LAST Monday, the US-led coalition airforce in the Middle East, that includes the UK, attacked and bombed Al-Bukamal near the Syrian border with Iraq killing 42 people, including 11 children, according to the pro-Western Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov called the attack ‘completely unacceptable’ and ‘a breach of Syrian sovereignty’. This attack followed on from the April 7 assault on a Syrian airfield when Trump launched a strike using 59 Tomahawk missiles.
These attacks have now been followed up with a coalition air strike on Thursday at Syrian troops and militia forces near to the border town of Taif, where US and UK special forces are training allegedly ‘moderate’ opponents of the government of President Assad.
The Syrian state news agency announced yesterday that the so-called international coalition attacked one of the Syrian army’s military bases on al-Tanf road in the Syrian Badia. The attack, which took place at 16:30pm on Thursday, left a number of people dead, in addition to causing material damage. SANA described the attack as ‘blatant’, saying it uncovers the fake claims of the international coalition about fighting terrorism and reveals the undoubted reality of the Zionist-US project in the region.
‘The attempt to justify this act of aggression by saying that the targeted forces failed to respond to the warning to stop advancing is completely rejected,’ the source stressed. The Syrian Arab Army,’ SANA said, ‘is fighting terrorism on its territory, and no party whatsoever has the right to determine the course and destination of the army’s operations against the terrorist organisations, mainly ISIS and Al-Qaeda.’
SANA added that ‘those who claim to be fighting ISIS and Al-Qaeda should direct strikes against them and not against the Syrian Arab Army, which is the only legitimate force that is fighting terrorism along with its allies and friends.’
SANA asserted that the army will continue performing its duty of fighting ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra and defending its entire territory, and will not be discouraged from doing this ‘sacred’ duty by these attempts of the so-called international coalition. There is every indication that the US military and their UK accomplices are putting on a show of force to suitably impress the Saudis whom President Trump is due to visit and meet today.
Trump will meet King Salman in Riyadh before holding bilateral talks with the King, the Crown Prince and Deputy Crown Prince, where a $100 billion arms deal is due to be signed and the progress of the ongoing wars to remove President Assad, to pacify the Yemen and prepare a major war with Iran will be discussed.
On Sunday, Trump will hold bilateral meetings with the Gulf Cooperation Council, which consists of six energy-rich Middle Eastern countries. The President will have lunch with leaders from more than 50 Muslim countries – including Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for alleged war crimes – during a summit.
Syria and Iran are not invited to the event as they are not part of the Saudi Arabian military alliance that is being established to fight Iran. From Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, Trump then moves on to Israel on May 22 where the twin issues on his agenda are Iran, and what tactics the US-Israel alliance will use to try and entice the Palestinian leadership into accepting one state, that is Israel with Jerusalem as its capital.
There is not the slightest doubt that the UK is Trump’s partner in this venture. After all, PM May has been in the forefront of celebrating 100 years of the Balfour Declaration, while members of her cabinet are on record as saying that when Trump launches an all-out attack on Syria the UK will be with him, and parliament will not even be consulted.
Labour must declare that if it becomes the government on June 9, it will withdraw all UK forces from the Middle East and recognise the Assad government. The trade unions must decide that they will stop any attempt to drag the UK workers into a Middle East war with a general strike to bring the government down.
