US needs reminding of its own obscenities
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US Secretary of State John Kerry has condemned the "moral obscenity" of the alleged chemical-weapons attack by the Syrian government. Few would disagree with this description.
But have there been any wars in recent times that have not included acts that are morally obscene? Iraq and Afghanistan saw many such cases, including the video identified by Private Manning – who, in my opinion, and as Guy Baker opines, deserves a medal for exposing such gross acts.
Are chemical weapons in Syria any more obscene than napalm and Agent Orange in Vietnam or atomic weapons in Japan? The US has a short memory when talking about moral obscenity in wars.
Military intervention in Syria by the US or its allies would no doubt involve more morally obscene acts that would kill innocent civilians, just as military intervention by Western governments did in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Chris Kaye
Chonburi
