politics for the 99%

Published on Dissident Voice, by Center for Citizen Initiatives, June 20, 2016.

… We are a group of concerned U.S. citizens currently visiting Russia with the goal of increasing understanding and reducing international tension and conflict. We are appalled by this call for direct U.S. aggression against Syria, and believe it points to the urgent need for open public debate on U.S. foreign policy.  

We note the following:

• (1) The memo is inaccurate. There is no ‘cease-fire’ in Syria. The ‘cessation of hostilities’ which was agreed to has never included the major terrorist groups fighting to overthrow the government in Syria. This includes Nusra (Al Qaeda), ISIS and their fighting allies.
• (2) A U.S. attack on Syria would be an act of aggression in clear violation of the UN Charter.1
• (3) The supplying of weapons, funding and other support to armed groups fighting the Syrian government is also a violation of international law.2
• (4) A U.S. attack on Syria would lead to more bloodshed and risk potential military confrontation with Russia. With arsenals of nuclear weapons on both sides, the outcome could be catastrophic.
• (5) It is not the right of the USA or any other foreign country to determine who should lead the Syrian government. That decision should be made by the Syrian people. A worthy goal could be internationally supervised elections with all Syrians participating to decide their national government.
• (6) The memo reportedly says, “It is time that the United States, guided by our strategic interests and moral convictions, lead a global effort to put an end to this conflict once and for all.” Similar statements and promises have been made regarding Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. In all three cases, terrorism and sectarianism have multiplied, the conflicts still rage, and huge amounts of money and lives have been wasted.

In light of the above, and the danger of escalating global conflict:

• We urge State Department officials to seek non-military solutions in conformity with the U.N. Charter and international law.
• We urge the U.S. Administration to stop funding and supplying weapons to armed ‘rebels’ in violation of international law and end the policy of forced “regime change”.
• We call for an urgent nation-wide public debate on the U.S. policy of “regime change”.

The Center for Citizens Initiative (CCI) delegation currently visiting Russia includes: … //

… (full text).

(The Center for Citizen Initiatives CCI began its life in 1983 with the hope that ordinary Americans could insert themselves into the nuclear arms race and bring about a constructive relationship with the Soviet Union. Read other articles by the Center for Citizen Initiatives, or visit Center for Citizen Initiatives’s website).

Related Links:

Uploaded on YouTube by Regis Tremblay:

• The Scene of the Crime – Bruce Gagnon at Odessa Trades Hall, 10.49 min, May 5, 2016 … with Bruce Gagnon from Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space; Bruce Gagnon’s Blog: Organizing Notes;
• Ray McGovern on Ukraine, 26.46 min;
• Three False Myths Americans Believe – Peter Kuznick, 29.08 min;
• American Bases Around The World – David Vine, 11.45 min; his book Base Nation, on US military bases around the world;
• American living in Russia, 26.58 min;

What Went Wrong After the Cold War? 89.29 min, uploaded by oublidelinde (from 6.28 min: Fyodor Lukyanov speaks about the US-Russian relationship);

Regime Change on Google News-search; on Google Images-search; on Google Scholar-search; on YouTube-search;

… and finally on en.wikipedia:

• United States involvement in regime change encompasses both overt and covert actions aimed at altering, replacing, or preserving foreign governments; /Overt involvements; /Covert involvements;
• /… numerous covert actions on History of the CIA;
  see also main article on CIA).