With the United States on the verge of bombing Syria after it has been discovered that the Assad government used chemical weapons against the rebels, I have to wonder...what is the end game in Syria?
No doubt the use of such weapons is thoroughly disgusting on just about every level but it shouldn't be news that President Assad is a despicable man. Equally as awful are the rebels who like to videotape people's hearts being cut out and eaten by resistance soldiers. These are the people we want to help out?
I suppose I understand the concept of a surgical strike the sends a message but it won't accomplish anything. The civil war there will continue and it's going to be a giant cluster fuck just as it is in Egypt with various groups vying violently for power. In the final analysis, there is very little we can to stabilize Syria let alone the region.
2 comments:
I can't understand why Assad would use chemical weapons against the rebels, because he KNOWS the United States has drawn a "bright red line" at their use. He must have intentionally used gas to bring on a US attack, in order to gain sympathy for himself from the rest of the Middle East. He must be thinking that fellow Muslims will come rushing to his side in knee-jerk fashion when the imperialists start raining bombs down on him.
He must believe that Russia and China will protect him somehow, and that the Allies won't risk escalating tensions with those countries over some petty Middle East dictator. I think he's wrong. China and Russia have much more to lose than they have to gain if they let relations with the West go south over Syria. Assad is making a huge mistake if he thinks those countries really have his back.
The other interesting development in the nerve gas world was the confirmation that the Reagan administration helped Saddam Hussein target Iranian troops with nerve gas during the Iran-Iraq war, and then turned a blind eye when Saddam used gas on Iraqi Kurds.
I guess Reagan didn't have any bright red lines for the Muslim dictators who were [temporarily] on his side.
I also can't understand why Assad would use chemical weapons at this stage in the war. He was is much more peril last year but now his forces have seemed to turn the corner and things are not so dire.
Post a Comment