Prof. Michel Chossudovsky: Humanitarian Military Intervention in Syria?

In the wake of the UN Security Council face off with Russia and China, a new dangerous phase of the war on Syria is unfolding. The Obama administration, in liaison with London, Paris, Tel Aviv and NATO headquarters in Brussels, is mulling over various military "intervention options", including the conduct of both naval and air operations in support of "opposition" rebel forces on the ground. The dubious justification for waging a "humanitarian war" on Syria hinges on the West's "Responsibility to Protect" the Syrian people against their own government, which allegedly is involved in the routine killing of civilians. In the aftermath of the battle of Damascus and the setbacks of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reiterated Washington's threat of military intervention, accusing Syrian government forces of waging "a tragic attack on their own people". The Defense Secretary vowed not only to unseat the Syrian president, but also, in so many words, "to get rid of" Bashar Al Assad. I think it ultimately will be a nail in Assad's own coffin. What Assad has been doing to his own people, and what he continues to do to his own people makes clear that his regime is coming to an end. It's lost all legitimacy," he said, adding "It's no longer a question of whether he's coming to an end, it's when." Meanwhile, Moscow has accused the US led coalition of supporting the terrorist attacks committed by the "Free Syrian Army" and Al Qaeda affiliated entities operating inside Syria. It is important at this historical juncture to set the record straight as to who is behind these atrocities and crimes against humanity, particularly in view of the fact that the Obama administration and its allies are contemplating outright military intervention against Syria on "humanitarian grounds". Where the government bears a burden of responsibility pertaining to its military operations in urban areas directed against the rebels, the gruesome human rights record of the US-NATO supported "Free Syrian Army" is unequivocal. Amply documented, the killings of innocent civilians were not carried out by the government but, quite deliberately, by the Free Syrian Army (FSA).