A video has gone viral of Syrian child Omran Daqneesh being rescued from aerialshelling in the besieged city of Aleppo.

On August 18th, the video of Omran was leaked to the media by so-called media activist Mahmoud Raslan. Ever since, the corporate media has spread the message far and wide about the horrors of the so-called "civil war" in Syria. An independent investigation into the matter raises questions about the context of the photo. The video has ultimately been used to intensify the imperialist war in Syria and the possibility of a World War III scenario.

Initial reports from the corporate media blamed the Syrian government and its Russian allies for Omran's plight. However, the supposed media activist Mahmoud Raslan is no objective observer. Raslan has been caught on numerous occasions working directly with takfiri terrorist forces, which are funded and supported by the US and its allies. In July, Raslan posted photos on social media with the same rebels that beheaded a Palestinian child in Aleppo. He has also been caught on social media posting support for mercenary forces in Aleppo and sporting the French occupation flag. Raslan has been exposed as an agent for Empire in Syria whose reports should be rejected at all costs.

This is not the first time that Washington and the corporate media collaborated to blame the Syrian government for the atrocities of the war. In January of 2016, the corporate media and Al Jezeera claimed that the Syrian government was starving citizens in the town of Madaya. However, reports from Syria's UN Observer Bashar Ja'fari contradicted this claim with clear proof that US-backed Al Nusra rebels were indeed blocking food aid from entering the captured city. And in 2013, President Barack Obama attempted to authorize full scale military invasion of Syria based on the false narrative that the Syrian government had used sarin gas on its own people in Ghouta. Seymour Hersh's independent investigation found that thesarin gas was unleashed by foreign militants, of which 12,000 were reported to be fighting inside of Syria in 2014.

Such lies have been promoted to justify increased US military presence in Syria. Over this period, the US has initiated an air campaign against the so-called Islamic State. Hundreds of Syrians have been killed by these airstrikes, including 73 this past July. However, rather than lessen its presence in Syria, the US has increased the number of Special Forces inside of the country. Without the permission of the Syrian government, the US has sent Special Forces to Syria on numerous occasions. The Obama Administration most recently approved the deployment of 250 Special Forces to supposedly fight the ISIS this past April.

It is thus no coincidence that shortly after Omran Daqneesh's photo went viral, US officials began threatening Syria and Russia with war. Pentagon official Peter Cook warned Russia and Syria not to fly over areas where "coalition" forces operate. In other words, the US and its allies have reserved the right to strike the Syrian and Russian assets should they fly over land that belongs to Syria. This decision was made despite the US not having legal permission from the Syrian government to conduct military operations. In contrast, the Syrian government has remained steadfast in its approval of Russian aid toward the goal of eradicating foreign terrorism in the country.

Beyond the deception of the imperial media lies the actual policy of the state actors involved in the destruction of the sovereign nation of Syria. The US has sought to destabilize Syria since 2001. The Obama Administration has collaborated with NATO, Israel, Turkey and the Gulf monarchies to unleash hell in the region. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey, in concert with US and Western intelligence, have supplied tens of thousands of foreign fighters to wage proxy war in Syria. The so-called "coalition" of imperialist countries has supported these fighters with air cover. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have died and many more have fled the country as a result of this never-ending proxy war.

Syria is a battleground state for the imperialist countries which have aligned themselves against the democratically elected government of Bashar Al-Assad. The Gulf Monarchies and Turkey have long schemed to run a gas pipeline project through Syria in order to more efficiently access the European market. However, Syria has remained loyal to its regional allies and kept its resources flowing between Iraq and Iran. The government of Bashar Al-Assad has also been a long time friend of the Palestinian people, which has historically angered the Israeli settler state. Syria's model of secular independence includes the provision of free education and healthcare to all people regardless of background. The totality of these policies represents a grave threat to imperialism.

US imperialism has pursued for decades the eradication of any and all independent challenges to its uni-polar rule. When the Soviet Union was dismantled, Washington and its allies declared the "end of history." Yet there remained numerous independent nations that refused to bow to the dictates of Washington. In the Eurasian region, Syria, Iran, China, and Russia are at present the largest impediments to US imperialism and its allies. These countries promote an alternative model of global relations based on respect for international law and sovereignty.

The war on Syria has brought the world one step closer to a World War III scenario. Russia and China have been caught in the cross hairs of a global war of destabilization led by the United States. The dangers of Syria's potential downfall are clear, but the corporate media has buried the truth under endless lies. Omran Daqneesh's image has spread far and wide only to make the prospect of peace more remote. Readers who stand for peace and for children should consider taking up the fight to end the war in Syria all together, whichmeans forcing the US and its imperial allies to eject themselves from the region. The future of humanity depends on it.

This article was written by Danny Haiphong for American Herald Tribune on Aug. 27, 2016. Danny Haiphong is a activist and radical journalist in the Boston Area.