And just this week, another atrocity, the poison-gas barrel bomb massacre of more than 40 Syrians in the besieged district of Douma, has obliged Corbyn to return to his excuses and prevarications about Iran’s bloodthirsty satrapy in Damascus.

Mustn’t rush to judgment about what happened last weekend, Corbyn has insisted. Can’t be blaming Assad for that. Evidence, old chap. Which is exactly what Corbyn said when Assad’s bombers dropped sarin gas on the town of Khan Shaykhun last April. In that incident, more than 70 people were suffocated to death, according to the judgment of the UN’s Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. But no, again, we mustn’t rush to judgment, says Jeremy Corbyn.

A proper independent investigation is needed, Corbyn again insists, strangely overlooking the dozen UN Security Council resolutions on Syria vetoed by Russia, most recently on Tuesday, in a veto that quashed a resolution that would have cleared the way for just such an investigation.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The World Health Organization, the Syria Violations Documentation Centre, the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations and several other agencies have painted a clear and precise picture of what happened in Douma on Saturday. Barrel bombs were dropped at two locations, within blocks of one another. Within hours, more than 500 people were suffering unmistakable signs of poison gas suffocation. At least 42 of them have died.

The barrel bombs were dropped from helicopters. There are no rebel forces with helicopters in Syria. This was no “false flag,” no matter what the Kremlin says. No “paid actors” were involved, no matter what the American alt-right says or the “anti-imperialist” left says, and there are no “peace talks” to join, no matter what Jeremy Corbyn says.

What would Trotsky have to say about the U.K.'s Jeremy Corbyn?