I desperately want to understand the moral calculus that has us on the verge of entering the Syrian civil war, but leaves us on the sidelines in Egypt and elsewhere. Is it the numbers — Egypt’s death toll is far lower, at this point than Syria’s — or maybe the kinds of weapons being used? Or, perhaps, it is the Egyptian military’s longtime status as an ally?
This kind of hair-splitting is difficult and is why I have trouble with the notion of humanitarian interventions — when do we go in? To protect whom? And should we consider the potential impacts beyond the immediate crisis? Any intervention is going to tilt the balance on the ground, meaning our intervention is likely to be viewed as us taking sides in a war in which neither side deserves support. And our intervention, to be anything more than a drive-by response, is going to require American boots on the ground. Are we ready to commit American lives in this way and to this war?
Earlier today, I was accused by a commenter to an earlier post of condoning the chemical attacks on Syrian rebels and civilians, of being complicit on some level in the horrors taking place there. The argument assumes that, since I oppose military intervention, I must support the status quo. It is the same argument we heard leading into the Iraq war — if you don’t support the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, you must support his regime — and the argument is as ill-conceived and wrong-headed now as it was then.
And my question remains: Why intervene in Syria and not in Egypt, where nearly 400 protesters and others have been killed as a result of a military coup? Why not use military force to intervene in the dozen or so civil conflicts around the world?
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Soldiers are STILL dying in Afghanistan and we want to get militarily involved in Syria???!!!! Perhaps if we had not been at war for the past 12 years in Afghanistan and Iraq, then maybe we could think about some kind of military involvement but not under the present circumstances. Hey, wait a minute, I thought we didn't have enough money? These war hawks are the same jackasses that say that Social Security and Medicare are unsustainable (not true),that it's never the right time to have a minimum wage or a living wage. But we always have enough money to drop bombs. As Leonard Cohen said in \”Democracy is Coming,\” we are the best of the worst (not the exact quote but close).
Obama should seek Congressional authorization before doing anything. Let's have a damn discussion, a debate before we start dropping bombs and start another damn war. This situation is no direct threat to the US and it's not clear that Assad is using chemical weapons every day in all situations. Yes, it's horrific, it's terrible and we should do all things possible before we start dropping bombs and sending in the drones and missiles. We can't be the policeman to the whole world, at least not while we are still quagmired in Afghanistan. We never seem to have the money for the poor and downtrodden in this country but we always seem to find the money for UNNECESSARY wars, bombs and drones. The war hawks want to cut, gut and kill off Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security but wars of choice? No problem for wars of choice and bombs, there's always enough money for wars. How many billions are still disappearing into Afghanistan and even Iraq where we are maintaining one of the largest embassy compounds on earth.
Here's a snippet of the lyrics of Leonard Cohen's DEMOCRACY IS COMING: Sail on, sail on O mighty Ship of State! To the Shores of Need Past the Reefs of Greed Through the Squalls of Hate Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on. It's coming to America first, the cradle of the best and of the worst. It's here they got the range and the machinery for change and it's here they got the spiritual thirst.\”For the whole poem/song go to:http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/leonardcohen/democracy.html
Can you imagine if McCain were president with that imbecile Palin by his side. It would be bomb, bomb, bomb Iran, Syria and whatever stan he was in the mood for bombing. Bombs-R-Us but oh so sorry, we must make cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid because we must all make sacrifices except for the top 1% and the military and industrial complex. We are all equal but some people are more equal than others, such as the Koch brothers.