Patrick O’Connor

Wednesday’s opening of talks on the Syrian crisis was dominated by the Obama administration’s insistence that the purpose of the “Geneva II” discussions was to remove President Bashar al-Assad and install a pro-US puppet government. In the manner of a colonial overlord, US Secretary of State John Kerry declared,

We see only one option, negotiating a transition government born by mutual consent.

Kerry made clear that “mutual consent” meant an outcome dictated by American imperialism. “That means that Bashar Assad will not be part of that transition government,” he continued.

There is no way, no way possible, that a man who has led a brutal response to his own people can gain legitimacy to govern.

Such thuggish arrogance is the trademark of US policy in every region of the world. Any government that is viewed as a hindrance to the pursuit of the geopolitical interests of the American ruling class is targeted for destabilization or overthrow, through covert or overt means.

As Kerry spoke, extreme right-wing and fascistic forces in the Ukraine backed by the US and its allies in Western Europe escalated protests aimed at bringing down a government considered to be too closely tied to Russia.

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Stephen Lendman

Part I discussed spurious anti-Assad accusations. They're fake. They have no credibility whatever. Release was strategically timed. It came two days ahead of sham Geneva II peace talks. Much ado about nothing describes them. Chances for conflict resolution are zero. More on this below.

Assad was wrongfully accused of "industrial scale killing of detainees." No verifiable evidence suggests it. None exists. Fabrications substituted.

Syria's Ministry of Justice denounced them. It called alleged evidence baseless. "The report is a mere gathering of photos of unidentified persons proving" nothing, it said. Releasing it ahead of Geneva II was politically motivated. Doing so undermines peace.

London's Guardian was complicit. Two published articles reported malicious lies. London's Daily Telegraph shares guilt. It reported separate allegations. It did so disgracefully.

On January 20, it headlined "Syria's Assad accused of boosting al-Qaeda with secret oil deals." Western intelligence supplied fake evidence. It's farcical on its face. Why would Assad conspire with terrorists he's going all out to eliminate? Why would they work with a government they're committed to topple?

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Kate Randall

Dennis McGuire, 53, was put to death on Thursday, January 16, in the execution chamber at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio. News of McGuire’s execution—and details of the gruesome manner in which authorities carried out his death sentence—have evoked disgust and revulsion in the US and internationally.

Family members watched as an untested, lethal cocktail of two medical drugs were injected into McGuire’s veins. He writhed in pain before being pronounced dead 25 minutes later by prison authorities.

At a press conference the next day, the condemned prisoner’s son described the horror of what he had witnessed. “I watched his stomach heave,” he said. “I watched him trying to sit up against the straps on the gurney, I watched him repeatedly clench his fist,” adding that it “appeared to me he was fighting for his life while suffocating.”

The younger McGuire continued, “The agony and terror of watching my dad suffocate to death lasted more than 19 minutes. I can’t think of any other way to describe it other than torture. Until yesterday, I did not understand what cruel and unusual punishment was. Now I do, I witnessed it. No one should have to die the way my dad did.”

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