By Jerry Alatalo
as it only “coincidence” that U.S. President Donald Trump’s spokesman Sean Spicer announced the administration’s discovery of a potential chemical attack by Syria’s Bashar Al Assad, just hours after Seymour Hersh’s devastating-to-Trump article (now internet viral) was published in Germany? Those with any significant knowledge of the Syrian conflict and confidence in their own intuition will answer that question:
“No, it was not by coincidence.”
There is an aspect to this unfortunate, disheartening development far more important than understanding Trump’s chillingly threatening, war propaganda announcement was meant to defeat to the greatest extent possible the impact of Mr. Hersh’s explosive article. The Trump administration’s war threat to Syria, Russia and Iran is clearly a dangerous sign of the extreme risk Trump and his administration’s officials represent to international peace and security.
Some may underestimate the critical state of world affairs this development has created, brush it off as just something that will blow over, and that anyone making a big issue of it is engaging in either hyperbole or exaggeration, or making unwarranted assertions. However, when the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley threatens Syria, Russia and Iran with military force – three sovereign nations possessing tremendous joint military power, in particular nuclear weapons – the profoundly dangerous nature of the current situation becomes clear as day.
Mr. Hersh’s article points out that Donald Trump was aware his intelligence and military experts did not have irrefutable proof/evidence that Syrian military officers on orders of Bashar Al Assad intentionally dropped a chemical bomb on its own people in early April. Without evidence, why did Donald Trump order 59 Tomahawk missiles launched into the sovereign nation of Syria – and why did he, Ms. Haley and so many others assert they “held the evidence” without eventually making it public?
Ms. Haley told reporters shortly after the early April chemical event that the administration possessed “the evidence”, that it was classified, and that it was a matter of days before it would become declassified then available for all to see. The “evidence” after nearly three months has never been declassified nor published – according to Mr. Hersh’s article because it never existed in the first place. Perhaps it is hyperbole, or otherwise completely legitimate, to assert Donald Trump, Nikki Haley and the many others owe an honest, thorough explanation to the people of America, Syria, Russia and the world on why they made extremely serious, dangerous accusations without real evidence.
What some analysts are saying now is that the United States coalition in Syria is attempting to “annex” or partition Syria, revealing another aspect to the situation, in particular as it relates to deterioration of international relations after Crimea’s people held a referendum, decided to leave Ukraine, and joined the Russian Federation in 2014. Crimea’s joining the Russian Federation has resulted in economic sanctions hurting both the Russian and European Union economies over the period since, and recently renewed in the United States Senate by an overwhelming majority of votes.
It is yet to become seen emergent comparisons between Ukraine/Crimea and Syria among the world’s leaders, but if the United States is leading a Crimea-like annexation of part(s) of Syria the accusations of double standards are certain to follow.
Unfortunately international law has essentially been “thrown out the window” during the long Syrian warring ordeal, thus people wishing for peace in that suffering nation of fellow brothers and sisters in the human family can only pray – and act wisely to prevent a wider, immeasurably more destructive war.
(Thank you to RT at YouTube)
THE ONENESS of HUMANITY 
“Syrian Tonkin Gulf – Trumpillary”:
https://wipokuli.wordpress.com/2017/04/07/syrian-tonking-gulf-trumpillary-der-syrische-tonkin-golf/
Regards
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Andreas,
Sadly analyses by economists, banking experts, political scientists etc. – the “go-to” wisdom sources, if you will – of the economic, financial and ideological aspects at the root of these wars have not become more influential regarding the issue of war and peace. Identification of the true root causes and motivations for war is an absolute necessity for beginning the growth of awareness which can lead to positive peaceful paths for humanity going forward.
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A timely and sobering post, Jerry.
I think our only solace at this critical juncture, is the general perception that some formal European allies (of the US) are expressing increased scepticism ~ genuine concern about the erratic, inappropriate and irrational, reactionary antics of the Trump administration.
There is no doubt that many brainwashed & fanatical imbeciles in the US desire war (at any cost;) in fact some seem to crave the destruction of ‘foreign’ cultures more than anything else ~ but only providing they don’t have to be in the firing-line themselves.
So really, the big issue is abject cowardice, lack of knowledge and wishful thinking manufactured out of ‘whole-cloth’ paranoia.
It takes real courage to be intelligent.
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David,
Was reminded of Bob Dylan’s song “Serve Somebody” and the lyrics, “You can serve the devil, or you can serve the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” It is reasonable to assert that those who advocate and push for aggressive war, then act in carrying out mass murder, have made their decision to serve the devil, or greed, or power-seeking ego. One notices the conspicuous absence of the world’s wealthiest families, particularly the international banking family dynasties, when it comes to good solutions for ending war on Earth, and that their total silence on the issue of war and peace is both deafening and instructive. Perhaps Mr. Trump, Mr. Netanyahu, and Ms. Haley can convince the Rothschild family in their beloved Israel to come forward publicly with their proposals for ending war.
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Indeed; the vast memory of humankind is intimately associated with war.
There are those who allege that our matrilineal predecessors enjoyed a higher standard of civilization than those subsequent patriarchies that have held sway for the last couple of millennia or more.
This is a difficult claim to substantiate I admit; and altho’ i am persuaded that it may indeed have been true in certain places, I think we have to accept the hard evidence for the overall sweep of evolutionary time.
I’ve just been listening to some quite compelling data presented in a fascinating talk (from three years ago) by Ian Morris, Professor of Classics, at Stanford University about his book “War! What Is It Good For?” I’d never heard about his work until I stumbled across an earlier, brilliant lecture he delivered to the U of Chicago Oriental Institute.
