In These New Times

Cailean Bochanan

27th August, 2013

Just as the Kennedy presidency gave us a glimpse even though a fleeting one of a US-Russian alliance and a potential for world peace so had the Obama presidency. In both cases the dark forces of oligarchy destroyed the dream. In both cases we can claim after the event that it was all merely an illusion: but this doesn’t change the fact that only in such cooperation between the worlds two greatest powers can any hope be found. In both cases, failure therefore had the most profound and tragic consequences.

The rapidity with which a war party has coalesced around a totally fraudulent pre-planned and transparent provocation is simply astonishing. They even has a sniper to drive away the UN inspectors implying that there was likely no chemical attack at all let alone one carried out by the Syrian government against its own people. The message is clear: war and war at any cost regardless of the details, the legalities, modalities or the consequences. This war is driven by despair as the US and UK economies implode with foreigners ditching their respective bonds in droves and the desperate gambit of the Arab Spring backfires. It isn’t even particularly a question of winning: victory resides in the fact of war itself. Only there can the oligarchy, Wall Street, the City of London, the MIC, the security state and the corporate lobbies find safety and salvation. Unchecked, for the rest of us, for future generations, it spells doom.

The desperate character of all this is shown in the fact that they have chosen war at a moment less propitious than at any time in the recent past. The base of the war coalition is extremely narrow and deep reservations must be felt at the highest level,  certainly amongst the military but also amounts any sane elements amongst the political class assuming they exist. Indeed, we are yet to see Obama pronounce on this issue and who knows, there may yet be some twists and turns. Rather than leading from behind he seems to be being dragged into it. Certainly Kerry’s blood chilling speech last night gives him very little room for manoeuvre. RT’s reporter appeared to be visibly trembling as she reported it; she must have grasped its meaning, she looked like she just had an encounter with the Prince of Darkness himself. What was most striking about the speech was the way Kerry harangued the Russians with words to the effect that they were the fabricators of the lie that Assad hadn’t used chemical weapons rather than the Americans being the fabricators of the lie that it had. Black is white and there is no room for any shades of grey. Obama appeared to oppose any further war engagement and appeared to have the support of the military in this but where is all that now? It may be possible still draw back from the brink: we shall know soon enough. The die appears to be cast, the dogs of war and terror have been unleashed and we are left to salvage what we can.