A holocaust of the helpless
The Syrian city of Aleppo is a living hell. On a daily basis, innocent men, women and especially children are dying as the brutal rule of Bashar al-Assad and his Russian masters lay waste to this ancient city. Their targets are schools, open-air markets and even hospitals.
Is this the Vladimir Putin that President-elect Donald Trump can find common cause with in the war on terror? The Syrian people are being sacrificed on the altar of world silence and therefore complicity.
I am not encouraged when Trump’s choice to become national security adviser is former Gen. Michael Flynn, a well-recognized Russian sycophant. Previously, President Obama had drawn a red line in Syria over Assad’s use of chemical weapons, then did nothing when the Syrian dictator used them against his own people. No safe zones exist within the country, then we wonder why we see an exodus of thousands fleeing the chaos.
A President Trump needs wise counsel with a realistic vision of Russian intentions in the Middle East. The massacres continue while the United Nations stands silent and impotent. The cries we hear are those of yet another holocaust of the helpless. The Russians are not in Syria to destroy ISIS. They are aiding Assad, a war criminal, in committing genocide to save his bloody regime.
The civilized world should surely hang its head in shame.
Carl A. Haberl
Washington