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Theresa May's vow to protect Syrian civilians is an example of raging hypocrisy

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Saturday 14 April 2018 16:15 BST
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The UK and its allies targeted several suspected chemical weapons facilities in Syria
The UK and its allies targeted several suspected chemical weapons facilities in Syria (AP)

Theresa May has claimed that the recent air strikes on Syria were “successful” but, as we were never told what exactly the bombing was meant to achieve, that is a ridiculous claim.

Apparently the strike will “hold Assad to account” for the chemical killing of dozens of people. Has he stopped killing people? And why is it OK for hundreds of thousands to be killed with conventional weapons? Are the families of dead children killed by mortar and bullet and shrapnel fine with that?

Also, if Theresa May cares so much about the Syrians, how come Britain reneged on the promise to assist unaccompanied migrant children fleeing this kind of horror?

None of this makes sense because there is no logic hidden in the cracks.

Amanda Baker
Edinburgh

Syrian state TV shows footage of 'destroyed scientific research centre hit by air strike'

In 2016 Theresa May voted against 3,000 Syrian children coming here. Now she uses them as an excuse for warmongering. She has also facilitated the destruction of weapons we sold them before the OPCW can investigate fully and lay the use of these weapons at our door. Good timing.

As for Donald Trump calling another person murderous, words fail me. Is he oblivious to the Abu Ghraib prison, the war in Iraq, genocide, the use of nuclear weapons and institutional racism and sexism in his own country?

Richard Kimble
Leeds

Is the Tory government that is currently bombing Syria out of concern for the welfare of the Syrian people the same Tory government that has done its utmost to keep Syrian refugees out of the UK and which has been happy to stand by and watch them drown in the Mediterranean in their thousands?

Sasha Simic
London

What about the burning injustices in the UK?

Did the world elect us as its police force? Or should we perhaps be waiting for a foreign power to come over and punish our government for the physical, emotional and psychological damage caused, albeit indirectly, by the levels of poverty, social disadvantage, inequality of wealth and educational opportunity – let’s call it the “burning injustice” I’ve heard referred to – that it appears to have no serious will to correct?

David Buckton
Cambridge

Theresa May has bypassed democracy

Polls show that as few as 20 per cent of people support air strikes in Syria. Theresa May and her ministers are talking up the case for this intervention. What happened to “the will of the people”?

Geoff Forward
Stirling

Let’s spend foreign aid to improve life standards and prevent war

The World Health Day last week has also passed unnoticed despite the fact that health is the main casualty of wars and conflicts.

The overuse and over-prescription of drugs continues unabated. This could lead us into an era where simple infections and surgical operations undertaken in routine healthcare settings could be fatal and life-threatening as our bodies become resistant to drugs. The solution is simple. People need not only reduce their dependence on antimicrobial drugs but adopt basic hygiene and sanitation measures. Billions lack access to clean water and safe sanitation. The UK government could use its overseas aid to help people in low-resourced countries efface this wicked crisis.

Munjed Farid Al Qutob
London NW2

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