The carnage in Syria gets worse


The deaths of at least 62 Syrian troops and more than 100 injured by a US bombing attack that apparently went awry and struck them instead of an ISIS target has threatened the partial cease-fire that was supposed to be just getting underway. The repeated bombings of wrong targets undermines the constant reassurances we get from the US government of the reliability of their smart weaponry.

The US ambassador to the US, the gung-ho liberal interventionist Samantha Power, has of course, gone on the offensive and rather than contritely apologizing, has accused the Russians for ‘grandstanding’ on the issue by taking it up at the UN, when it is the US that rushes to pass resolutions whenever one of its adversaries does something wrong.

Marcus Ranum tries to explain the conflict in Syria by analogizing it something closer to home and his effort shows just how senseless and cruel it all is.

It seems like this conflict will only end when that country is reduced to a pile of rubble and all its people are refugees.

Comments

  1. Pierce R. Butler says

    Marcus Ranum @ # 2: If the US’ bombing … isn’t an act of war – nothing is.

    Exactly. We now have peace all over the world!

  2. Reginald Selkirk says

    … has accused the Russians for ‘grandstanding’ on the issue…

    Does it occur to you there might be some validity to this? After Ukraine sanctions, Olympic disinvite, hacking allegations, it is quite possible that Russia would desire to make the US look bad, and perhaps discourage us from participation in Syria, where they would prefer to be the only significant foreign actor?

  3. John Smith says

    @6:
    They’ve admitted to the attack. They just have a problem with Russians bringing it up before the UN.

  4. says

    it is quite possible that Russia would desire to make the US look bad

    Of course!
    It’s not hard to make the US look bad. You just sit back and point a camera at them and wait.

  5. bargearse says

    John Morales @ 8

    The USA was the leader, but Australian jets participated.

    (Lapdogs, we are )

    Several months ago The Australian reported (with pride) that the current US administration considers Australia their only ally who never causes problems and always acquieses to US requests for help. Now who wants a tummy rub? You do! Yes, you do! Good boy!

  6. says

    I assume they weren’t the $24 billion F-35s Australia is on the hook for. ‘Cuz they don’t work yet and they are not very good strike bombers. Probably F-18s.

  7. Crimson Clupeidae says

    Seeing these kinds of reports remind me of playing FPS games with my wife back in the day (I’ve learned better since then).
    Both of us cautiously moving through the current level of DOOM (back when you could play the campaign in co-op mode)…suddenly BOOM, I’m dead.

    Me: What happened??
    Her: You moved…..

  8. jrkrideau says

    /

    It more realistically undermines the professionalism of the the personnel, or in some cases calls into question the intent of the USA.

    As a Canadian, I tend to remember that our first four casualties in Afghanistan were the result of some idiot US pilot who bombed our troops against orders.

    Just recently there was a 20 minute air attack on a MSF hospital in Kunduz Afghanistan which MSF is characterizing as a war crime.

    And then there was the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, and the attacks on Al Jazeera offices in Kabul and Bagdad.

    And who knows how often a US drone has taken out a wedding party rather than a jihadi leader?

    One must wonder what the USA is doing in Syria. It does not appear to have any coherent strategy in Iraq hostile welcome in Syria orSyria. Just the other day, there was a report of US special services accompanying Turkish forces. Let’s see, the US has been backing the Kurds, Turkey is attacking the Kurds in Iraq. Heaven knows who the US is supporting among the various “moderate” Arab insurgents. If I remember correctly US Army funded insurgents have been know to have full-scale battles with CIA unfunded groups.

    At the moment, it looks more like the USA simply wants to reduce Syria to a failed state like Iraq and Libya

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