The American Revolution succeeded because of the intervention of the French. During the French Revolution, the French ate their young.
The fighting in Syria and South Sudan and The Congo and Burma are largely the result of over population. Moslem Arab countries expelled all the Jews and have since then largely refused to take in any refugees of their own 'race' and faith. Lebanon and Jordan being exceptions. The citizens of the West have largely run out of willingness to take in more refugees.
The US fights in Afghanistan and Iraq clearly show us we are not at all helpful in stopping violence, we create more of it, regardless of intent.
We can blame the Ottoman Empire, at least they can't talk back.
2
"...triggered the xenophobic, populist explosion in Europe and beyond that exposed the fragility and hollowness of the vaunted global liberal order." It is, for the most part, Syrians murdering Syrians. How can others be labeled xenophobic for not want to deal with the outcome? It also depreciates what Germany has done for Syrians.
3
Of course, above all we can never accept any of the victims into our country as refugees. Obviously they are all terrorists who profoundly, urgently endanger us. Better dead over there than alive over here, just like all those Jews we rightly rejected in the WWII era. America First! MAGA!!
3
And then they will complain that the United States gets too involved. Then they will come and committ terrible acts within our country. And they can't get it that their belief system is dangerous to themselves and Western nations. They act ungrateful and have divided Europe all the while they have been welcomed by Europeans. There's a reason why the mideast is in so much drama. They have to sort out their problems and differences. Nobody else.
3
"all the forces that gave rise to and were birthed by Syria’s traumatic uprising are struggling in a catastrophic battle . . . knowledge does not lead to accountability"
Accountability? You want accountability?
Those forces were NOT "birthed by Syria's traumatic uprising." They were birthed as proxy forces by foreign interests using Syria as its sandbox to fight, and killing the Syrian civilians with the same careless abandon as they now kill Yemen's civilians.
By all means, accountability. And stop doing it again, dragging it on in Syria, doing the same in Yemen and Libya and wherever else (Iran?). But this shifting of blame is a cover story, not an attempt to get accountability. It only helps do more of the same horror.
4
Realistic assessment of the situation and historical background to it. What is so frustrating is that the Syrian people and refugees did not choose their fate as they try to cope with life-threatening circumstances on a daily basis. Combine this with a backdrop of growing nationalism world-wide, which leaves Syrians ultimately stuck with few options and a great deal of uncertainty. It is almost an unimaginable scenario that most of us will never have to experience. Thank you for this sobering account Mr. Shaheen.
1
President obama cared more about getting a deal with ayatollah khamenei than saving women and children from the butcher of damascus. Assad has murdered more arabs than anyone this century. All ignored so obama could get a nuclear deal with iran the patron of the assad regime
2
Let’s go deeper in debt, and send American soldiers and Marines to die in another far-away Arab land where one branch of Islam wants to wipe the other branch of Islam.
We have plenty of money, and plenty of soldiers and Marines to spare - don’t we ?
Maybe though, we should simply admit that since 632 A.D., they’ve been trying to wipe each other out, and nothing we “infidels” do will stop that.
It would also seem the Arab states floating in oil money from America could easily resolve these problems among their fellow Muslims - if they wanted to - but why should they when America bankrupts itself to do it for them.
Sad to say, the Arabs don’t care, in fact they enjoy these battles that weaken their Arab enemies.
As a result - “I don’t care, do you ?”
7
We should waive all immigration restrictions and bring these poor victims to our land.
2
I'd ask the people yelling at Obama if they happen to remember that when he asked a Republican Congress for support--which, you keep yelling, a President should do--said Republican Congress blew town.
Then I'd ask if they remember who it was blew up the Middle East, by launching an invasion of Iraq because the Towers got blown up by guys from Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.
But most of all, I'd ask if they'd noticed how much Trump's made kissy-face with Assad's major ally, while smacking our own side--NATO--around.
Oh, well, what the hey. So what if a bunch more civilians die; several commentators here assure us that they're inferiors anyway. Be a good occasion for more bellowing at refugees, right?
