The newspapers today are discussing the likelihood that Britain and the USA may soon begin firing missiles at Syria, apparently in a bid to destabilise the oppressive regime of President Assad. I have several points to make here.
First, it is hard to be certain who carried out the various atrocities perpetrated recently in Syria. They could be the work of the government, or of rebel groups funded by wealthy Arabs, or of Israel. Do you trust either David Cameron or Barack Obama to be honest about what is going on?
Second, even if Assad's regime is oppressive that does not give any other country the right to intervene militarily.
Third, to intervene militarily would not merely be a war crime. It would also be gross hypocrisy. The world is full of oppressive regimes, but Britain and the USA do not go to war against all of them, and British taxpayers actually fund quite a lot of them. I expect that American taxpayers do as well.
Fourth, it is unlikely that any military intervention would produce no civilian casualties, and the bombing of Libya a couple of years ago gives us no reason for complacency on this point.
Fifth, neither David Cameron nor Barack Obama are - so far as I am aware - offering us any guarantees that there will be no ground war in Syria. Will we soon be seeing the body bags coming back?
Let me remind you of two of my earlier posts:
One more widow...
The holocaust continues ...
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