Letter published in the Hamilton Spectator

January 3-4, 2019

“Spec double standard on Trump and Syria”

RE: In Donald Trump we do not trust (Dec. 21)

The Spec didn’t complain when the USA, with Canada’s help, launched a proxy war against Syria in 2011, using terrorist mercenaries as its foot soldiers. The Spec didn’t object when the USA, with Canada’s help, decided to bomb inside Syria without Syrian government permission. The Spec didn’t protest when the USA occupied the eastern third of Syria, sponsored a Kurdish separatist militia and pillaged Syria’s oilfields. Half a million Syrians have been killed and millions more displaced by this war. The country’s infrastructure has been laid waste.

Now, however, that President Trump has seemingly honoured a campaign pledge to end the U.S. regime change operation and withdraw troops from Syria, you editorialize it as a bad move. Furthermore, you bemoan that Syrian President Assad will inevitably restore the complete territorial integrity of his country with help from its traditional allies, Russia and Iran.

Regrettably, your editorial lacks any reference to concepts inherent to international law: the right of nations to self-determination, national sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. It was wrong under international law for the USA to initiate the war in Syria. It’s high time the USA got out and let Syrians determine their own peaceful future. But because there’s no guarantee that Trump’s troop withdrawal won’t be reversed, and since a confrontation between the USA and Russia over Syria could lead to another world war, the media and public should remain vigilant to see that Trump carries through with his decision.

Ken Stone, Hamilton Coalition To Stop The War