The very worst things about the imbecelic wars in Vietnam and Iraq is this: we blew the moral authority that it takes to go into a hellhole and just stop the killing. And the very worst thing about Trump will be that so many have learned exactly the wrong lessons, starting with the fantasy of isolationism.
3
Assad is a criminal and so is Putin; and Trump is a friend of Putin, happy to sit cross-legged, I guess counting the dead, as they pile up like garbage. And all of us, onlookers, seem numb, not knowing what to do with our disgraceful inhumanity. The United Nations? Useless. This is beyond sad, disgraceful. An upside-down world, and a bit of water yet...to wash our hands!
5
If the situation were reversed I can guarantee that no Syrian would lift a single finger to help an American.
Americans have the same obligations to others that others have to us: none.
The US has prolonged this terrible conflict by sending arms. That is our mistake and shame.
The people of Syria are responsible for their own future. I hope they choose peace. If they don't that is their decision.
5
From Iraq to Afghanistan to Yemen to Syria, it should be painfully clear to anyone with a modicum of critical reasoning ability that this is simply a violent region and neither the presence nor absence of American intervention seems to either change that or lead to any ultimate stable, democratic government. From child marriage to honor killings and rapes, the Middle East has a near monopoly on some of the most abhorrent practices of the modern day.
So let us not waste more American lives or American money trying to save Islamist fighters. These fighters were not, as Shaheen misleadingly claims, created by the war in Syria but rather were its agents. Bashar al-Assad's men weren't fighting themselves but rather these militants. Indeed, the Arab Spring was the original populist movement as hardline Islamists around the world pushed back against the secular regimes of Mubarak, Gaddafi, and al-Assad not with the goal of installing a democratic government but with the goal of creating an Islamic government.
This is not our war and these are not our allies. If saved, these men would simply live to kill again another day. The crowning human achievement is not a piece of a technology but rather us as a species choosing to settle disagreements not by throwing rocks but by volleying language back and forth. Sadly it seems the Middle East has stayed in the Stone Age despite an abundance of oil-fueled wealth and technology.
3
International power brokers have a staked a claim to Idlib. What's so wrong with this picture? Should'nt Syrians only have a stake in Idlib? Ego trip for all the power brokers but only catastrophe and irreparable, irreversible loss for the Syrians. Assad is a monster but our actions and those of Russia and Iran are equally monstrous. Talking only about our narrative of liberalizing fiction of protecting Syrians, our involvement has only destroyed Syrians and their land. The contradiction is stark. Monstrous Assad killed thousands but American led coalition air-strikes resulted in killing more than 100 thousands and their land blown to smithereens. Ditto for the Russians and Iranians. I want to give Assad the benefit if doubt. Had all the outside parties not intervened, Syria would have lost a thousand Syrians but their infrastructure would have been. The cruel Assad would quell the civilian rebellion and life would have returned to normal for most Syrians. Which in retrospect would have been the better outcome for the Syrians. But outside parties interfered and what was once a civil sectarian war turned into proxy wars. It spawned and infested with the likes of grotesque ISIS supported by our ally Saudi Arabia. And now comes another country Israel on another pretext. It's time we stopped being sanctimonious. The so called protectors have become the destroyers. I hope Idlib becomes the last frontier to end this tragic war. A war which has destroyed Syria and Syrians forever.
The US public has no interest or appetite for involvement in any foreign war, especially in the Middle East. Bad outcomes are at least as likely as good outcome if the US becomes involved. Indeed, I'm not sure one could even figure out what a good outcome or bad outcome would be. This naive author should get the message - the US is not going to intervene anywhere anymore unless its vital interests are at stake. Obama's lofty rhetoric may have fooled you, but most people were not so fooled. Certainly not Russia or Iran, who both viewed Obama's childish nonsense about red lines and global community as the complete nonsense that it is.
1
We should be taking in millions of refugees at the very least. Helping the situation within Syria may be beyond our ken.