As his findings are deeply relevant to the perennial issues that you focus on here so diligently, I do not hesitate to heartily recommend this talk, that may be surprising
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebRpquKFSEw
It is guaranteed to make us think very hard about most of the moral assumptions, that you or I and many others with a wholesome outlook and a healthy imagination tend, virtually, to take for granted. In other words, it may challenge our received ethical interpretation of events and circumstances, by presenting a radical argument that could actually raise more questions than it purports to address.
My own prognosis is that we are facing a most dire and extreme either/or dichotomy ~ enduring damage to the ecosystemic integrity of the biosphere that will take huge planetary upheaval to overcome or to regenerate; or the distant prospect of an emergent, enlightened & inclusive ecological civilization.
My instinct is that we should formally ‘select’ for a progressive, indigenous, cosmopolitan, & planetary dynamism in which the Sanctity of Nature is truly revered, valued and celebrated; so that a cosmically proportionate sense of justice can prevail ~ opening our consciousness to the possibility of ‘theurgical’ contact with more advanced sentient Intelligences.
This could only be achieved I suspect, if we were to invest in an all-encompassing metaphysical system of Sacred Law; an esoteric body of thought ~ a spiritual Organon (as Aristotle’s works on logic are called) that upholds the dignity of Universal Life, and consciously enhances the noblest aspects of humanity.
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David,
Mr. Morris certainly has an ability to speak rapidly due to possession of a great deal of historical facts. We’ve shared thoughts here enough to accept each other’s perceptions, most often closely aligned, but unfortunately Mr. Morris’ thesis that war has at points in history been beneficial for societies was not convincing. It would be interesting to learn of the man’s background, in particular the family history, which could explain what seemed a position apologetic for concentrated wealth and power.
His expressed admiration for the political entity the European Union, controlled by wealthy, powerful unelected (appointed) elites, might give some hint of his family or other influential background. Mr. Morris referenced Thomas Hobbes in the 1770’s, and that’s about as far back in history he went during the talk. Perhaps Mr. Morris would benefit, and bring forward a new revised thesis, if he were to travel further back into history and read the Upanishads and/or other truly sacred world writings, teachings which quite possibly represent the “all-encompassing metaphysical system of sacred law.. esoteric body of thought” you suggest.
The ecological issues, Fukushima persisting radiation pollution the prime concern, is simply hard to deal with as it looks impossible to stop and a real existential fact. Professor Guy McPherson believes humanity has passed the “tipping point” on climate change, that life-extinguishing methane gas releases of massive size in unstoppable feedback loops are on the way in the very near future, and recommends to people they try to enjoy what remains of their lives on Earth with family and friends as much as possible.
What a trip, yes, my friend? As for theurgical contact with more advanced sentient intelligence, one was reminded of “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramhamsa and certain books about Native American shamanism where divine or supernatural interventions (had to look up the meaning of theurgy) were part of the experiences. These possibilities have been proven real and universally available, just not widely known or emphasized. One of these days spirituality will rise to a level of equal, appreciated status currently overly-credited to materialism/science, then things will get on the good and right track. Surely you’ll agree that day can’t come too soon. Thanks again, David. Peace to you over there, “across the pond”. 🙂
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Thanks for this Jerry and having a listen to Morris. These huge, sweeping readings of the past remind me of Theodore Parker’s ‘moral arc of the universe’ idea. Professor Morris is strong on data, and draws some excellent inferences, but is rather thin on the mystical and visionary symbolic realities that tend to eclipse the merely factual.
Time is deeply mysterious, and may indeed be biologically encoded in our evolutionary genetics. So I suppose we must interrogate the notion of evolution itself, and the meaning of change and spiritual development in terms of an emergent planetary consciousness that seems to be unprecedented.
I am not sure about Yogananda, I grew skeptical about his authenticity some years after I first became aware of his autobiography in the late sixties. These days I find Jaggi Vasudev very interesting. He is flamboyant, but seems to have achieved a strong socially conscious and radical esoteric influence in India and elsewhere. The late Algis Uždavinys also produced some extremely valuable research on theurgy that is worth consulting.
So I completely concur; you are 100% right about the great literatures and authentic works of spiritual development. Charlatans will always try to steal their thunder, while many politicians are little more than opportunists, compounding the errors of sophist self-promoters.
We shall not achieve much unless and until we can internalize and directly experience these great truths in our own lives; truths that will always change and mutate to accommodate the facts of life as they arise in ways that are entirely governed by personal circumstance and unique human/habitat contexts.
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Thanks for supplying the name Yogananda after we used his first name “Paramhansa” as the author of “Autobiography of a Yogi”. As one guilty of “do as I say, not as I do”, for example telling people to drinks plenty of water daily yet only drink dehydrating coffee most of the time, there is by all accounts of masters real value in regular scheduled daily times of meditation for growing spiritual awareness – even though, like coffee, we rarely meditate whatsoever. 🙂 One of these days perhaps…
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A very disturbing development.
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Hello Rosaliene,
One suspects for every man or woman who read Ms. Haley’s tweet or seen Mr. Spicer’s statement their initial reaction was dread combined with shock. These are very dangerous individuals. Pardon the pun, but that famous phrase “nobody promised us a rose garden” might help in dealing with the matter. 🙂 You’ll understand the situation is one of those where one can’t decide whether to laugh or cry… Perhaps acting for peace is the best option. Thank you.
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