The Syrian Question Any decision to take military action against Syria to “punish” President Assad is so incredibly short-sighted, it’s difficult to imagine our leaders are even considering it. Here’s why bombing Syria will fail on all fronts: 1. Assad will not be “punished.” Instead, he may even welcome it as a means to discredit the United States. An evil person like Assad will act quickly to publicize photos and videos of the harm bombing has done “to the Syrian people.” Civilian deaths, certain to occur, will place the U.S. in the same killing category as Assad in the world view. Do our leaders think that the world will think that death by our hands is better than death by Assads? Assad will leap at the chance to make the U.S. responsible for more death and destruction. Advantage Assad. 2. Why is military action portrayed as the only possible response? Bombing permanently eliminates the chance to respond differently. Case in point: Why not consider a humanitarian response? If the U.N. and “sources on the ground” can have free access to Syria in order to determine the use of chemical warfare, then the U.N. and the U.S. certainly can identify those killed by chemical warfare and families and regions directly affected by this same atrocity. Instead of more killing at great cost, these same efforts and monies could be redirected to supply medical aid, food, shelter and life’s essentials to those tragically stricken. Help those that need it, not kill more to retaliate. Why is this humanitarian response not even in the conversation? If the U.S. truly wants to effect change in Syria, healing is needed, not more killing. If our response was humanitarian instead of military, what would the world think of us? What would we think of ourselves? How would that compare to a dictator’s actions? 3. The United States is already portrayed in the world view as a military might that takes action at its own choosing. Picking spots to bomb around the world is terrible foreign policy. Nobody believes the “keeping a country safe for democracy” or “protecting innocent people from their evil leaders” rhetoric anymore. These statements have wilted in the face of suspect motivations pursued by military response. Bombing Syria will permanently discredit the United States, as the world will see it as “more of the same” from a super-power that disregards the stance of every other country in the world except France. Arrogance is never honored or respected. 4. Bombing Syria will raise questions of why we did not bomb North Korea. Their long list of human rights violations coupled with their recent direct threat of nuclear action against South Korea is surely enough reason to take action as Syria’s use of chemical warfare. The world will see the U.S. as a bomber that “picks their spots.” And it will become even clearer that the spots chosen are not just for the reasons our leaders would want everyone to believe. There is more to who gets bombed, and the world will know the U.S. has a hidden agenda it is not sharing. Our credibility will suffer enormously if we bomb Syria. Does everyone agree that the cost of human life, destruction of property and the permanent scars to those left behind must stop? I hope so. For those in power that do not agree, heaven help us. With the high cost in life due to military action in the past 20 years, it is time to stop this vicious mind-set. And the Syrian question will bring it all into focus during the next few days. If the U.S. bombs Syria, it could become a marker in our nation’s history with consequences from which we, and the world, cannot recover. Anyone that supports such action will live with the responsibility and consequences for the rest of their lives.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Sep 2013 21:02:23 +0000
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