The U.S. Accuses Russia of ‘Barbarism’ in Aleppo During Sunday’s UN Security Council Meeting

The events underway in Aleppo are in fact tragic on a biblical scale. There are several schools of thought, pertaining to military strategy and how to defeat an enemy. The first is the General Sherman method of total war that causes the enemy and the people supporting them to hate war, which leads to a lasting peace. The other is the current halfway in milquetoast method practiced by U.S. generals, which has us fighting for the same lands and same foes as we did more than a decade ago. There is an argument to be made for quick, decisive action, over a long drawn out affair that ends up being even more cruel than indiscriminate bombing.

Either way, war is terrible.

Both the US and Britain upped their rhetoric against Russia today at the UN Security Council meeting. While the Russian government is clearly supporting Assad and his forces, it remains unclear who exactly we’re supporting. ISIS?

The United Nations Security Council met on Sunday at the request of the United States, Britain and France to discuss the escalation of fighting in Aleppo following the announcement on Thursday of an offensive by the Syrian army to retake the city.

“What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism, it is barbarism,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, told the 15-member council.

“Instead of pursuing peace, Russia and Assad make war. Instead of helping get life-saving aid to civilians, Russia and Assad are bombing the humanitarian convoys, hospitals and first responders who are trying desperately to keep people alive,” Power said.

“In Syria hundreds of armed groups are being armed, the territory of the country is being bombed indiscriminately and bringing a peace is almost an impossible task now because of this,” Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council.

Britain’s U.N. ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, said on Sunday the U.S. and Russian bid to bring peace to Syria “is very, very near the end of its life and yes the Security Council needs to be ready to fulfill our responsibilities.”

“The regime and Russia have instead plunged to new depths and unleashed a new hell on Aleppo,” Rycroft told the council. “Russia is partnering with the Syrian regime to carry out war crimes.”

“It is time to say who is carrying out those air strikes and who is killing civilians,” Power said. “Russia holds a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. This is a privilege and it is a responsibility. Yet in Syria and in Aleppo, Russia is abusing this historic privilege.”

As Syria’s U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari began addressing the council, Power, Rycroft and French U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre walked out of the chamber, diplomats said.

“Any political solution can only be successful by providing the requisite conditions through intensified efforts to fight terrorism,” Ja’afari told the council. “The real war on terrorism has never started yet. The advent of Syrian victory is imminent.”

Let us all remember that these events were telegraphed when Russia refused to sign peace accord, due to American demands for secrecy, the the bombings of Syrian soldiers which provided aid to ISIS.