side of the planet, that she needs a real war on home soil. My father was a kid in WW2 and my granddads were parents. Their stories are in me, they decide my doing (my move to Hungary as an example) I work everyday in earth, plant and clean, repair an old house. I learn basic things, remembering my Granddad who saved his family by getting them out of town to the countryside. I have enough money to call people to do all that, but I want to do it myself - its about knowledge for hard times. If nothing will happen I have no problem to give the house away for free and go back to my former life. Do I act insane?
I like your views Johann, but here I wonder. Only politicians like the US, the people like Russia. I do not remember a bigger canyon between leaders and people. So far we have only seen houseown killings in the US, which like 9/11 gave the UScits nightmares and many still suffer. What would some rockets do? The west is weak, but makes of high potence? The bluff is open to everyone.
I differ between people and systems, but if UScits do not scream to high heaven now (like Ken O'Keefe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3StSyLUM5oU&index=9&list=WL) I think the US could get totally wiped out. This was way too much and the Trump speech insulted my intelligence more than one time.
No Johann this is not too insane to grasp, I think it could well be the near future.
In reply to I think China's indirect… by J S Bach
turnabout is fair play .............
jest sayin'
In reply to I think China's indirect… by J S Bach
"Or conversely, the U.S. keeps lying in the media so they can bomb people. At what point does the world question the lies?"
If the People question the lies then they have the responsibility to do something. No?
Easier to be a bobbing head,,,no responsibility, no troubles.
Ignorance is bliss!
In reply to It's by toady
What percentage is now employed directly by the .gov ?
Or indirectly for that matter ..
In reply to "Or conversely, the U.S… by rejected
Ignorance is bliss, the citizens won’t do jack.
I keep asking what happened to all the “anti-war liberals?” They have all become “pro-War” liberals.
“Conservatives” have never marched in the streets to protest a new war. Perhaps this needs to change.
In reply to "Or conversely, the U.S… by rejected
Many of them are cheering like this is a ball game.
In reply to Ignorance is bliss, the… by Give Me Some Truth
There's more truth to your statement than you might guess. The first Iraq war was covered nonstop by CNN, and their ratings were off the charts. There's big money to be made by reporting this crap. And a lot of people just lap it up. Probably because their lives are so pointless and boring otherwise.
In reply to Many of them are cheering… by chunga
That will change as the oligarchs further pauperize the majority.
In reply to "Or conversely, the U.S… by rejected
We are actually getting out of this now....albeit very slowly. The power and growth of the internet is such that truth is difficult to hide and so is deception. We are living in a age of disclosure, so if you are hiding something, the truth will reveal, especially for those with the eyes to see and the ears to hear. In 1964, few people knew about the deception in the Tonkin Gulf. It took a couple of years before people discovered what really happened. For 9/11, the truth emerged much quicker with some people catching on right away. In todays day and age, if you deceive, it will come out almost immediately. If you are very intuitive (I would consider myself in this category), you will know the truth almost immediately, maybe not in grand detail, but your inner bullshit detector will go off. Alas, the world will use the USA if they need to (like the Chinese), but they are well aware of the nature of the beast! Eventually, the house of cards falls. Just be patient and let nature take its course. Like water running over huge rocks, it eventually wears them away.
In reply to It's by toady
Not sure patients is gonna work.... I could wait it out, but I think the rest of the world is running out of patients...
In reply to We are actually getting out… by The Ram
If this shit keeps up, there's gonna be a whole lot more patients to take care of...
In reply to Not sure patients is gonna… by toady
Re: Those fact-finding investigators
It would be so refreshing - and maybe world changing -if this body issued a definitive statement, endorsing the groups who say this event was either staged, or perpetrated by the other side (not Assad’s military).
Instead, past events tell us we will get a statement that is the personification of ambiguity and weasel-speak. Maybe I am wrong, but I doubt it. Too much is at stake for too many for a clear-cut “verdict” to be announced. And the press is AWOL as usual.
In reply to If this shit keeps up, there… by Consuelo
+1000 and you call it for what it is and others minds start to realise the truth far faster.
They have lost control of the narrative on anything they try now and it is not one mind tearing their lies amd deciet apart it is millions all looking, watching and observing.
