‘Any information from US must be questioned’: Le Pen doubts narrative around Syrian strikes
The narrative around the US-led strikes on Syria over an alleged chemical attack should raise questions, France’s Marine Le Pen said, adding that President Macron violated international law and fell into Washington’s “trap.”
“We’ve heard many stories like that, which the Americans have been telling us for many years, starting with Colin Powell with his tiny vial, who claimed there were weapons of mass destruction, which became the rationale for the Iraq war,” the National Front leader told BFMTV on Wednesday.
Unlike Emmanuel Macron, his predecessor Jacques Chirac did not fall for the US “trap” and opposed the Iraqi war. “Everyone today admits that this war was based on a lie,” Le Pen said. “Hence, I question every piece of information transmitted from the United States.”
The claims produced by the French authorities over the missile strikes on Syria appear to have numerous holes in them as well, the politician added. The main question, Le Pen said, is whether Macron “really bombed the factory where chemical weapons had been produced and stored,” as he claimed. While the US and its allies insisted all the targets were linked to Syria’s alleged “chemical program,” Damascus firmly rejected the accusations.
“I may not know much about it, but I go by national wisdom and common sense; when they bomb a factory where chemical weapons are stored, they run the risk of killing thousands of people living in the neighborhood,” Le Pen said, adding that no civilian casualties have been reported.
While the aftermath of the strikes casts doubt on the official reasoning behind them, the attack itself was a breach of international law, Le Pen believes. France’s participation in them amounted to an “act of war,” which might bear unpredictable consequences, she said.
“I think he [Macron] violated international law, there’s nothing to argue about. He speaks of the ‘international legitimacy’ that should replace international law, but I’m confused by this concept – there’s only international law,” the politician stated.
The US, the UK and France attacked Syria last week with a volley of over 100 cruise missiles, citing the alleged chemical incident which supposedly took place on April 7 in the town of Douma, as a pretext. The attack came the night before the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was set to visit the site of the purported incident with a fact-finding mission, welcomed by Damascus.
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