by Stephen Lendman

Benjamin Franklin once said there's no such thing as a good war or bad peace. His advice went unheeded.

Big Lies launch wars. One after another follows. Doing so reflects imperial madness. America's a warrior nation. It's addicted to war. It ravages and destroys one country after another.

It does so claiming humanitarian intervention. Mass killing and destruction follow. So do charnel house conditions. No nation in world history caused more bloodshed and human misery than America.

Historian Gabriel Kolko called the 20th century "the bloodiest in all history. More than 170 million people were killed." Most were civilians.

According to Kolko, America bears most responsibility. It does so through imperial interventions. It's the world's largest arms producer and exporter. Mass killing and destruction follow.

Washington's a global menace, said Kolko. Waging war on terrorism's a convenient fiction. Doing so furthers militarism. It facilitates perpetual wars. They're heading America for moral, political and economic bankruptcy. According to Kolko:

"The way America's leaders are running the nation's foreign policy is not creating peace or security at home or stability abroad. The reverse is the case: its interventions have been counterproductive."

Chalmers Johnson said the "extinction that befell the Soviet Union" awaits America. Imperial hubris undermines the republic.

It's "arrogant and misguided," said Johnson. It causes one catastrophe after another. America's condition is "dire."

It's "too late for mere scattered reforms." History is clear. Choose democracy and survive. Continue self-destructive policies and perish.

America's plagued by the same dynamic that doomed past empires. They were unwilling to change. So is America.

Johnson explained what's coming. He called it "isolation, overstretch, the uniting of local and global forces opposed to imperialism, and in the end bankruptcy."

America combines it with state terror. It features police state harshness. It's heading for full-blown tyranny and ruin. It's fate awaits.

It's permanently at war. It wages them despite no enemies. It manufactures them out of whole cloth. It's the most secretive, intrusive, repressive government in US history.

It's a democracy in name only. It's a convenient fiction. It's a one-party state. Monied interests control it. Checks and balances don't exist.

It's beholden to wealth, power and privilege. Obama heads a repressive police state apparatus.

It targets dissent. It's waging war on freedom. It operates a ruthless global gulag system. It's the world's largest by far. It functions extrajudicially. It's largely out of sight and mind.

Torture is official policy. An unaccountable intelligence apparatus watches everyone. It reflects Big Brother writ large.

Corporate controlled media manipulate public opinion. Managed news misinformation substitutes for truth and full disclosure.

Incestuous business/government ties flaunt the notion of government of, by and for everyone. Equity and justice are four-letter words.

Johnson was clear and unequivocal. He explained where America's heading, saying:

"I believe that to maintain our empire abroad requires resources and commitments that will inevitably undercut (the republic) and in the end produce a military dictatorship or its civilian equivalent."

"The founders of our nation understood this well and tried to create a form of government - a republic - that would prevent this from occurring."

"But the combination of huge standing armies, almost continuous wars, military Keynesianism, and ruinous military expenses have destroyed our republican structure in favor of an imperial presidency."

"We are on the cusp of losing (republican governance) for the sake of keeping our empire".

"Once a nation is started down that path, the dynamics" explained above apply. They "apply to all empires."

America's no exception. It's heading for full-blown tyranny and ruin. It's already unfit to live in. The goddess of vengeance "stalks our life as a free nation," said Johnson.

Others warn the same way. Their worst fears go unheeded. America's heading for more war. It's based on lies. Truth exposes Washington's agenda. It's suppressed to pursue imperial madness.

Syria's being ravaged and destroyed. It's Washington's war. It was planned years ago. It's to replace sovereign independence with subservient pro-Western governance. Mass killing and destruction are small prices to pay.

Washington's heading for direct intervention. On August 25, the Wall Street Journal headlined "US Talks Tough on Syria, Ramps up Attack Planning."

Obama hardened his stance. He's readying military action. Plans are in place to do so. The die is cast. According to the Journal:

"The White House and Pentagon signaled the US wasn't backing away from a possible showdown despite apparent efforts by the Syrian government to ease tensions by letting UN inspectors visit areas near the capital where hundreds were killed, allegedly by chemical weapons."

Security Council authorization will be bypassed. It won't be the first time. Doing so reflects imperial lawlessness.

According to an unnamed senior administration:

"We'll consult with the UN. They're an important avenue. But they're not the only avenue."

"Administration lawyers have been crafting legal justifications for an intervention without UN approval that could be based on findings that Mr. Assad used chemical weapons and created a major humanitarian crisis."

Doing so violates fundamental international, constitutional and US statute laws. Planned intervention's based on lies.

No evidence whatever suggests Syrian forces used chemical weapons any time throughout months of conflict. Plenty proves insurgents used them multiple times.

Lies substitute for truth. When evidence doesn't exist, it's created. So are pretexts for imperial lawlessness.

A senior White House official said "there is very little doubt at this point that a chemical weapon was used by the Syrian regime against civilians in this incident."

Saying so turns truth on its head. It's longstanding US policy. A same day WSJ editorial headlined "Syria Side Effects." It urges US intervention.

"No one knows if (doing so) two years ago would have prevented" what's now ongoing, it said. Journal editors believe "it had a good chance of doing" it.

They turned truth on its head saying:

"But one argument no one can credibly make is that US action would have made things worse. Doing nothing made it worse."

Polar opposite is true. Regional countries America ravaged and destroyed are cauldrons of violence, human misery and deprivation. Don't expect media scoundrels to explain.

On August 25, The New York Times headlined "Confident Syria Used Chemicals, US Mulls Action."

It quoted the unnamed administration official claiming "very little doubt" about Syria's responsibility for Wednesday's incident. It failed to call it a lie. A written US statement said:

"(B)ased on the reported number of victims, reported symptoms of those who were killed or injured, witness accounts and other facts gathered by open sources, the US intelligence community, and international partners, there is very little doubt at this point that a chemical weapon was used by the Syrian regime against civilians in this incident."