1
About a week ago, the Russian press (RT.com) warned that a false-flag poison gas provocation was being prepared in Syria. Soon thereafter, the United States warned Russia, Syria and Iran not to engage in chemical warfare. It's good to have multiple sources of information.
Why was 40 tons of chemical weapons left by the Syrian opposition? See: https://on.rt.com/91jz
When one starts a rebellion against the central government, one must consider the possibility of losing. I wonder if the NY Times published equally anguished editorials about General Sherman's destruction of the Southern states in putting down their rebellion? I very much doubt it.
7
Bombing and killing as a solution just creates more in the future. If we can't find ways to work out problems peacefully, we're doomed as the bombs get bigger and smarter, and the drone technology improves. If that money were only spent on education and infrastructure ..........
Say what you want about China, but it's policy of spending billions to construct roads, railways, ports and air terminals in nations they wish to "colonize" (extract their resources) seems destined to gain more fans in in those countries than bombing and leaving death and destruction.
2
It is naive of such astute contributor to believe that the West has the Syrian people interest in mind. National security of countries is at the forefront when decisions are made to intervene or not in the Middle East. Please understand once and for all that the Middle East ailments is self made due tribal politics and alignment, rampant corruption, lack of education, transparency, and courage of its own people.
Turkey is right next door, and supposedly interested in protecting millions of Sunni Syrians of Turkish origin. They have a responsibility to these people, more than the US does.
Assad is pure evil, but with nobody else can or will unite Syria. He should be deposed, but then what?
The Kurds should be protected-they have enemies on two fronts-by the US. Too bad the UN has little interest in them, but they deserve a country of their own, and they think far more democratically than any other Muslim ethnic group.
2
All part of the master plan on the part of the global élite pulling strings in places as far apart as Syria, Myanmar, and various African nations to precipate humanitarian chaos in order to cull the numbers of 'superfluous' human beings. The corporate overlords would not waste time trying to find constructive ways to allow the inhabitants of these lands to live in peace. Better to just let them die of benign neglect and keep on walking without a qualm of regret. Anyone who believes in any other plausible 'solution' is a victim of self-delusion. Just another example of the shock doctrine at work in the 21st century.
Mr. Shaheen's powerful op-ed raises a question that has troubled me for far too long: Why are we Americans so willfully blind and/or given to shameless hypocrisy in our dealings with other nations?
Indifference to the suffering of others is certainly not peculiar to Americans. But ever since the days of Woodrow Wilson, America has been the world's moral and humanitarian leader. America's defeat of fascism and communism cemented that position. Unfortunately, America has used that unique position and the unmatched military power that enabled it to intervene in the affairs of other nations. These wanted and unwanted covert and military interventions were always clothed in humanitarian reasons, but the phoniness of some of them was all too obvious. Indeed, some were nothing more than naked attempts to further America's economic, ideological and "security" interests.
The ill will generated against America as a result of the interventions in Vietnam, Iraq and Iran caused incalculable death, suffering and destruction. Yet Americans dutifully supported those and other interventions. And they will likely do likewise if Trump or his successor decides to invade Iran, Venezuela or some other militarily weak nation. Far too many Americans are incapable of saying "no" to war and bullying of weaker nations. That's what happens when people or nations are too strong--or think they are. But cosmic justice doe not exempt bullies. We will pay a price sooner or later for our bullying.
1
The author does not address the ethnic and religious hatreds in Syria which is a composite State made up of Sunni Arabs who are 55-60% of the population. The rest are or were Alawite 13%, Christian 10-12%, Druse 3%, other Shia 3%, Kurds 10% and Turks 3% .
