In Syria, Obama's Head Between 'Hammer and Anvil' (Le Temps,
Switzerland)
"Today, Obama has his head caught between the hammer and
the anvil. Failure to intervene would give a boost to the impunity of bloodthirsty
Bashar al-Assad and the Iranian regime. ... To intervene
is to venture into the unknown. ... The impotence of the West and the
Arab-Muslim world is matched only by the refusal of Russia and China to assume
the responsibility of great powers."
In
a few days, America may launch a military campaign against the Syrian regime of
Bashar al-Assad to send the tyrant of Damascus a sign
of firmness, but without putting a stop to him. A reverse offensive, so to
speak.
Confronted
with the human tragedy of the Syrian civil war, experts, politicians and
journalists are decidedly uncertain. Some are predicting that an American military
intervention will impact the entire region, and the most alarmed, the entire
planet, in a conflict that will have incalculable consequences. Others believe
that air strikes, even limited ones, will put an end to a butcher who, two and
a half years on, has killed more than 100 000 people.
The
Syrian cauldron, however, melts even the faintest of certainties. Without being
able to see what the long-term benefits would be, it has been with realism and an
awareness of the difficulties that Barack Obama has long refused to take
military action.
Posted By
Worldmeets.US
Today,
Obama has his head caught between the hammer and the anvil. Failure to
intervene would give a boost to the impunity of bloodthirsty Bashar al-Assad and the Iranian regime, which is putting
its influence as a regional nuisance to better use than ever by providing weapons
and money to its Shiite ally in Damascus and encouraging Hezbullah battle the
Syrian opposition. To intervene is to venture into the unknown. Former adviser
to Jimmy Carter, Zbigniew Brzezinski, has repeated in
vain that any military action must be taken within the context of an overall strategy,
since no one has yet been able to construct the scaffolding of such a framework.
The
impotence of the West and the Arab-Muslim world is matched only by the refusal
of Russia and China to assume the responsibility of great powers. The general
confusion has also produced some odd effects. Some Europeans who once lambasted
American imperialism in Iraq and Kosovo, now call on the United States to
restore order in the Middle East, where its influence is waning. In fact, if force
were to speak, the hope, meager as it may be, is that it will breathe new life into
diplomacy.
