Should we strike in Syria?
By Thom Hartmann A...
We may be only days away from launching an attack on Syria. On Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry said that the use of chemical weapon attacks on civilians was “undeniable,” and that the Obama Administration was prepared to hold the Syrian government accountable. On Tuesday, world leaders in the U.S., Britain, and the United Nations told Syrian rebels to expect an attack on President Bashar al-Assad's military forces.
In an interview with the BBC, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said that the United States military is “ready to go,” and said, “we are working with the United Nations.” At this point, military action in Syria seems all but certain, and air strikes could happen as early as Thursday according to senior U.S. officials. However, U.S. lawmakers are divided on how to proceed, and many are calling on President Obama to reconvene Congress ,and gain approval before ordering any military action.
Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain, along with Democrat Bill Nelson, support a military strike in Syria, but a large, bi-partisan group of lawmakers disagree. Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee said, “While the use of chemical weapons is deeply troubling and unacceptable, I believe there is no military solution to the complex Syrian crisis.” And, Republican Congressman Scott Rigell posed the question, “What does this look like a month out, six months our, a year out?”
This situation is evolving rapidly, and it's unlikely that these important questions will be answered before a decision is made about a military strike. There is no easy solution here, and it's likely that action against Assad could make matters even worse. All we can do now is watch closely, and hope that our elected leaders work together to agree on the best action. Keep an eye on this.
Comments
#2
I agree with you CHUCKLES, that we should focus on resolving our own countries issues (in general), and stop policing the world.
That being said it is One World and we ALL need; Clean Water, Clean Food, and Clean Air, in order to thrive and survive.
#3
Hi,
I'm from the UK and our Prime Minister is also making some noises about taking military action in Syria too, which I have to say, fills me with trepidation. Recently on TV here there was a programme by a decent journalist who showed the history of Syria, the various factions involved and the unrest that has accordingly existed in that Country for generations. This highlighted that the current situation is actually historic and very complex. Anyone watching that programme with any common sense would say that no amount of bombs and bullets from the western world will stop al-Assad OR bring peace to Syria or any other Middle Eastern country for that matter. Getting a bit spiritual for a second, you cannot bring light using the methods of the dark yourself (i.e. more bullets and bombs), however well intentioned. Yes, what is going on in Syria is horrific and wrong but it seems to me that the Western world should provide what humanitarian aid and medical help it can whilst also carefully (and accurately) finding out who the players and "natural leaders" are amongst the various factions and use best endeavours to get them "round the table" to work and find some common ground (which I understand they did under al-Assad's late father). Any military intervention will simply inflame the Middle East with disastrous consequences for all of us. In Northern Ireland, over here, eventually all parties realised that talking to each other was the only way, the bombs and bullets hadn't worked. It's time the Western world stopped rushing to "stick it's beak" in other countries' affairs as if the "Western" way is the only way without fully understanding that some of these countries have very different beliefs and values than ours with historic grievances to boot. I pray that Obama and the UK parliament take a step back from what looks to be their intended course of action.
#4
nachos -- I am more of a one world guy than a USA chauvinist. However, I think the one world solution can be best attained by each country creating policy (balancing of environment and economy) on their own. Both the Eurozone and the US charter mongering show how bad things are if you have a mixed bag, even if it is only a common currency and separate policy.
#5
Historical precedent and sheer logic suggest to me that the answer is an emphactic "no". Thom should step back and begin to question the credibility of the so-called evidence that Assad used chemical weapons.
Firstly, we cannot blindly trust the conclusions of our governments any longer - the lies about Iraqi WMD taught us a harsh lesson and so we need to see credible evidence. A duped Colin Powell (his own assessment btw) will not suffice. The word of a Senator nor a President is no longer enough. This is good. This is real democracy in action - citizens questioning authority.
Secondly, it is absurd to suggest that Assad would deliberately use chemical weapons just as UN chemical weapons inspectors arrive. Common sense suggests this timing is extremely dubious and many UK politicians feel the same way which is why they are rejecting intervention for the moment. But I understand your fear if you feel you need to believe your Leader. Or is it faith?
