In Syria, Start with Diplomacy: War is Going Down a Black Hole

In Syria, Start with Diplomacy: War is Going Down a Black Hole

The previous times when Syrian President Bashar al Assad used nerve gas, in 2013, pressure from the Russians, the US, and the world made him stop. That was before the Russians and Iran both got more involved. The UN has condemned Assad, and a resolution was only stopped by Russia. A few days ago, Trump indicated that he would not battle Assad, as he has been advising not to for at least five years. Is it possible that this gave Assad the security to return to chemical weapons?

Trump’s criticized Obama’s drawing a red line, and then not following up with an attack, may be because he found out that diplomacy could solve the problem. Trump has drawn many lines, and immediately indicated he was considering military action, making it even harder for him to back off and let diplomacy work.

Trump’s 28% cut to the State Department, his lack of contact with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, his inability to fill the major leadership positions in State, including delaying Tillerson’s deputy, and his substitution of his inexperienced son-in-law Jared Kushner to find peace in the Middle East, has led Trump to only turn to military action, instead of negotiations again. In the State Department and the Pentagon, only the Secretaries have been approved. This incompetence and laxity in Trump’s administrative ability has now had its consequences. Rachel Maddow is now reminding us that Trump’s poor setup of the National Security Council and the shifts in it yesterday show how unprepared that left Trump.

The TV news has just announced that we have fired 60 tomahawk missiles from ships at the runway and planes at an airport near Homs. The aircraft of Assad’s strike left from that airfield.

Assad is not an opponent on the playground, such that if you hit him back, he will go home crying. Assad has shown no limits to his cruelty and massive bombing of the Syrian Rebels. He has shown little willingness to take on ISIS, but just destroys the population caught in place.

While Trump has true sympathy for the victims of the sarin attack, we should remember that Trump has totally banned admitting refugees from Syria, not just a delay as for the other seven Middle East countries.

Our history of involvements in the Middle East and elsewhere has shown that unless you have dominance on the ground, and allies to fight with you, the fight is just going to escalate.

About Dennis SILVERMAN

I am a retired Professor of Physics and Astronomy at U C Irvine. For two decades I have been active in learning about energy and the environment, and in reporting on those topics for a decade. For the last four years I have added science policy. Lately, I have been reporting on the Covid-19 pandemic of our times.
This entry was posted in Affairs of State, Donald Trump, Middle East, Syria, Trump Administration, United Nations. Bookmark the permalink.

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