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2017 April 5 - 11 [WORLD]

US strike on Syria may destabilize Middle East: Foreign affairs expert

Former-head of the Foreign Ministry’s Intelligence and Analysis Bureau Magosaki Ukeru said that U.S. President Donald Trump’s order of a military strike in Syria which Trump claims was to prevent the use of chemical weapons has an ulterior motive.

Following is the summery of Magosaki’s statement that Akahata ran on April 9.

President Trump in his announcement of the U.S. military attack on Syria ostensively expressed concern for Syrian children. However, I heard that even some of the people close to Trump said that if the president wants to protect those children, he should offer them permission to immigrate to the U.S.

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that the removal of the Assad regime is not a top priority for America. However, the White House made an abrupt change to its Syria policy.

It is important to examine why the Trump administration decided to employ the military option. I don’t think that the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons is the reason. America repeatedly waged wars in order to put on display its military capabilities and profit the U.S. munitions industry. Those who helped the president make the latest decision to attack Syria are the very people who were involved in the Afghan and Iraq wars and who justified these wars. They never reflect on the failures of past wars and instead evaluate them highly.

Did the military action by Trump have any reasonable grounds or justification? Will it work to stabilize the region? My answer to the two questions is “No”. The U.S. strike will further destabilize the Middle East and cause a serious impact on the Syrian situation.