Fact check

Body count numbers prove nothing. Symptoms linked to toxic chemicals provide no evidence of responsibility.

Witness testimonies are notoriously unreliable. They're often falsified. A Saturday WSJ report said Washington maintains a network of "informants in rebel strongholds."

They're used for whatever purpose America has in mind. So-called anti-Assad witness testimonies are worthless. They're corrupted. They're lies.

Evidence linking Syria to chemical weapons use doesn't exist. It's created out of whole cloth. It furthers America's imperial agenda. It's prologue for more war.

On Sunday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich warned against prejudging UN investigators' results, saying:

"In these conditions, we again resolutely call on all those who are trying to impose the results of the UN investigations and who say that armed actions against Syria is possible to show common sense and avoid tragic mistakes."

John Kerry told Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov there's very little doubt Assad used chemical weapons. He lied saying so. He's a serial liar.

So is Netanyahu. He demanded a response saying:

"This situation must not be allowed to continue." He wrongfully accused Assad of "brutally attack(ing) (Syrian civilians with) weapons of mass destruction."

"The most dangerous regimes in the world must not be allowed to possess the most dangerous weapons in the world," he added.

No nations menace world peace and stability more than America and Israel. Their agenda threatens humanity.

On August 26, Itar Tass headlined "Russia's Foreign Ministry calls for press-conference on Syria."

It's scheduled late afternoon Monday Moscow time. He'll discuss Wednesday's incident. According to Lavrov:

"It seems that certain circles, including those who call for a military intervention circumventing the UN, are trying to openly put an end to collaborative US-Russia efforts which over the past few months were aimed at summoning a peace conference to find a solution to this crisis," he said.

"I heard Paris and London say NATO can interfere to eliminate chemical weapons in Syria without the authorization of the UN Security Council. This is very dangerous."

"I hope that common sense will prevail. We should think jointly to create conditions for reaching reconciliation and expressing tolerance to ethnic and religious minorities."

Hysteria is growing, he stressed. Fighting means are being intensified. Threats are becoming oftener to use force against" Assad.

"Washington said it had proof that the Syrian authorities were guilty of the events in East Ghouta. Washington says the red line had crossed."

This runs counter (earlier agreements). They said any use of chemical weapons should be investigated."

Russia urges Western countries "to act in a responsible way and not to repeat the mistakes of the past." He highlighted Iraq and Libya.

"We've discussed such scenarios: force has never ensured security or improved people’s life. At present, the situation is instable in the region."

"All efforts taken by the international community should be aimed at expelling terrorists from the country and preventing confrontation in the region."

We should give common and clear signals to the government and the opposition to settle the conflict by direct dialogue."

On August 26, Ria Novosti headlined "Russia Warns US Again Against Syria Intervention."

Moscow said doing so "would be fraught with unpredictable consequences for the Middle East region."

"Russia is especially concerned about remarks by some US administration officials alleging the Syrian government was behind 'the purported use of chemical weapons in eastern Ghouta last week.' "

Clear evidence suggests otherwise. How Russia responds going forward remains to be seen. It opposes military intervention.

Perhaps it drew its own red line. It has regional interests to protect. Destroying Syria means Iran's next.

Unchallenged US regional control leaves Russia and China more vulnerable. They're surrounded by American bases. They're targeted by offensive missile defense systems.

At some point they'll react. Doing so is easier sooner than later. Perhaps now's the time.

On August 26, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) headlined "President al-Assad: Syria will never become a western puppet state, we will fight terrorism and freely build relationships that best serve the interests of the Syrians."

He told Russian newspaper Izvestia he's fighting terrorism. He seeks foreign relations best serving the interests of the Syrian people.

"(T)he majority of those we are fighting are Takfiris, who adopt the al-Qaeda doctrine, in addition to a small number of outlaws," he stressed.

He called accusations about Syria using chemical weapons blatantly disdainful and disrespectful.

"(T)here isn’t a body in the world, let alone a superpower, that makes an accusation and then goes about collecting evidence to prove its point," he said.

US officials first accuse. They then invent proof. Doing so puts a lie to what's claimed.

Syria's waging war on Western-enlisted death squads. They're imported from dozens of countries. "They wreak havoc, vandalise, destroy infrastructure and kill innocent civilians," said Assad.

Israel's involved. It "publicly declared its cooperation with these terrorists and treated them in Israeli hospitals."

Accusing Syria of using chemical weapons is blatantly false, Assad stressed. Charges are strategically timed. They "come on the back of the advances made by the Syrian Army against the terrorists."

Washington, Britain and France threaten military intervention. They did earlier.

"It is now crystal clear to everybody that what is happening in Syria is not a popular revolution pushing for political reform, but targeted terrorism aimed at destroying the Syrian state."

"What will they say to their people when pushing for military intervention: we are intervening in Syria to support terrorism against the state?"

"Global powers can wage wars, but can they win them?" Post-911 history suggests not.

Washington prioritizes cruise missile diplomacy. All signs suggest direct intervention. Wars persist without end. They threaten humanity's survival. It doesn't matter. It's the American way.

A Final Comment

On August 26, London's Telegraph headlined "Navy ready to launch first strike on Syria," saying:

"Britain is planning to join forces with America and launch military action against Syria within days in response to the gas attack believed to have been carried out by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces against his own people."

Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron "agreed (it) could begin within the week."

"British forces now look likely to be drawn into an intervention in the Syrian crisis after months of deliberation and international disagreement over how to respond."

The die is cast. Britain, Washington, perhaps other NATO partners, Israel, and rogue regional allies appear poised for war on Syria.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity"

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Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com

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