The choice for the minorities was the continuation of the secular State or risk a Sunni Muslim State imposing a radical from of Islam on the whole population. The brutal response of the Assad regime to peaceful protests created extremes and neutralized the moderate opposition. Hopes that Sunni moderates would prevail is an illusion: they would be crushed by the radicals as were the Mensheviks by the Bolsheviks....Syria would become an terrorist Muslim State. So despite his cruelty many support Assad. The situation will not change as long as the peoples of the Middle East define themselves primarily in ethnic and religious terms and Muslims stop thinking of non-Muslims as the Other who have no right to be there and are just tolerated as wrong-headed in their religions or as heretic or infidels. Until they think as Syrians and citizens first nothing will change. A Lebanese woman in Boston said to me when I said there were 18 officials recognized sects in Lebanon she immediately replied, "Yeah, and they all hate each other." But when you go there or to Syria where I was before the Civil War people always pretend there are no problems re ethnicity and religion. Only in Rojava are they trying to change minds.
3
The United States has supported the Middle East's dictators against their people, consistently, since 1945. And it has always been about oil.
The United States overthrew the elected Iranian president , Mossadegh, in 1953 and installed the Shah who ruled through systematic torture of opponents. Mossadegh opposed Britain's and the United States' control of Iranian oil. The Shah's regime imploded with the Ayatollahs' revolution in 1979, and the United States has been their mortal enemy since.
The United States supported Iraq's Saddam Hussein, including after he used chemical weapons, because he was Iran's foe (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/rumsfeld-backed-saddam.... Donald Rumsfeld went to shake Saddam's hand after these attacks (https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/08/26/exclusive-cia-files-prove-america-h....
Only after Saddam ceased to do American bidding did he become the enemy.
George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq in 2003 created the Islamic State. It turned Iraq into a devastation zone in which millions fled their homes. Of note, that invasion was supported by many currently active political figures in this country including Hillary Clinton, and by this newspaper.
If we don't recognize how we got to this deeply disastrous point, the slaughter of innocents for the sake of oil will continue.
5
Thank you, Kareem Shaheen for telling how it is, and not a fictionalized account of it. G.W. Bush royally messed up The Middle East by supposedly trying to get rid of Saddam, and Obama and Trump finished the job by tacitly inviting Putin with gold-lettered invitation, while he was gingerly just sticking his toe to make mischief.
The Turks barred the Russians from the Mediterranean for 350 years the US decided to welcome them.
They are not rebels, they are terrorists who hide, like cowards, behind a human shield made up of women and children.
These terrorists are funded and get their weapons from the the Gulf States like Saudi Arabia and also from the US.
They are to Syria what the Taliban and IS are to Afghanistan and Iraq.
The US had no problems killing millions of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as history tells us in Vietnam, when fighting an enemy, regardless of this enemy being real or just an ideological enemy or even perceived enemy.
So what is the issue here?
Assad and his government represent a sovereign state and are the legitimate government of Syria.
Their allies too have the International Law on their side.
They have the right to drive these terrorists out of Syria.
If they accept these terrorists hiding behind women and children, the terrorists win and Syria is in danger of becoming an Islamic State, sponsored by the Saudi government and the US, right at the doorstep of the EU.
Is that what the author wants?
A Middle Ages Sharia state with no Human Rights?
So why did they fight and in some cases still fight the Taliban, IS and Al-Qaeda?
This kind of double morals is the problem.
Would the West be true to what it calls its values, they would support Assad in driving out the terrorists.
Instead the West and the GCC states supports the terrorists.
There is something very wrong with the behaviour of the Western powers in the region.
8
I'm going to be honest by saying that I think Russia/Syria/Iran should be allowed to retake Idlib without any interference from us. Idlib is a tribal mess filled with Islamic radicals, gangsters and warlords, and Turkish backed proxies in the form of the FSA. There are innocent people on both sides, but quite frankly Idlib isnt ready to be helped. Religious beliefs are more important than freedom, and tribalism is more important than unity. There is nothing we can do to help them that wont just lead to more death later on.
The one group that truly deserves our help is the Kurds. They are secular, democratic, feminist, and unique in that they are pluralistic and progressive. Rojava deserves our protection and the Kurds deserve out commitment to help.
3
Russia is winning again! They will bomb in Idlib indiscriminately--hospitals, schools, civilians and send three million desperate souls into Turkey and then Europe. The influx of these poor people will strengthen right wing parties, which are friends of Russia.
