Nor is that
analysis is restricted to parents and children, as Obama, Cameron and others
have discovered in relation to Syria.
Admittedly they face the not insignificant added complication of
establishing beyond doubt that the miscreant is who they say it is; and given
the past record of the UK and US governments in such matters, there will be
some who will never believe even the apparently most incontrovertible evidence.
The lack of
clarity about how to respond when their bluff was called merely underlines the
extent to which the “or else” was indeed mostly bluff in the first place – it’s
as though they believed that that the mere threat to do “something” would be
enough of a deterrent in itself.
That isn’t the
end of the confusion however – there also seem to be several elements of moral
confusion involved in their thinking at present.
Horrific though
chemical weapons are, and outlawed as they are under international law, the
method by which Syrians are being killed daily is surely secondary to the fact
that they’re being killed – from their point of view at the very least. There is a real danger that the US, UK, and
others are telling Syria that killing people on a large-scale is fine with the
international community, as long as they use the “right” weapons to do it.
Further, the
outrage at the use of chemical weapons is coming from people who themselves
own, and want the rest of the world to believe that they would in certain
circumstances use, weapons of mass destruction.
It’s not a particularly high ground on which to stand and moralise.
Outrage at the
use of chemical weapons is understandable, and the desire to “punish” Assad for
their use is also relatively easy to understand. But in which way precisely does killing
Syrian soldiers, and the inevitable civilian casualties which even the most
precise “surgical” strike would kill, actually punish Assad? As in all wars, those who suffer most are
those at the bottom of the pile, not those at the top.
Then we have
the US military elements who are apparently looking for ways to damage the Assad
regime a little but not so much as to help the rebels win, given the influence
of Al Qaeda in their ranks. This is a
recipe, if ever there was one, for prolonging the slaughter not ending it.
The inability
of the international community to respond effectively to events in Syria is
frustrating; the UN seems to be impotent.
The breach of international protocols in the use of chemical weapons is clearly
unacceptable.
But the most
unacceptable aspect of all is the daily slaughter which is taking place in the
country, and none of those demanding “action” has given an adequate explanation
to date as to how the “action” they propose will actually stop that slaughter,
rather than simply add to it.
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