By Robert Sulzer
September 4, 2013
Recently, in violation of international law, which considers any use of chemical weapons as illegal, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used sarin, a poison gas, in an attack on those he perceives as enemies, in his own country, killing more than 1400 people including more than 400 children. This is a crime against humanity, and it is of utmost importance that the world at large condemns such behavior and take meaningful action to make Assad pay a price for that crime. President Obama announced that he plans, in the very near future, to order a military attack strategically aimed at places involved in Assad`s use of chemical warfare, to make it more difficult for him to employ these capabilities again.
Understandably, most Americans, including myself, feel uneasy about any military operations that may lead us into another long lasting war. The George W. Bush administration led us into a long war in Iraq based on a bunch of lies: weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which the international community could not find, an alliance between Saddam Hussein and Bin Laden which in actuality did not exist, etc. Our country has also been involved in a war in Afghanistan which has lasted for more than a decade. The American people are wary of war.
That does not mean that United States should not take limited military action against despots who commit barbaric crimes against their own people in violation of international law. President Obama stated that any military action he takes against Assad will not be open-ended. It will be limited in scope with no boots on the ground. Doing nothing about Assad`s atrocities is dangerous and a threat to our national security. President Obama has been accused by some of waiting too long to act but we saw that President Bill Clinton successfully used limited military action against Milosevic in Serbia.
The impact of the response by the United States and by the world to Assad`s use of chemical warfare goes well beyond Syria`s borders. Doing nothing gives the rulers of Iran the impression that Iran can go on with their program to create nuclear weapons, or North Korea to proliferate nuclear weapons technology to terrorist groups—and presume that the rest of the world will not take any action against it. Doing nothing would also convince, Hezbollah and Hamas that they can get away with even larger terrorist acts against Israel or her allies in the west.
In light of the British parliament going against Prime Minister David Cameron`s decision to support President Obama`s planned military operation in Syria, and in light of most Americans seemingly lukewarm about taking any military operations—-President Obama has announced that he will bring the matter up to Congress when they are scheduled to go into session on September 9th. I feel that decision is a very wise one. It gives members of both houses of Congress more time to get the facts about Assad`s attacks on Syrians with poison gas. And I think that when push comes to shove, both the Democratic controlled Senate and the GOP controlled House will vote to support the president`s plan for limited military action. This time will give other countries, after they review all the facts, a chance to support the United States. President Obama is already backed by the Arab League, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and France. There is even a small possibility that if enough facts come out, that the British Parliament will reconsider and call a special session and back Cameron`s original plan. Our president has taken a gamble with congress and I bet that it will generate the right results. It is a gutsy decision, but I feel a very wise one.