It seems in the UK one or two people are now calling out May for treason after carrying out the bombing raid in her name. (So I am not the only one!).
In reply to We are actually getting out… by The Ram
Why won't Trump stop animal Theresa May from gassing people? Ban high-capacity assault gassings now!
In reply to +1000 and you call it for… by GreatUncle
"The power and growth of the internet is such that truth is difficult to hide and so is deception."
And also used well for even greater deceptions. Mostly self inflicted of course ..
"We are living in a age of disclosure, so if you are hiding something, the truth will reveal, especially for those with the eyes to see and the ears to hear."
The exact nature of human beings has not changed, nor evolved, in over 2000 years .. True there has always been what many have observed as the more enligtened among us, but history demonstrates clearly, they like most all else have had little to no great positive effect upon the emotional and spiritual development of the balance of humanity, still for the most part infants in the cradle, of civilization ...
It is a fact of life, most folks, knowingly or unknowingly prefer to be led. NEED to be led. This of course makes them easy marks .. as history demonstrates.
All deception of course begins with self. This realization is a mere beginning of greater realization, larger truths yet to be revealed.
In reply to We are actually getting out… by The Ram
You are speaking as if you think the truth matters. That neglects to take into account that is the act of forcing people to accept and repeat the official narrative that is the whole point of the exercise. The truth does not matter. In fact, the more wild the lies, the more effective the process becomes.
Do you really think that regimes like Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Kim Jung Un, Obama or Mao were really loved by their followers? No. The game is to force people to repeat lies, under the implicit pain of being ostracized or worse - up to and including death. The act of reciting lies and being obedient makes for an ideal population of brainwashed followers. So truth is not even on the playing field.
Speaking truth in that kind of environment will get you labeled as a conspiracy theorist, angry white man, mentally unstable, or whatever label they want to affix to you. The result is marginalization at least, and perhaps much worse.
In reply to We are actually getting out… by The Ram
Lying with impunity ..
On a fairly regular and consistent basis for a considerable time ..
As other's have rightfully pointed out, there is little effort at concealment of the lies, which are increasingly of the lowest quality, almost as if there is no downside in all this lyin, cheatin, murderin, and stealin.
As to your question, I have no idea on any grand scale the answer to the riddle. But I do know , it's going to become extremely unpleasant and incresingly painful for most of humanity , even a good many of whom are currently in on the caper, and enjoying the fruits of the present arrangement ..
In reply to It's by toady
Or is it because you have the "new and modified equivalent of an s-400 anti-bullshit defence"?
I think that is the more likely answer they lie "same as it always was" (LOP copyright) you just got better at detecting it.
My ability to detect them telling the truth though ... nope that is totally fucked, kaput, bust gone.
Or is it because their truth is acually rocking horse shit?
In reply to Lying with impunity .. On a… by Giant Meteor
Re: Little effort at concealment of lies, fraud, criminality.
Exactly. I immediately thought of the brazen, counter-intuitive actions to ensure the gold and silver “markets” don’t breakthrough their safe levels. They just do what they want with no worry at all anyone will expose them, or prosecute them.
In reply to Lying with impunity .. On a… by Giant Meteor
"How do we get out of this?"
Return all of our dual citizens to the sender.
In reply to It's by toady
Where have all the Free Tibet! bumper stickers gone? ;-)
In reply to It's nice that China can… by Pure Evil
They were covered up by Free Assange bumper stickers
In reply to Where have all the Free… by nmewn
Which went over the top of the Hillary 2016 sticker.
I'm thinkin we should be in the bumper sticker business ;-)
In reply to They were covered up by Free… by SoilMyselfRotten
The Hillary '16 sticker was covered by the Drone Assange sticker
In reply to Which went over the top of… by nmewn
I'm dusting off my 'Question Authority' one. Hey - it still looks good on the old '70 F-250...
In reply to Where have all the Free… by nmewn
You heard the noise "Free Tibet" ONLY because the Olympics were ON IN CHINA. Once that was over the lights went out and no body cares. That's how this BS works.
In reply to Where have all the Free… by nmewn
Pagination