by Isi Leibler
August 29, 2013
http://wordfromjerusalem.com/?p=4784
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There are no
simple solutions to the horrors unfolding in Syria. Had the West responded
sooner, there might have been a remote chance for moderates within the rebel
camp to form a functional political authority. Today, that possibility is
inconceivable.
Now the forces
of darkness and evil dominate the behavior of the government and rebels alike.
The depths of unimaginable barbarism to which both parties have descended exceed
the worst horror films.
Merely a few
kilometers from Israel’s border in Damascus, President Bashar al-Assad has been
butchering and massacring his own people for two years. He has now added
chemical weapons to his arsenal. US Secretary of State John Kerry, who, until
recently considered Assad a “reformer,” has condemned Assad’s chemical weapons
attack as defying “any code of morality” and representing a “moral
obscenity.”
The Iranian
terrorist regime and its Lebanese terrorist extension, Hezbollah, fully support
Assad. Together, they have concocted the ultimate evil witch’s brew. It is
shocking that for reasons of realpolitik Russia supports these terrorists in
order to bolster its regional influence. It represents Moscow’s most shameful
foreign policy initiative since the overthrow of the Evil Empire. The Syrian
rebels are guilty of perpetrating similar if not even more grotesque atrocities.
Dominated by fanatical jihadists, including Al Qaeda elements committed to
global sharia and martyrdom, they have murdered innocent Sunni women and
children. They revel in committing vile atrocities, some even descending to the
depths of public displays of barbaric acts of cannibalism.
Victory by
either side will have disastrous effects on the region. If Assad retains even
partial power, Iranian’s state terrorists will consider it a victory. If the
rebels succeed, Syria will be controlled by jihadist packs. Unspeakable
brutality will inevitably follow. Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair,
succinctly summed up the situation: “Syria is...mired in carnage between the
brutality of Assad and various affiliates of Al Qaeda”.
Within this
context, why should the West get involved? Why not let a plague descend on both
houses?
Because it is
unacceptable for the civilized world to abrogate morality and stand aside as
innocent civilians are massacred. If we remain spectators to the mass murder and
gassings of innocent civilians, we will be providing a green light to other
cruel regimes to act similarly. We will lose our humanity. It will revive
memories of the world which stood by as Jews were being exterminated in the Nazi
Holocaust.
Intervention is
a risky business. Time and again efforts to apply external pressure – especially
on authoritarian Arab regimes – have proven to be counterproductive. In Iraq,
Afghanistan, Libya and even Egypt, crude attempts at imposing democracy have
resulted in the ascendency of fundamentalist Islamic regimes with human rights
records far worse than their predecessors.
Nonetheless,
the West, led by the US, must act decisively. Despite division within Congress
and American opposition to another military intervention, President Obama must
deliver on his repeated threats of military action should Assad cross the red
line of chemical weapons usage.
Initially Obama
tried to fudge the issue, claiming that the US requires approval from the United
Nations before embarking on a military initiative, but he faces pressures to act
from Britain, France, Turkey and Arab countries. If Obama fails to respond now,
Iran, North Korea and other rogue states will have little to fear as they
continue in their defiant marches toward nuclear capability.
The risks
associated with targeted strikes at chemical weapons arsenals are high. Massive
casualties amongst innocent civilians and fallouts are possible. Additionally,
there is doubt as to whether US intelligence can accurately identify and ensure
the destruction of underground arsenals.
Overall, the
current US response has been appalling. It has formally assured Assad that it
will restrict its punitive military response to “limited strikes” over a number
of days, and stressed that it is not seeking to bring about regime
change.
This mere rap
over the knuckles is hardly likely to act as a deterrent and the killing
business will proceed as in the past. In fact, Assad is likely to boast that he
defeated the US and the Western alliance. It will not reassure those concerned
about the failure of the US to stand by its commitments and allies. It will
certainly not allay Israel’s concerns about the US standing by its undertakings
concerning the Iranian nuclear threat.
Bret Stephens
of The Wall Street Journal has urged that the US concentrate on military strikes
designed to kill Assad and his principal henchmen. Stephens correctly notes that
if President Obama could boast about how he finished Osama bin Laden “with a
bullet to the head and another to the heart,” he should have no inhibitions
about doing likewise to a mass murderer like Bashar Assad.
Targeted
assassinations would avoid becoming enmeshed in a ground war like the US faced
in Iraq and Afghanistan. They would serve as a deterrent to other tyrants who
would fear for their own lives if they behaved similarly and they would send a
signal to the Iranians that the US is not the toothless tiger it often appears
to be.
This would
neither empower Al Qaeda and the Jihadists nor necessarily lead to an immediate
regime change, but it might accelerate division of the country which, from a
humanitarian viewpoint, represents the best possible outcome and would limit the
civilian massacre which would inevitably result if either party achieves total
supremacy.
He may be contacted at ileibler@leibler.com
This column was originally published in the Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom
Some of my recent articles:
The Implications of Obama’s Failure in Egypt (August 29, 2013)
Obama Appeasement Will Result in Disaster (August 19, 2013)
Distinguishing between critics and adversaries (August 4, 2013)
Indyk: a Disastrous Choice for Mediator (July 26, 2013)
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