The situation around the likelihood of
attacks on Syria by Western countries remains the main topic for the
foreign media. Most of them believe the war is inevitable and bring a
variety of arguments in favor of the war. This is understandable because
the point of view of their own governments is closer to them than the
true state of affairs. Western journalists do not believe in Russia's
ability to prevent the war.
American Foreign Policy
recognizes the fact that the attacks on Syria look very doubtful from
the point of view of the law. "U.S. spy services still have not acquired
the evidence traditionally considered to be the gold standard in
chemical weapons cases.... That's the kind of proof that America and its
allies processed from earlier, small-scale attacks that the White House
described in equivocal tones, and declined to muster a military
response to in retaliation." However, the author of the article believes
that the attacks on Syria are avoidable. "The official White House line
is that the president is still considering his options for Syria. But
all of Washington is talking about a punitive strike on the Assad
government in terms of when, not if. Even some congressional doves
have said they're now at least open to the possibility of U.S.
airstrikes in Syria. Images of dead children, neatly stacked in rows,
have a way of changing minds," noted the author.
U.S. magazine The National Interest
published an article about the relations between the U.S. and Russia in
light of the differences in their approaches to the events in Syria.
The newspaper wrote that the U.S. decided to blame the government of
Bashar al-Assad, while Russia was going to wait until the completion of
the UN inspection. Russia has already made it clear that it held the
opposition responsible for the use of chemical weapons, the newspaper
continued.
At the same time, American journalists believe that Russia secretly welcomes such US behavior. The National Interest
explains its position by saying that after the attack on Syria, the
Americans will have to address issues not only with the Syrian
leadership but also with Iran. This is not an easy task, and thus the
U.S. will not have time to resist Russia's attempts to integrate the
post-Soviet space.
British The Guardian made an
attempt to anticipate the reaction of the Syrian authorities to the
attacks by Western allies. The newspaper suggested that the Syrian
authorities have already formed a squadron of suicide pilot bombers. In
addition, all ground units are in full combat readiness. It is likely
that thousands of militias who might not have shown loyalty to Assad
under different circumstances would go against foreign aggressors.
The French Le Figaro said that
the French leadership has done and is doing everything to ensure that
attacks on Syria take place. The United States, Britain and France are
the backbone of the coalition that Paris would like to see expanding,
the paper wrote. The authors continued that the legitimacy of the
reaction force was above the law that simply cannot be achieved in view
of the blocked decision-making process at the UN.
The newspaper also believes that Russia
would not take any effective measures that can stop the West. According
to the newspaper, from Russian statements that caution about military
intervention it can be concluded that Moscow does not intend to take
action. This in turn highlights the feasibility of limited western
operations in response to the use of chemical weapons that Russia also
cannot justify, Le Figaro wrote.
The French State.fr explores
the point of view of Israel that has refused to participate in the war
against the current Syrian government. According to State.fr,
the Israelis do not imagine the clear outlines of this operation that
may ultimately strengthen the position of Israel. Israel should have no
complaints about the regime of Hafez and Bashar Al-Assad that is
maintaining a cold peace. Since 1973, no single shot has been made on
the Syrian border, stated the article. In addition, there are two
reasons that explain the caution or even suspicion of the Israelis.
First of all, the results of previous experiments in Iraq and Libya have
shown that the new regimes in fact proved to be even worse than the old
ones. At the moment it is impossible to predict what the new power in
the country will be in the case of the overthrow of the Bashar
al-Assad's regime. Israel cannot allow a formation of an Islamists' nest
a hundred kilometers from its border, the publication stressed.
The Italian newspaper Il Foglio
also noted Russia's restrained behavior. It wrote that Moscow resorted
to statements appropriate for such situations, but did not draw a red
line. In the language of Kremlin diplomacy it means the green light for
an American attack, the newspaper stated. According to the paper, Russia
understands that the international repercussions of the use of chemical
weapons are too strong, and the operation of the Western countries will
be limited.
Allowing the West to "punish" the Assad
clan does not mean giving up its interests in Syria. Russia will ensure
that the invasion of Syria is not a repetition of the operation in
Libya. Possible responses could include a boycott of the UN ban on the
transfer of funds through its territory to the forces of NATO in
Afghanistan, termination of economic agreements, and strengthening of
the relations with Iran and China in anti-American direction, the
Italian journalists believe.
The situation in Syria and around it is
actively discussed by the neighboring Turkey whose Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu stated his willingness to participate in the bombing,
even if it means bypassing the UN Security Council. Commenting on this
possibility, the newspaper Hürriyet was skeptical. According to
its journalists, there will be no strikes without UN sanctions. In
addition, President Barack Obama is acting very hesitantly.
Turkish Zaman agrees with its
compatriots and colleagues in the fact that Obama is behaving very
hesitantly. However, the paper has a different opinion about the
possibility and accuracy of strikes. The journalists remembered that the
bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 and before that, bombing of the Bosnian
and Croatian Serbs, were also held without a UN mandate. If the U.S.
decides to bomb Syria, it will, and will not ask anyone.
Combat actions by the Western coalition
against Syria (albeit limited) seem like a foregone conclusion to the
majority of Western journalists. They did not bother trying to legally
justify the attack. Neither Russia nor the United Nations nor anyone
else can prevent the implementation of such intentions by the United
States and its allies.
Pavel Chernyshev
Pravda.Ru
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