Global Research, November 16, 2015
Are the Paris terrorist attacks being used as a pretext and
justification by France to intervene militarily in Syria
in violation of international law?
According to French President François Hollande, the Paris
terrorist attack was “prepared, organized and planned from outside the
country by the Islamic State”, which has it’s command centres in Syria and
Iraq.
On Sunday, twelve French warplanes were
dispatched on orders of President Hollande. Their target was Al-Raqqa, the
so-called de facto capital of the Islamic State inside Northern Syria.
France is acting allegedly in “self defense”.
In liaison with the US -which has provided
France with intelligence regarding ISIS targets– the French Air Force
has initiated a series of bombing raids against ISIS terrorist
positions in retribution for the alleged role of the Islamic State in the Paris
terror attacks.
President Hollande is “Beating the Drums of
War”. There is no evidence that the Paris terror attacks were coordinated out
of Syria. Nor is there evidence that the Paris terrorist attacks constitute an
“act of war” directed from abroad against France.
The airstrikes were carried out on Sunday,
two days after the Paris attacks, some 20 bombs were reported to have been
dropped on alleged terrorist positions.
Obama’s air campaign against ISIS is fake.
This is not a war against the Islamic State, it is a war against Syria. The
“war on terrorism” is a smokescreen.
According to the Independent (November 15):
“Sunday’s bombing was the biggest French air raid that has taken place in Syria
so far.” According to the French defense ministry, “the first target that the
planes destroyed was a command post, which housed a recruitment centre and arms
and munitions depot.”
What the reports fail to mention is that from
the outset of Obama’s bombing campaign in August-September 2014, the US led
coalition has not bombed ISIS rebel positions.
Quite the opposite, the ISIS has been
protected by the Western Military alliance. The US led air raids have
been used to channel weapons and ammunition to the terrorists.
Most of the press reports are based on
information emanating from France’s Ministry of Defense. At the time of writing
there is no firm independent confirmation that the French
Air Force operating in liaison with the US has a meaningful way bombed ISIS
positions in Raqqa.
The bombings are also for “domestic
consumption”. They are used to harness social support for the State of
Emergency, not to mention the suspension of civil liberties in the Paris
metropolitan area.
Military Escalation in the Middle East
It is worth noting that this scenario of
military escalation directed against Syria in which France is actively
participating was planned before the November 13 terrorist
attacks. Announced on November 5 one week before the Paris
attacks, the Council of Ministers confirmed that France had decided to dispatch the
Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier group to the Middle East to “Fight the
Islamic State”.
France’s Charles de Gaulle only aircraft
carrier is slated to leave for the Mediterranean “to join the fight against the
Islamic State in the region” on November 18.
“The deployment of the battle group
alongside the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier has been undertaken in order
to participate in operations against Daesch [ISIS] and its affiliate
groups” the French president’s office said in an issued statement. (quoted
by RT, November 5, 2015)
“The aircraft carrier will enable us to be
more efficient in coordination with our allies” President François
Hollande said, adding that it will “bolster Paris’ firepower in the region
amid international efforts to launch Syrian peace talks.” (Ibid)
The original source of this article is Global
Research
Copyright © Prof Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, 2015
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