Xinhua Headlines: Shockwaves ripple through Europe when dust of Western airstrikes on Syria settles
                     Source: Xinhua | 2018-04-19 16:14:08 | Editor: huaxia

    A demonstrator shouts slogans during a protest against a coalition missile strike in Syria launched by the U.S., France and Britain, in Athens, Greece, on April 17, 2018. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

    by Xinhua writer Zheng Jianghua

    BRUSSELS, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Though the dust raised by the joint Western airstrikes on Syria is settling, its shockwaves continue to ripple through the European continent.

    Pinning the blame on the Syrian government for the alleged chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Douma on April 7, the United States, Britain and France have gushed over the self-righteous decision to launch the airstrikes on Saturday and flaunted the "success" of the "one-off" mission afterwards.

    Nonetheless, a large swathe of Europeans took the strikes with a pinch of salt.

    With the lessons of bumpy western intervention in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya lingering fresh in mind, they queried the flawed justification and effectiveness of the airstrikes, and made a sideswipe at western hypocrisy.


    UNJUSTIFIED AIRSTRIKES

    Antonis Stylianou, a law professor at University of Nicosia in Cyprus, told Xinhua that the use of military force in international relations is justified in only two cases: when the force has been authorized by the United Nations Security Council or when the force is used in self-defense.

    "Neither was the case of using military force against Syria," he stressed.

    Refuting British Prime Minister Theresa May's allegation that the legal base for the use of force against Syria was protecting the Syrian population from chemical attacks, he said: "This justification will open the bag of Aeolus (god of the winds) in international relations."

    Anti-war demonstrators protest against a coalition missile strike in Syria launched by the U.S., France and Britain, at the Parliament Square in London, Britain, on April 16, 2018. (Xinhua/Stephen Chung)

    The professor was referring to a Greek Homeric phrase which indicates stirring up a storm.

    The glaring lack of international mandate of the airstrikes has registered with not only academics but also a string of political figures in Europe.

    Czech President Milos Zeman condemned the strikes on Saturday, announcing that "a military solution to the situation should be the last thing to do."

    Former Croatian President Ivo Josipovic also cast doubt over the legitimacy of the airstrikes in an interview with Xinhua.

    "I think it was supposed that an independent international investigative body would have to check the allegations of using chemical weapons," he said.

    "Collective measures should have been taken only when it was confirmed that chemical weapons were used," he added.

    It's noticeable that the U.S.-led coalition rushed to launch the airstrikes on the day when investigators of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) arrived in Syria, without waiting for their fact-finding report.


    EFFECTIVENESS IN DOUBT

    Aside from far-fetched justification, the airstrikes also met with torrents of criticism on its effectiveness.

    The U.S. military announced that they fired 105 missiles targeting three facilities and set back Syria's chemical weapons program by years.

    But the Russian Defense Ministry revealed on Monday that the Syrian forces, equipped with Soviet-era air defense systems, intercepted 71 out of the total missiles launched by the U.S-led coalition.

    Surface-to-air missiles are seen over Syria's capital Damascus on April 14, 2018, as the Syrian air defenses were responding to U.S. attacks. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

    The ministry added that the real targets of the joint missile strikes on Saturday were Syrian military facilities, including airfields, in addition to the three targets announced by the United States and its allies.

    Even before Russia's revelation, European political bigwigs have queried the effectiveness of the action. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said that the attack does not solve anything but only has a "punishment character."

    During an interview aired by Finland's national broadcaster Yle on Saturday, Niinisto reminded that a similar attack last year resulted in no impact.

    In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said "airstrikes have not resolved the situation in Syria so far -- nothing I've heard persuades me they will do so now."

    Moreover, a poll conducted by British pollster Survation on Sunday revealed that 40 percent of British adults opposed May government's participation in the joint strikes, while 36 percent supported it and 24 percent said they "don't know."

    For military analysts, the airstrikes were more of propaganda than meaningful military actions.

    Syrians are seen in a street in Douma district, east of Damascus, Syria, on April 18, 2018. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

    Tomas Nagy, an analyst of GLOBSEC Policy Institute, which is based in Bratislava, Slovakia, noted that Trump wanted to become a more assertive actor in the Syrian crisis, but the airstrikes were strictly limited in scope, and "their media impact is significantly more pronounced than any real military-strategic meaning at the moment."

