USA stimmen die Welt auf einen Syrien-Krieg ein

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In einer emotionalen Rede hat US-Außenminister John Kerry dem syrischen Regime die Verantwortung für den Chemiewaffeneinsatz am 21. August bei Damaskus zugewiesen – und faktisch sein Land (und die Welt) auf eine militärische Aktion der USA eingestimmt. Seine Rede am Montagnachmittag (Ortszeit) steht hier zum Nachlesen; sie lässt sich auch hier nachhören.

Ein paar Kernsätze aus seiner Rede:

What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world. It defies any code of morality. Let me be clear. The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity. By any standard, it is inexcusable. And despite the excuses and equivocations that some have manufactured, it is undeniable.
The meaning of this attack goes beyond the conflict on Syria itself. And that conflict has already brought so much terrible suffering. This is about the large-scale indiscriminate use of weapons that the civilized world long ago decided must never be used at all, a conviction shared even by countries that agree on little else.

(…)

Anyone who could claim that an attack of this staggering scale could be contrived or fabricated needs to check their conscience and their own moral compass.
What is before us today is real, and it is compelling.

(…)

So I also want to underscore that while investigators are gathering additional evidence on the ground, our understanding of what has already happened in Syria is grounded in facts, informed by conscience and guided by common sense. The reported number of victims, the reported symptoms of those who were killed or injured, the firsthand accounts from humanitarian organizations on the ground, like Doctors Without Borders and the Syria Human Rights Commission — these all strongly indicate that everything these images are already screaming at us is real, that chemical weapons were used in Syria.
Moreover, we know that the Syrian regime maintains custody of these chemical weapons. We know that the Syrian regime has the capacity to do this with rockets. We know that the regime has been determined to clear the opposition from those very places where the attacks took place. And with our own eyes, we have all of us become witnesses.
We have additional information about this attack, and that information is being compiled and reviewed together with our partners, and we will provide that information in the days ahead.

(…)

At President Obama’s direction, I’ve spent many hours over the last few days on the phone with foreign ministers and other leaders. The administration is actively consulting with members of Congress, and we will continue to have these conversations in the days ahead. President Obama has also been in close touch with the leaders of our key allies, and the president will be making an informed decision about how to respond to this indiscriminate use of chemical weapons.
But make no mistake: President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world’s most heinous weapons against the world’s most vulnerable people. Nothing today is more serious, and nothing is receiving more serious scrutiny.

Nein, da ist nicht die Rede von Beweisen; nicht die Rede davon, dass jetzt erst noch ermittelt werden soll. Es ist die klare Ankündigung, dass etwas passieren wird. Nur was, das lässt Kerry noch offen. Der Außenpolitik-Blogger der Washington Post sieht das ähnlich: That was a war speech.

Und Vorbereitungen scheinen zu laufen – nicht nur die US-Kriegsschiffe im Mittelmeer, sondern auch die britische Militärbasis auf Zypern bereiten sich offensichtlich auf einen Einsatz vor.

(Foto: State Department Photo/Public Domain via Flickr)