Syrian air strikes

There was an interesting point made on Twitter a few days after the failed coup in Turkey; that since the accused instigator Fethullah Gülen is exiled in the genteel suburbs of Pennsylvania, would it be acceptable for Turkey to send drones to execute him before he can provoke further unrest in his homeland?

Gulen is the former ally of Prime Minister Erdogan and supporter of the ruling AKP party, which is now spreading its despotic arms across the whole state apparatus, smothering all and any embers of dissent, illusory or real.

The absurdity of the above proposition is a simplistic indicator of the American exceptionalism that continues to pirouette so deftly across the world stage. It is 'acceptable' for America to send drones to execute perceived enemies on foreign soil, but would be unthinkable for anyone else to do the same.

As Michelle Obama pontificates at the Democratic National Convention about America still being "the greatest nation in the world", like someone with an inferiority complex talking to themselves in the mirror, I'd like to draw attention to a shocking news story from last week that was met with predictable silence.

US-led air strikes targeting ISIL in the northern Syria city of Manbij killed at least 56 civilians including 11 children, bringing the collateral damage total since the end of May to 167.

With a fresh terrorist attack hitting Europe at what seems to be an almost weekly rate, it is this sort of atrocity-in-error that can only serve to enflame local anger, despair and, for a minority, radicalisation.

These and other atrocities like them simply don't resonate in our consciousness because of the perceived complexity and hopelessness of the situation. The horror of the US firebombing the Afghan MSF hospital in 2015, in which 22 people burned to death, is now a distant memory with apparently few lessons learned.

When it is said that Jeremy Corbyn offers little effective opposition to the Tory government, it is perhaps worth bearing in mind that the Labour MPs who have sought to undermine him and forced a leadership contest, were predominantly the same MPs who voted with the Tories for the UK's commencement of Syrian airstrikes.

Last week's atrocity plays into the hands of ISIL, who use local populations as human shields, and is precisely the reason so many stood in opposition to the idea that you tackle a problem as complex as the one in Syria only by dropping bombs.