    Echoing the view, Aleksandar Radic, a military analyst from Serbia, said that "the missiles were just a way to demonstrate to the media that they have the strength to impose their political will."

    "U.S. military actions ... were first of all a mean of propaganda, and not a military offensive intended to change the balance of power in Syria," he said.


    WESTERN HYPOCRISY

    There is much behind the facade of the airstrikes and a salient fact is the Western hypocrisy, a pundit pointed out.

    Patrick Cockburn, a veteran journalist and award-winning writer for British newspaper The Independent, who covered Middle East news since the 1980s and forecast in 2014 the rise of terrorist group Islamic State before it became well-known, said ending the Syrian war is the only way to reduce civilian casualties, and everything else is hypocrisy and pretense.

    "What is really killing people in Syria is the war which western powers stoked year after year with the intention that neither side would win," he underlined.

    He said if foreign leaders showed any real concern over seven years of butchery in Syria, they would have made greater efforts in the past to bring this horrendous war to an end.

    The airstrikes "was more of a gesture of disapproval than an attempt to damage" Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military forces, he said, adding that "it does nothing to bring nearer the end of the war."

    (Wang Yi in Prague, Zhang Zhang in Nicosia, Qu Xi in Bratislava, Li Jizhi in Helsinki, Yuan Liang in Sarajevo, Gao Lei in Zagreb, Gui Tao in London, Yuan Yun in Valletta and Tian Dongdong in Brussels contributed to the story.)

    Back to Top Close
    Xinhuanet

    Xinhua Headlines: Shockwaves ripple through Europe when dust of Western airstrikes on Syria settles

    Source: Xinhua 2018-04-19 16:14:08

    A demonstrator shouts slogans during a protest against a coalition missile strike in Syria launched by the U.S., France and Britain, in Athens, Greece, on April 17, 2018. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

    by Xinhua writer Zheng Jianghua

    BRUSSELS, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Though the dust raised by the joint Western airstrikes on Syria is settling, its shockwaves continue to ripple through the European continent.

    Pinning the blame on the Syrian government for the alleged chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Douma on April 7, the United States, Britain and France have gushed over the self-righteous decision to launch the airstrikes on Saturday and flaunted the "success" of the "one-off" mission afterwards.

    Nonetheless, a large swathe of Europeans took the strikes with a pinch of salt.

    With the lessons of bumpy western intervention in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya lingering fresh in mind, they queried the flawed justification and effectiveness of the airstrikes, and made a sideswipe at western hypocrisy.


    UNJUSTIFIED AIRSTRIKES

    Antonis Stylianou, a law professor at University of Nicosia in Cyprus, told Xinhua that the use of military force in international relations is justified in only two cases: when the force has been authorized by the United Nations Security Council or when the force is used in self-defense.

    "Neither was the case of using military force against Syria," he stressed.

    Refuting British Prime Minister Theresa May's allegation that the legal base for the use of force against Syria was protecting the Syrian population from chemical attacks, he said: "This justification will open the bag of Aeolus (god of the winds) in international relations."

    Anti-war demonstrators protest against a coalition missile strike in Syria launched by the U.S., France and Britain, at the Parliament Square in London, Britain, on April 16, 2018. (Xinhua/Stephen Chung)

    The professor was referring to a Greek Homeric phrase which indicates stirring up a storm.

    The glaring lack of international mandate of the airstrikes has registered with not only academics but also a string of political figures in Europe.

    Czech President Milos Zeman condemned the strikes on Saturday, announcing that "a military solution to the situation should be the last thing to do."

    Former Croatian President Ivo Josipovic also cast doubt over the legitimacy of the airstrikes in an interview with Xinhua.

    "I think it was supposed that an independent international investigative body would have to check the allegations of using chemical weapons," he said.

    "Collective measures should have been taken only when it was confirmed that chemical weapons were used," he added.

    It's noticeable that the U.S.-led coalition rushed to launch the airstrikes on the day when investigators of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) arrived in Syria, without waiting for their fact-finding report.


    EFFECTIVENESS IN DOUBT

    Aside from far-fetched justification, the airstrikes also met with torrents of criticism on its effectiveness.

    The U.S. military announced that they fired 105 missiles targeting three facilities and set back Syria's chemical weapons program by years.

    But the Russian Defense Ministry revealed on Monday that the Syrian forces, equipped with Soviet-era air defense systems, intercepted 71 out of the total missiles launched by the U.S-led coalition.

