U.S. Double Standards in the Middle East

It doesn’t matter who works in the Oval Office, the U.S. Middle East policy hasn’t been changing for decades. Whether it is George Bush, Barak Obama or Donald Trump the key idea is the same – Iraq\Syria\Libya constitutes an imminent threat to the national interests of the USA.

This statement hasn’t appeared recently. In 2002, the Joint Resolution to authorize U.S. military actions against Iraq cited: “Iraq continuing to possess and develop a significant chemical and biological weapons capability posed a threat to the national security of the United States.”  

Before carrying out air strikes on Syria, 14 April, 2018, the White House used the same justifications. The American president acted within his legal authority as commander-in-chief “to protect vital national interests – stopping the spread of chemical weapons and preventing a humanitarian catastrophe.” However, if in 2002, the Iraq Resolution was passed by the U.S. Congress as public law No: 107-243, this time President Trump didn’t seek any authorization from other government institutions.

It is also worth noting that a month after the aggression against Syria the U.S. Justice Department said that President Trump’s missile strikes on Syria in April hadn’t required congressional approval in part because the hostilities had “not rise to the level of a war in the constitutional sense.”

It is quite evident that such a formulation sounds absolutely unacceptable. “That’s nonsense,” the American senator Tim Kaine said. “Is there any doubt that America would view a foreign nation firing missiles at targets on American soil as an act of war?”

So what do we have in a result? The USA carried out missile strikes on Syria. Neither the International coalition nor the OPCW have provided any real evidence of chemical weapons use in Syria so far. Nothing can be said about “preventing a humanitarian catastrophe” either. Different terrorist organizations including ISIS commit crimes against civilians in Syria with a help of American weapon. That was revealed by a new report of Conflict Armament Research. The International coalition in its turn continues to bomb civilian areas in Syria making the humanitarian situation in the country even worse.

Donald Trump who repeatedly expresses sympathy for Syrian civilians in the lead-up to the military action looks very insincere considering the fact that Syrians are not allowed to enter the territory of the USA according the Executive Order 13769 often referred to as Muslim ban. “If President Trump really cared about the Syrian people, America wouldn’t bomb them. We would rescue them,” Democratic senator Chris Murphy said in this regard.

All U.S. actions that aimed to settle down the Syrian crisis are absolutely irrelevant and not effective. Instead of supporting the legitimate government Washington backs terrorists and extremists. Instead of providing humanitarian help Americans carry out air strikes on civilians. Unfortunately, all promises to help and rescue Syria are far from real steps implemented by the USA.