Syria 8-28-13

28, August 2013         Syria

The use of chemical weapons to kill innocent men, women and children is barbaric and those responsible should be held fully accountable – but there is no conclusive evidence that the Assad regime was responsible.  It appears that the Obama administration is acting on alleged proof from Israel as reported in Yedioth Ahronoth, the Israeli mass daily. We have followed this path before in the run up to the Iraq war claiming that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was an imminent threat.  Before we express moral outrage over the chemical attack let us also remember that, according to recent internal CIA disclosures, our government was complicit in providing Saddam Hussein critical logistics “which resulted in some of the most gruesome chemical weapons attacks ever launched." To act unilaterally without a UN Resolution would be an act of folly and illegal under international law. Unfortunately, President Obama has boxed himself in with his red line rhetoric and seems to be unduly influenced by the jingoistic speeches of Eliot Engel, John McCain and Lindsey Graham. In the absence of conclusive proof, an attack on Syria could very likely result in significant  increase in civilian fatalities and engulf the whole region in a much wider conflict. It would be far more prudent to engage the regional powers in a political dialogue rather than use our mighty hammer to pound more nails which could lead to signifant more nails – big and small.