Speaking at an event attended by world leaders to commemorate the Sant’Anna di Stazzema massacre in 1944 in which more than 500 civilians were killed, the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated “We rededicate ourselves to holding to account any and all who commit crimes against the innocents anywhere in the world,” and explained that the massacre 73 years ago “will serve as an inspiration to us all”. On Tuesday, he explained that Russia was either incompetent or inattentive in its failure to secure and destroy Mr. Assad’s chemical weapons stockpiles. “But this distinction doesn’t much matter to the dead,” he said. “We can’t let this happen again.” Mr. Tillerson said he hoped to convince the Russians that their continued support of Mr. Assad has become embarrassing for them. “And now Assad has made the Russians look not so good,” Mr. Tillerson said.

The problem with these views is that few in the West view the Trump administration to which Rex Tillerson belongs as anything more than either deeply embarrassing or a terrible joke. It is vital if Mr Tillerson and his boss are to have their views taken seriously that they begin to behave in a way that is not embarrassing and if they are willing to stand up for innocents around the world, they need to do so in a manner that protects those who are not so politically convenient in their innocence. When will they speak out about the innocents in Yemen and Sudan. To open an office of the CIA in Sudan means America can have no excuse for ignoring the deaths of innocent people there. What about the thousands of innocents in the USA and the rest of West!