This little girl’s face expresses both sorrow and hope.
It’s been with me ever since I took the picture at the liberation of Eastern Aleppo in December 2016 after 4,5 years of terrorist occupation.
These days, it is 9 years ago, violence broke out in Syria. The underlying conflict with the West is much older. Our leaders and media are still so peace illiterate that they don’t know the distinction between conflict and violence.
I’ve seen no mention in the Western mainstream media of Syria. While COVID-19 has so far claimed about 10.000 lives worldwide, 400.000 have died in Syria.
Today, it is 17 years since US President George W. Bush used shock and awe on Iraq – began the physical, economic, cultural, environmental and political destruction of Iraq.
If at all mentioned today, no one asks: What on earth was it we – including small rogue states like Denmark – did?
And today Iran (and other countries) celebrate New Year, Nowruz.
While there are huge internal problems in Iran – government based on religion and corruption to mention just two – with what right does the US inflict collective punishment of its 85 million innocent citizens through its cruel sanctions, the tightest in history. In Iraq, 13 years of sanctions killed about 1 million people.
How many will the US and the EU kill in Iran – without much media attention?
About these kinds of things, you hear nothing in Western media.
But on a daily basis you do get hand-wringing reports about human rights elsewhere – namely where it fits the strategies of Washington, NATO countries, CIA, State Department and Pentagon.
The West will commemorate when it believes it was itself hard and innocently hit – first and foremost of course “9/11”.
But did you ever hear about 10/7 (the attack on Afghanistan in 2001) or 3/19 (attack on Libya in 2011) or abut 3/20 (attack on Iraq in 2003)?
The West is now a predominantly destructive – also self-destructive – system. It’s own crimes and mass violations of human rights and international law shall be forgotten.
And that’s what we have the free media of democracy for.
In short, Luke 6.42:
“How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
The Transnational is a unique reservoir of knowledge and peace perspectives on these conflicts – predictable fiascos as they all are.
Having been around since 1986, TFF’s network of world renown Associates is not that easily fooled. We see it as our duty to remind people about the deliberate, convenient, hypocritical amnesia of the West: Take the plank out of your eye!
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Recent articles, videos and magazines on The Transnational
Browse the new articles here – search Syria, Iraq, Iran, etc. here
“Bootprint – Militarism and Environment“– a collection of resources, TFF’s new – second – online magazine
The first TFF online magazine is
“The Transnational Peace Affairs”
Umberto Eco’s list of 14 common points on Fascism is an example of the latter. Although eclectic, it’s relevance today should not be underestimated.
How the US helped create Al Qaeda and ISIS
The Terrorism-Industrial Complex (TIC)
The world must end Washington’s illegal economic war
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TFF’s “Transnational Peace Affairs”
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with a touch of peace
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Peacefully yours
Jan Oberg
