Looking the other way as infants die in agony

IT IS easier not to think about the death agonies of a child poisoned by chemical weapons. It is simply too distressing to have to imagine the horror of a mother cradling an infant foaming at the mouth, in a futile struggle to regain a breath. These innocents know nothing of the evil that has been visited upon them. But those that do; those with the means to end this hell on Earth – our so-called ‘super powers’ – have no interest in ending the barbarity.

They would rather trade insults and play games of finger-pointing than actually lift a hand to bring an end to an eight-year war that has claimed the lives of more than 350,000 in Syria.

US President Donald Trump wants to retaliate, but weapons, no matter how ‘smart’, do not discriminate. We know this because we have seen the bodies of the women and children taken from the rubble. Russia will continually block any meaningful action at the UN.

Not since World War I have chemical weapons been used on the battlefield, but they can be deployed against infants with impunity and the most militarised nations on the planet have no will to stop the carnage. One day Mr Trump is declaring he will withdraw US forces from Syria, the next he is threatening swift action, risking an even wider conflict. And all that is required for the carnage to continue is for us all to continue to look the other way.