    Surface-to-air missiles are seen over Syria's capital Damascus on April 14, 2018, as the Syrian air defenses were responding to U.S. attacks. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

    The ministry added that the real targets of the joint missile strikes on Saturday were Syrian military facilities, including airfields, in addition to the three targets announced by the United States and its allies.

    Even before Russia's revelation, European political bigwigs have queried the effectiveness of the action. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said that the attack does not solve anything but only has a "punishment character."

    During an interview aired by Finland's national broadcaster Yle on Saturday, Niinisto reminded that a similar attack last year resulted in no impact.

    In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said "airstrikes have not resolved the situation in Syria so far -- nothing I've heard persuades me they will do so now."

    Moreover, a poll conducted by British pollster Survation on Sunday revealed that 40 percent of British adults opposed May government's participation in the joint strikes, while 36 percent supported it and 24 percent said they "don't know."

    For military analysts, the airstrikes were more of propaganda than meaningful military actions.

    Syrians are seen in a street in Douma district, east of Damascus, Syria, on April 18, 2018. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

    Tomas Nagy, an analyst of GLOBSEC Policy Institute, which is based in Bratislava, Slovakia, noted that Trump wanted to become a more assertive actor in the Syrian crisis, but the airstrikes were strictly limited in scope, and "their media impact is significantly more pronounced than any real military-strategic meaning at the moment."

    Echoing the view, Aleksandar Radic, a military analyst from Serbia, said that "the missiles were just a way to demonstrate to the media that they have the strength to impose their political will."

    "U.S. military actions ... were first of all a mean of propaganda, and not a military offensive intended to change the balance of power in Syria," he said.


    WESTERN HYPOCRISY

    There is much behind the facade of the airstrikes and a salient fact is the Western hypocrisy, a pundit pointed out.

    Patrick Cockburn, a veteran journalist and award-winning writer for British newspaper The Independent, who covered Middle East news since the 1980s and forecast in 2014 the rise of terrorist group Islamic State before it became well-known, said ending the Syrian war is the only way to reduce civilian casualties, and everything else is hypocrisy and pretense.

    "What is really killing people in Syria is the war which western powers stoked year after year with the intention that neither side would win," he underlined.

    He said if foreign leaders showed any real concern over seven years of butchery in Syria, they would have made greater efforts in the past to bring this horrendous war to an end.

    The airstrikes "was more of a gesture of disapproval than an attempt to damage" Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military forces, he said, adding that "it does nothing to bring nearer the end of the war."

    (Wang Yi in Prague, Zhang Zhang in Nicosia, Qu Xi in Bratislava, Li Jizhi in Helsinki, Yuan Liang in Sarajevo, Gao Lei in Zagreb, Gui Tao in London, Yuan Yun in Valletta and Tian Dongdong in Brussels contributed to the story.)

    010020070750000000000000011100001371226791
    主站蜘蛛池模板: 永久域名在线观看视频| 黑人巨茎大战白人美女| 无码人妻丰满熟妇区免费| 国产精品爽黄69天堂a| 中日韩精品无码一区二区三区| 欧美日韩一区二区三区视视频| 四虎影院永久免费观看| 乱子伦一级在线观看高清| 狠狠色噜噜狠狠狠狠7777米奇| 国产网址在线观看| 中文字幕免费在线播放| 欧美a欧美1级| 亲子乱子xxxxxx| 色妞www精品视频免费看| 天天躁日日躁狠狠躁一区| 亚洲国产成人久久精品app| 精品乱码一区内射人妻无码 | 国产精品第二页在线播放| 一本加勒比HEZYO无码专区 | 国产a∨精品一区二区三区不卡| 男女一边摸一边做爽的免费视频 | 亚洲男人第一av网站| 精品国内自产拍在线视频| 国产午夜无码福利在线看网站| 不卡高清av手机在线观看| 欧美精品久久一区二区三区| 可以免费看黄的网站| 91秦先生在线| 国产精品福利一区二区| free性泰国女人hd| 我的初次内射欧美成人影视| 久久综合九色综合网站| 欧美性猛交xxxxx按摩国内| 人人爽人人爽人人片av| 精品少妇一区二区三区视频| 国产免费久久精品| 99国产精品热久久久久久夜夜嗨| 晚上睡不着来b站一次看过瘾| 亚洲男女性高爱潮网站| 精品一区二区三区免费视频 | 三级免费黄色片|