This is the diabolical plan of Putin. It all began with Trump.
I'm a little shocked at the isolationism I hear coming from US commentators. Not that I wish to escalate US involvement in Syria. I don't. However, there's something about the tone that comes across as aggressive. Hostile maybe? I don't know.
The point being: The US does have a humanitarian obligation that stops short of full blown war. The Obama administration did a good job of keeping US involvement in Syria limited However, we're now at the end of our rope.
I'm reminded of Philip Gourevitch's "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families." A treatise on the horror of the Rwandan genocide. Although I'll remind you, the title comes from a real life human being.
Some claim Turkey has the situation under control. And you really trust Endogan to allow 3 million refugees to come sprawling into Turkey without concern? Turkey is an anvil to Russia's hammer. These Syrians will get slaughtered one way or the other.
Again, the US doesn't have to start a war over it. However, we do have the opportunity to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe right now, in this moment. Right this very second. So far, the official word from the White House is "proceed, just don't use chlorine gas anymore."
Personally, I can't understand why Americans are ambivalent to this response. We've gone from managing the situation to abandoning the situation. When pictures of casualties come back, I want each and every one of the naysayers to have a look. That's blood on your hands.
3
Putin has called on Europe to rebuild Syria for the return of refugees.
Now he and Assad could turn the offensive in Idlib into a blood bath. And we shouldn’t be surprised if Putin chose to delve into his 1994-1995 playbook, which was used in the savage war in Grozny, Chechnya.
Idlib is the last major stronghold controlled by forces opposed to Assad. More than half of the inhabitants came from previously rebel-held areas. The province also borders Turkey, and straddles major highways running from Aleppo to Hama and Damascus, and to the Mediterranean city of Latakia.
The US estimates that there are between 20.000-30.000 Islamist militants on the ground. An estimated 2.9 million people live in the province. While the vast majority of them are civilians, thousands had taken up arms against the Assad regime over the past seven years. The resistance is stiff. The Islamists and some civilians might choose to fight to the bitter end, because the other option would be surrend and execution. Putin and Assad wouldn’t hesitate to wipe out Idlib, as long as they can achieve their goals.
2
I grew up as our (the American) government was entrenched in military affairs abroad - Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya... And considering the outcome of all of those engagements, as a citizen, I have very little appetite for American involvement in the Middle East.
18
@Anna
Thank God Anna you were not president of america in the 90s or there would have been bosnian and kosovo refugees today
@Anna, Guess I feel like you. I think USA intervention has caused more problems than it has helped. More intervention will cause more problems. Even providing humanitarian aid has been treated with contempt, not gratitude, and often only partially reaches those who need it most. Plus we have trillion dollar debts but are borrowing even more to support intervention that - no matter what it is - seldom has a positive outcome. Only more anger and hate directed towards us, and monetary demands that will leave our future generations with massive, impossible debt. We need to cut back, including our aid to Israel. Humanitarian aid only, voluntarily from the people, not the government, and only if it will really go to those in real need.
It seems to some of us that Middle Eastern tribalism has been pervasive for centuries. We are now witnessing the problems tribalism creates here in America with evangelicals claiming the moral high ground and rallying around their demigod trump. Religion seems to be the major sticking point or the go to logic for these tribal rivalries. What has happened in Syria is truly tragic but I don't see a way out until one tribe dominates and crushes the other. Sooner or later the cycle starts all over again.
5
Why don’t Mr Shaheen ask Muslim nations - eg Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia or the Gulf States - to provide aid to their fellow Muslims in Idlib?
13
Since Russia has been an active participant in the war in Syria, should we not expect Russia to admit the refugees to it's country. It's time for Russia to act as a civilized member of the world.
7
@Niles yeah right - russia is simply a vast criminal enterprise - something that is now occuring in this country.
Saving the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people used to reflect American values and show the world what we stand for. By contrast, the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle U.S. refugee protection programs stokes the flames of anti-refugee sentiment in many other countries encouraging them to follow its example. Such policies not only damage America, but also the world and above all reveal the inhumanity of man.
