October 29, 2008 (LPAC)--Except for the Anglo-American-Israeli bloc, and a few hangers-on, there was near unanimous denunciation of the U.S. attack on Syria that left eight civilians dead. There are three major developments to note, among the many condemnations:

--Syria made an official complaint to the United Nations, in the form of a letter to the UN Secretary General and to the head of the UN Security council. The letter described the events, and then condemned what it called an act of aggression perpetrated by the US occupation forces, calling it a dangerous violation of Syrian sovereignty and the UN principles and conventions. At the same time, Syria called on the Iraqi government to investigate the background and reasons for this aggression and to assume its responsibilities to prevent the use of its lands as a launch-pad in violation of the Arab League convention.

"In this regard, we refer [sic] that this unjustified act of aggression comes at a time when the Iraqi and US sides recognize Syria's efforts exerted to preserve Iraq security and prevent any illegal infiltrations into its territories," the letter added.

--The Iraqi government issued a statement through its spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, which says, "The Iraqi government rejects the US helicopter strike on Syrian territory, considering that Iraq's constitution does not allow its land to be a base for launching attacks on neighbouring countries." The statement also adds, "We call upon American forces not to repeat such activities and Baghdad has launched an investigation into the strike." At the same time, a statement issued by the Iraqi Parliament also condemns the attack, telling the government to keep the Parliament "and the Syrian brothers informed about the investigation launched by the government into the raid. It regrets that the operation took place at a time when relations between Iraq and its neighbours are progressing."

--Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a lengthy and detailed statement on its official website. The Russian MFA statement reads in part:

"The Government of Syria has condemned this incident, laying responsibility for it at the doorstep of the US military. Damascus has also called on the Government of Iraq to immediately start an inquiry into this serious violation so as to prevent any future use of Iraqi territory for committing acts of aggression against Syria. "Moscow has received news of the incident with great concern. We consider that no condemnable attacks on the territory of sovereign states should be made under the slogan of the struggle against terrorism. It is obvious that such unilateral military actions are having a sharply negative impact on the situation in the region.... "It appears optimal for the region's countries to tackle any security problems that arise, including those of a transfrontier nature, on their own. Especially as the appropriate regional cooperation mechanisms exist for this purpose and are generally believed to be quite effective, including the security working group set up by a decision of the International Conference on Iraq, held in May 2007 at Sharm El Sheikh." Other statements of concern, condemnations, etc. were issued by the President of France, the League of Arab Nations, the European Union, China, Egypt, and dozens of other nations.