When any kind of international conflict occurs it is easy to get swept away by the many different arguments we hear blasted out of various news outlets and forget what the most basic issue is. In the present dialogue surrounding the situation in Syria we are surrounded on all sides by different voices calling for conflicting forms of action based on the interests of the speaker. We’ve got Putin in his corner hollering for the U.S to negotiate a peaceful deal with his ally Assad, while Assad was at one point refusing to admit that the country even had chemical weapons (something he has later owned up to). Within the U.S there has been contention, as leaders to the Right such as Rep John McCain call for a “boots on the ground” campaign, while even within his own party isolationists such as Senator Rand Paul are completely against any kind of U.S intervention in Syria. And that’s not even getting to the many voices within our own party who are for or against various levels of intervention. But where do the voices of the Syrians themselves fit into all of this?
While many Syrians have written letters to the U.S Congress, posted YouTube videos, and even tweeted at U.S Congressmen crying out against any U.S intervention, there are an almost equal number calling for the U.S to go ahead with military strikes against the country. There are people actually asking for their cities to be bombed, for their lives to be put in danger, because they know that their government has abandoned its duty and has killed its own citizens in the almost hundreds of thousands. That hits a nerve with me.
When the crisis first came to a boiling point earlier this month I was torn. On the one hand I am a staunch advocate for human rights, and believe that it is the responsibility of the U.S as the world’s most powerful democracy, no matter how reluctant we may be, to protect humanity from itself at times; while on the other hand I didn’t want to see another ten year fiasco mirroring the “Wars on Terror” in Afghanistan and Iraq that our country is only now just coming out of. But then I watched the President Obama’s address from the East Room of the White House and was surprised with myself at the end. I now believe that if the current deal on the table with Syria falls through, the U.S should use military strikes to force Assad’s hand.
For those of you who did not tune in to watch the speech, I highly suggest that you watch it, because the President has a gift for oration that allows the audience to understand exactly how an opinion is formed and a decision is made within his head. While I feel the President did a good job of explaining away many of my concerns over the possible role of Al Quaeda, the scope of a potential military strike, and the actual intelligence that supports the belief that Assad did in fact gas his own people, what really did me in was the conclusion of his speech that reads as follows.
“America is not the world’s policeman. Terrible things happen across the globe, and it is beyond our means to right every wrong. But when, with modest effort and risk, we can stop children from being gassed to death, and thereby make our own children safer over the long run, I believe we should act. That’s what makes America different. That’s what makes us exceptional. With humility, but with resolve, let us never lose sight of that essential truth.”
I consider myself to be unbelievably fortunate to have been born into a democracy, let alone the United States and am at all times aware of the fact that there are millions of people just like me all over the world who weren’t as lucky. The leader of the Syrian government used chemical weapons against his own people. He has committed heinous crimes against them. While the U.S is not aiming to remove him from power ( I think we are starting to learn our lesson when it comes to forcing regime changes), it is trying to prove to him and to any who seek to copy him that such crimes against humanity will not be accepted. If Syria fails to comply with international negotiators it is clear that the U.S cannot abandon the innocent men women and children that are calling for our help, and that Assad must be made to see that the killing of his own people will not be tolerated. If the leaders of our military feel that the best way to do that is through targeted military strikes, then so be it.
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