Shamefully, in 2018, the slow tide of Syrian refugees coming to the US has been reduced to nothing more than a trickle. To be more specific, just 11 Syrians have been resettled in the US this year, according to State Department numbers. This is a staggering number. One can never forget Mr. Trump's crocodile tears upon seeing a photo of a baby gassed by chemicals. That photo-op resulted in a few days of positive coverage for him yet never opened the door to more innocent Syrian refugees.
Those of us who feel the pain and agony of this tragic humanitarian crisis care not about geopolitics nor the U.S.'s strategic interests. America has descended far from being that "beacon of hope on the hill."
To take poetic license with the words of the author of this eloquent op-ed-
History will record:
Kan ya ma kan, there was not a unified international community who intervened for the lives of our innocent men, women and children.
Kan ya ma kan, there were no longer values of justice and decency displayed by the wealthiest nation on the planet.
6
Oh please spare me the game crocodile tears! The US, under the presidency of Obama, is directly responsible for all the chaos happening in North Africa and the Middle East. They encouraged people to rebel against autocratic leaders in the name of democracy and fostered the Arab Spring, and look at what's happened. Libya is a mess, Egypt is back under military control, and Syria has been destroyed as a country. I grew up in the Middle East, and I still don't understand why Americans can't recognize a basic fact - Democracy does not work everywhere! Some places need strong men, and democracy will come much later.
So don't blame Trump for the issues in the Middle East. Furthermore, I don't want more Syrian refugees coming here unless they are thoroughly vetted. Middle Eastern culture and values do not blend with Western culture, so we should only be admitting people who are willing to "become" American - learn the language, the culture, and the values and abide by them.
3
@HP History has already recorded that Syrians began killing each other, and that is the foundation of the chaos we now have.
1
From a youngish liberal: the US seems damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Few wars and interventions are ever righteous. We all know that now - the US never was righteous. So many interventions in the Middle East in my lifetime: my husband’s father left his crumbling family to fight in the Gulf War. And what did it accomplish? We’ve been engulfed in two wars in the region since I was a teenager. And what had that accomplished? One war conducted as a lightening strike and then we left; the other two wars dragged on and on. What is the best American response? Show up with war planes and bomb in any country we think is on the wrong side? Then leave and let who take over? What exactly are we supposed to do? You speak of the “fragility and hollowness of the liberal world order,” and indeed I feel that it has been a sham. It cannot cope with mass displacement, nor with American intervention in the Middle East.
I’ll also add that when I lived in the Middle East as a child, my friends from across the region espoused a very trendy hatred of the US. Syrians, Egyptians, Palestinians, Saudis, Lebanese - no one expressed any sense of hope in the US. They certainly had real grievances in the way strikes and alliances and wars had been conducted in the past. A very important lesson for me in the illusion of American exceptionalism. I love living in the US, and I’m grateful we have no widespread war here. But the solution to these disasters is not to hope Trump sends some war planes.
27
The visceral truth in this article—that hundreds of thousands of dead Syrians on the many sides of this conflict—is unfortunately shrouded and dispelled by the exaggerations and unfounded claims of the author, whether for what had happened in the past or what is likely to happen in Idlib. It’s of course known to most readers that Idlib, one of the loveliest and most fertile Syrian provinces, is currently controlled by Turkish forces and remnants of Nusra/Qaddafi forces and other rebel groups, some of whom have chosen to leave East Aleppo, with their families,for exile in Idlib rather than surrender. No great or little massacre drove them out of Aleppo, Ghouta, or Homs; rather most willingly rode “green buses” provided by Syrian government for temporary exile under foreign government. As for impending massacre; it is far less likely than the massacres committed by US forces in Raqqa and Mosul, which were flattened in order to be saved.
10
@Tabbaasco No Qaddafi forces. You meant Al Qaeda.
Beautiful piece on a horrible world. Had McCain won, this would be a different world.
