Attack on Syria beginning of US aggression under Trump: Analyst

The United States has committed a war of aggression against Syria but this unprovoked attack on the Arab country is just the beginning of President Donald Trump’s belligerent foreign policy, according to Myles Hoenig, an American political activist and analyst.

Myles Hoenig, a former Green Party candidate for Congress, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Friday, hours after the US military fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at the al-Shayrat airbase in Homs province in western Syrian.

The missiles were launched from the destroyers USS Porter and USS Ross in the eastern Mediterranean. The strike killed nine civilians, including four children early Friday, according to the SANA news agency.

“There are many levels to what’s behind Trump’s attack on Syria. There’s the military aspect, the political and the legal,” said Hoenig.  “On the surface, it’s a clear case of attacking a sovereign nation that has not threatened it.”

“With most still not knowing who perpetrated this murderous war crime, the Trump administration, backed by the ‘Deep State’, quickly blamed Syria and led the attack on its military bases; bases that could easily have had Russian soldiers, technicians or advisors,” he noted.

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“There was the thought of a sea change in the White House, with a candidate more of an isolationist than one into regime change wherever US economic interests could be enhanced. With the recent removal of Steve Bannon from the NSA and pressures mounting on Trump to be more militaristic, he is more likely to be aping the Clinton foreign policy than what he espoused during the campaign. This unprovoked attack on Syria is just the beginning,” the analyst stated.

‘US Deep State itching for another war’

“There’s also the legal matter of attacking a country it’s not at war with. Trump isn’t just attacking non-governmental targets in another country but that country’s defense establishment,” Hoenig said.

“This is [a] war of aggression, the highest crime committed under Geneva [Conventions]. If any Russian personnel, invited by the legitimate government, should be a casualty, then the US will have begun to engage the Russian military, with all monstrous ramifications to follow,” he argued.

“Here in the US, Congress, the foreign policy establishment, Deep State, the military-industrial complex, all are itching for another war in the Middle East,” he emphasized.

“There will no one brave and ethical enough to call for Trump’s impeachment over this or charge of war crimes. Senator Rand Paul argues that Congressional approval is needed but that would only give legitimacy to further war crimes,” he observed.

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“Actions need to be taken by the world to include boycotts of the US, as many are already avoiding the US for many reasons now; condemnation at the Security Council of the United Nations (but will be vetoed by the US); recalling ambassadors from here back to their capitals, and any other action that would move the US away from continuing its usual war mongering,” the activist suggested. 

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