U.S. air strikes in Syria are unlawful, irresponsible and unjustified
The recent U.S. airstrikes in Syria show that a grave risk of wider war, including nuclear war, is upon us. Canada’s government, and indeed everyone, should do whatever possible to avoid such a calamity.
The federal government should not support any military action in Syria. The recent armed attacks, although fortunately limited in scale, are crimes of aggression under international law because they were not justified by principles of self-defence and because they were not authorized by the UN Security Council.
The same is true for previous attacks in Syria, including those arising from the U.S. occupation of eastern Syria. These attacks follow a disturbing track record of such crimes by senior U.S. leaders since the end of the Cold War.
Canadians need to be aware of this context to cut through the bellicose and misleading propaganda we often hear, especially in U.S. media, and to understand the opposition to the attacks in other parts of the world. It can be challenging to avoid getting swept up in emotional war-mongering. A rare and good antidote is this radio interview with the former United Kingdom ambassador to Syria, Peter Ford.