#6
Flopot ~ I'd go one step further--we need international involvement. This is a job for the UN not the US. Our Congress has nothing more to say in this matter than our President. We are a part of the international community not it's representative. We, the United States of America, count for one vote in the UN. That is the only say we have in this matter. Only through UN investigation, consensus, and action can we even begin to formulate a legitimate reason to use any force. Only through a majority vote of the UN do we have the blessing of the international community.
Sanctions and embargos work better than any direct military force and does not directly kill anyone. The UN has the power to authorize military blockades of supplies, such as weapons and artillery; and even goods such as industrial material, finance, and oil. That is where the focus should be made in this matter, and all similar foreign diplomatic humanitarian issues. Direct military intervention is a blatant act of fascism--even as a last resort after every other alternative is exhausted. As a first resort it is nothing more than unrestrained imperialistic totalitarian tyranny.
#7
I think we are missing a great opportunity as a country. We seem to have great evidence that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against people. This is a real crime.
However, if we do send cruise missiles in we will do destruction and kill many people, probably some that were not involved in this criminal activity. And more importantly, the leaders that ordered this will not suffer greatly.
Instead, we should treat this as responding to a criminal event, which it was. We should take this evidence to the Hague and bring those that ordered and coordinate the event up on War Crimes. If the evidence is a good as it is said to be, then we will get convictions. And more importantly, those really responsible will be severely punished and not the collateral casualties.
#8
Quote johnkk:
We seem to have great evidence that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against people. This is a real crime.
Really? What evidence is that? Same kind of evidence that the Bush administration told us of WMDs in Iraq?
What the heck, I seem to have evidence that suggests that the US government along with Britain..Saudi Arabia..Al Qaida and perhaps even Israel was actually behind the false flag chemical attack in Syria. Ever heard of Britam Defences? (not Britain Defences although it is largely a British company) Do a search on "hacked emails" and "Britam". Those emails allegedly from Britam Defences were posted on the internet (now largely deleted) in January of this year showing how CW (chemical warfare) agents were to be used in Syria and then blamed on Al Assad government in order to provide an excuse to invade Syria. Now, was someone a psychic and accurately predicted that this would happen and faked those emails? Or did a real hack take place as was done against Strafor, for an example? And now, much of the world is doubtful that this chem attack was done by Al Assad. Qui Bono!!!! Who stands to gain from an attack like this? Certainly not Al Assad! Especially when UN inspectors were present. How dumb would that be? Al Assad may be wicked, and the world may be better off without him, but he is not stupid. And if the US was behind this then how wicked is the US? Very, very wicked! But the US has a long history of wickedness. Murdering civilians!
I do, however agree with you on the fact that if we take military action against Syria, we will most probably end up killing a lot more innocent civilians. Given US history, I don't think that is a very high concern on the US agenda. The psychopaths that control our military don't really care that civilians are killed...all they care about is control as they see fit and don't care a whit about the sovereignty of other countries.
#9
Remember when the US sided with the Afghanistan war lords in their struggle against the Soviet invading forces and occupiers? The war lords and their supporters who were the Taliban and Al Qaida later? After they kicked the Soviets out, they turned on us...and we deserved to be turned on. Same thing could be happening right now in Syria. The US is in bed with Al Qaida terrorists in fighting Al Assad. It's good for Military Industrial Complex profits...keep the terror going on and on....keep fomenting a long line of enemies so that Americans can be very afraid and willing to let the ruling elite and their government and military continue to drain our tax dollars...never mind the social programs...like Social Security and Medicare...never mind healthcare for all...never mind affordable educations or decent paying jobs.
I think our CIA and Al Qaida, along with Usama bin Laden and the 19 merry alleged "hijackers" were all in it all together. Al Qaida on the CIA payroll..as they seem to be now.
#10
Quote jillsouther: Any military intervention will simply inflame the Middle East with disastrous consequences for all of us.It's time the Western world stopped rushing to "stick it's beak" in other countries' affairs as if the "Western" way is the only way without fully understanding that some of these countries have very different beliefs and values than ours with historic grievances to boot.
