American official: The war in Syria is the worst humanitarian disaster in history

American newspapers have given much attention to the Syrian and Ukrainian crises and one newspaper has said that the raging war in Syria is considered the greatest humanitarian disaster, while another referred to the so-called American-Russian game with regards to the Ukraine.

The Washington Times newspaper published an editorial in which it said that US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power described the war that has been ongoing for over three years in Syria as the worst humanitarian disaster in history and called for international intervention to save the Syrian people from genocide.

The newspaper quoted the US Ambassador saying that the Middle East is full of chaos, turmoil and crises to the extent that it is difficult to determine which one is the worst. She also added that the bloodshed in Syria is continuous and that the war resulted in the death of over 150,000 people and displaced millions in the country and abroad.

The Ambassador added that she believed US President Barack Obama seems to be underestimating the leading role the US can play internationally as the only true superpower in the world, pointing out that US President Barak Obama has done nothing to tarnish the image of his country internationally worse than drawing the line at Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons, and despite that, Al-Assad used these weapons relentlessly.

On his part, in an article published by the New York Times, writer Masood Farivar warned against the growing phenomenon of foreign fighters who come from Europe to fight in the war in Syria. He said that he witnessed the same phenomenon in Afghanistan and that such fighters pose a threat if they return to their European countries.

The crisis in Ukraine

On the issue of Ukraine, the Christian Science Monitor published an editorial in which it stated that the US and Russia are playing a major game in Ukraine. It explained that the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has violated the sovereignty of a state and deployed his troops in the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula, and then declared its annexation to his country, indifferent to any criticism or international sanctions.

The newspaper added that Putin recently contacted his American counterpart to discuss the Ukrainian crisis, which drove Obama to send his Secretary of State John Kerry to meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Paris. However, Kerry refused to hold any talks without the presence of representatives from the Ukrainian government.

The newspaper said that the meeting between the US secretary of state and Russian foreign minister was very similar to the Yalta Conference held in 1945 between the US, Britain and the former Soviet Union, during which they agreed how to divide Europe after World War II.

It also reported that Putin has deployed over 50,000 troops along the Ukrainian border and that the US responded by sending fighter jets to NATO forces stationed in countries bordering Russia; reminiscent of the Cold War era.