Once again the demons of war are circling an already war-ravaged Middle East.

The 20 plus years of devastation of Iraq by a vicious one-sided war was launched by the US and its allies in March 2003 on the basis of the monstrous lie that Saddam Hussein’s government possessed ‘weapons of mass destruction.’

The assault on Libya in March 2013 under the guise of “humanitarian intervention”, in addition to causing great human and material destruction, has seriously weakened the country’s sovereignty and unity and placed much of its oil resources – the profits from which were used to fund social programs – in the hands of Western corporations.

As a result of the US/NATO wars against Iraq and Libya their governments, which were secular, gave equal rights to women constitutionally, had some social and people’s oriented aspects to their policies and were supportive of the rights of the Palestinian people have been replaced by those much more servile to the west and partial to the rule of unbridled capitalism.

Afghanistan, too, has been devastated since NATO’s 2001 invasion and occupation. The stated reason was to find and capture Osama bin Laden; the real motivation was to allow NATO countries easier access to the natural resources of Central Asia and to try and encircle Russia and China militarily.

Pakistan and Yemen are subject to constant illegal and brutal drone attacks by the U.S. Iranians are suffering indescribable privations because of the sanctions – in violation of international laws – imposed on the country by NATO states for processing uranium which Iran says is for peaceful purposes and something entirely its right under international regulations.

Now, the US Government and some of its NATO allies – supported by Saudi Arabia, most Gulf States and Turkey – are threatening to militarily attack Syria, probably with missiles, to ‘punish’ it for the alleged use of chemical weapons. The real reason is to destroy the productive capacities and infrastructure of yet another independent Arab country as part of the overall plan of imperialist powers to bring the entire region under their undisputed and unchallenged control.

The Committee of Progressive Pakistani-Canadians (CPPC) is strongly opposed to any and all military and economic warfare by the U.S. and other NATO countries against the developing world in general, and in the Middle East in particular. We call upon the Canadian government and the mass media not to fan the flames of war and urge all Canadians, including those of Pakistani-origin, to demand the same.

We support the genuine independence of all countries from foreign interference, domination and control.

The Syrian people themselves must be allowed to resolve their conflicts and disputes. We support calls for an end to hostilities – a ceasefire – in Syria and for negotiations between the Syrian government and the opposition forces so that they can settle their differences in a peaceful manner.