Right on! Couldn't agree more!
But I might add that it is obvious that the US isn't interested in making peace..there's no money or control in that! Their only hope is to continue to create new enemies so that they can continue to scare American taxpayers out of their money as they have ever since, at least, the cold war. Without Russia as the big boogieman, that let the steam out of their propaganda machine, they could no longer justify defeating social programs. So they needed a new enemy...first it was war on drugs which became a comedy after we realized that our own government was importing drugs into the country. Then they hit on terrorism..and what better way of scaring us all than to crash remote controlled airplanes into tall buildings already planted with demolition explosives using, in part, nanothermite. That scared the hell out of Americans even more than the false flag of Pearl Harbor.
#11
There is NO EVIDENCE that Assad used chemical weapons on his own people, just rhetoric from our politicians and MSM. Let us, the people, make up our own minds about the credibility of the evidence. We can no longer trust the word of our politicians nor the media.
Point of information - the intelligence community warned their governments that there was no credible evidence that Iraq had WMD. The press and politicians have been squirming ever since trying to come up with a convincing narrative - Blair says the evidence was wrong; British documentaries suggests that all the Western intelligence communities were fooled by a very clever Iraqi dissident. This is all hogwash - the Western intelligence services told their leaders that the evidence was not credible as it came from one, dubious source.
Bush and Blair lied.
#12
Right on, Flopot! Couldn't agree more!
#13
Well, it seems the UK government when put to the vote, thankfully, decided that wading into Syria is not on the cards (at least for now).
I heard a call in show on BBC radio a few days ago where one lady succinctly pointed out the obvious to all of us, i.e. the use of chemical weapons seems to be the "red line" that, once crossed, would be the point of no return for the Western world wading into Syria but that suggests all the hundreds of deaths by more conventional means are somehow "lesser deaths" than chemical ones. A life is a life however it is lost.
I really hope the US votes to hold back as the UK has done. The world now, more than ever, needs more Ghandis and Mandelas i.e. voices for peace and change by non violence, and help for the refugees.
So many people have now left Syria, if other countries also wade in and bomb it, there will be nothing of Syria left only derelict buildings and desert for the citizens to return to. Kind of makes you then wonder what the fighting was all about. The land has been there for millions of years and will be there many years after we have all finished squabbling about it.
#14
WMD??!!
Israel drops white phosphorous/napalm on Gazans!
The USA pollutes all its battle zones with depleted uranium -- and those battle zones are all civilian zones!
I could just stop there by calling the Bomb Syria Crowd a bunch of hypocrits.
But I think it is worse still. I think if an investigation into the chemical weapon attack on that Syrian hospital were completed it would become clear that it was the agents provocateur (is the Media still calling them "rebels"?) who work for the Israelis and USA who perpetrated this act. What other reason could there be for Israel and the USA blocking a thorough investigation?
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
Mueller's favorite place to pray (written about in "Prophet's Way"), and the roof of the room where the Last Supper is reputed to have happened.
With His Holiness The Dalai Lama, at His home in Dharamsala, India (Synthesis Dialogues - made into a movie narrated by Harrison Ford)
From Screwed:
"If we are going to live in a Democracy, we need to have a healthy middle class. Thom Hartmann shows us how the ‘cons’ have wronged this country, and tells us what needs to be done to reclaim what it is to be American."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"In an age rife with media-inspired confusion and political cowardice, we yearn for a decent, caring, deeply human soul whose grasp of the problems confronting us provides a light by which we can make our way through the quagmire of lies, distortions, pandering, and hollow self-puffery that strips the American Dream of its promise. How lucky we are, then, to have access to the wit, wisdom, and willingness of Thom Hartmann, who shares with us here that very light, grown out of his own life experience."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann is a literary descendent of Ben Franklin and Tom Paine. His unflinching observations and deep passion inspire us to explore contemporary culture, politics, and economics; challenge us to face the facts of the societies we are creating; and empower us to demand a better world for our children and grandchildren."
Bravo INDEED Nacho!! I second that notion with a flare gun! I guess I really do need to dip into your salsa kool aid after all!!