06) U.S. AND ISRAEL MUST ALSO DISARM

 

People's Voice Editorial

 

     The contradictions, hypocrisy and outright lies of the U.S. push for war against Syria just keep piling up. But so far, it appears that the world isn't buying Uncle Sam's snake oil.

 

     One of the most appalling aspects of this situation is that the country beating the drums about "red lines" is responsible, directly or indirectly, for many of the deadliest attacks on civilians of the last century. A partial list includes the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the use of depleted uranium weapons in Iraq, the "agent orange" defoliation campaign which is still poisoning Vietnam, and much more.

 

     Today, the U.S. is still threatening to bomb Syria if that country isn't quick enough to destroy its stockpile of chemical weapons. Yet the United States keeps foot-dragging on moves to eliminate its own deadly arsenal. The Pentagon still has about 2,611 tons of mustard gas in a facility in Colorado, and 524 tons of a spectrum of chemical weapons - including deadly nerve agent Sarin - in a facility in Kentucky.

 

     As a ratifier of the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty, overseen by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons at the Hague, the U.S. agreed in 1997 to destroy its chemical weapons stocks within 10 years. Now, U.S. officials say they need another decade. International weapons inspectors have been stymied several times in their efforts to speed things up. Just as ominous, the U.S. remains silent on Israel's refusal to ratify the Convention, even though Israel has also used such weapons against civilians.

 

     Every rational person wants to see these terrible weapons permanently destroyed. But to be effective, universal disarmament must be truly universal. The U.S. and its closest allies cannot be allowed a free pass, especially given their track record as global bullies.

 

(The above article is from the October 1-15, 2013, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)