Aleppo boy's blood on hands of US arms merchants

Regarding “Image of Aleppo boy shocks world,”’ (Aug. 18, online in The Olympian): Please stop showing me the picture of the little Syrian boy with blood on his face - like you just discovered there’s a holocaust in Syria and you’re shocked, shocked, and you just can’t imagine who would do that to little children.

The U.S. sells more weapons to the world than the next seven leading arms manufacturing nations all together. Our weapons merchants and their Wall Street bankers have turned the Middle East into a bloodbath, arming both sides of every conflict, including ISIS.

If we really wanted to end that little boy’s terror, we would stop electing presidents who talk “peace” and sell war. We would stop voting for Republicans and we would stop voting for Democrats. Because as long as we support the oligarchy of weapons merchants, their bankers, and the political parties they own, that little boy’s blood is on our hands.

The Green Party’s foreign policy begins by ending arms sales. That’s why I’m voting Green.

This story was originally published September 7, 2016 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Aleppo boy's blood on hands of US arms merchants."