1
It’s a self inflected tragedy beyond one’s imagination, sorry state of affairs indeed. Western interference will never solve internal problems. Muslims are mainly responsible for the killing of Muslims in the name of sectarian violence. Is not Allah the same God for them, then why kill and get killed. It simply doesn’t make any sense.
Let the Muslims sit and solve their problems all by themselves by properly understanding their religion. No one else can solve their problems and let them not create problem for others for God sake.
America has already poked its nose everywhere and obtained practically nothing instead it lost billions and billions of dollars, may be trillions of dollars, killed a number of civilians, got its soldiers killed and even got them injured badly. The soldiers’ families lost their beloved ones once for all and they are never going to comeback. Has America eliminated terrorists once for all ? Has it ever going to eliminate all terrorists? I don’t think this is ever going to happen.
15
@Sivaram Pochiraju Actually, a LOT of arms producers and shareholders in the US and elsewhere got really really rich from provisioning our tax payer funded bombs and armies.
That was pretty much Mission Accomplished as far as they and their supporters are concerned. What an awesome economy, based on military hardware sales.
5
@Sivaram Pochiraju
The beginning of the Syrian crisis was an uprising of people who were tired of being ruled by a dictator. Many freedom fighters were also flushed out of the countryside by drought (because of global warming). In the city, with few job opportunities, rising up against a corrupt government seemed like a good idea. My point is that the beginning of the conflict was not about religion. And really, the factional fighting that ensued is also not about religion. It is about different groups vying for power.
2
We are no the people we believe ourselves to be! If we were the world including the USA would be a much better place.
1
"Knowledge without kindness, and wisdom without sobriety, are useless." So said Juan Matus, a Mexican Indian shaman, once upon a time.
Every time I read about Syria and the surrounding region, or even just think of them—of what must be going on as I gaze at the green, non-bombed forest of the Sandia Mountain here on the other side of the planet—I think of this phrase, and my long lament regarding the devolution of our species, that being the fact that it is driven by idiocies that stem from my own gender: the prideful lions that walk on two feet, and proclaim they hold both the natural (science) and the supernatural (god) in their hands—the male homo sapiens (and their female dupes) who now want to add a second sapiens onto that already supremely arrogant self-label. Sure, we're very clever hominids, but wise? Obviously not. Not when our selfish desire for immortality drives us wholesale to accept myths as truth no matter how much it costs, that cost being endless, religion-justified slaughter.
The knowledge of the scientists behind the global military industrial complex is obviously absolutely devoid of kindness, and it is that aspect of science that dominates our world at the expense of far more pressing concerns. And the purported wisdom of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic potentates is obviously devoid of sobriety. As they've been for 6,000 years at least, they're addicted to the adrenal secretions of power.
Homo sapiens? The chosen species of a god? Give me a break.
3
@J. Ambrose Lucero I don't think it's particularly a doomed species we belong to. It was persisting in allowing a bunch of alpha male wannabees to run things. I know I know, they're in that position because if you don't let them do what they want, they'll kill you.
The world is full of violent, ignorant, lazy, greedy, selfish, short-sided people. Sometimes they create devastation and chaos.
America has a $21,000,000,000,000 debt and a $1,200,000,000,000 annual budget deficit.
Sad, but we have our own problems - let them fix theirs.
10
We had a far lower deficit, with the debt trending down, in 2016. Gee, I wonder what changed?
But yes, there're lots of short-sighted and greedy people in the world. A great number of them hide behind patriotism.
May they lie in the peace this world denied them.
1
So very very sad.
1
It will end like the Sri Lankan Civil War with a forgotten massacre.
3
Assad is just the sort of brutal dictator Trump should greet and meet. If the Russians like him, so will Trump.
1
Why doesn’t Mr Shaheen ask Muslim nations - eg Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia or the Gulf States - to provide aid to their fellow Muslims in Idlib?
5
The people of Syria must learn to live with one another in peace.
Had Assad been removed from power every non-Sunni Syrian would be dead now- killed by religious extremists.
9
I am not surprised that the rebels hoped that the US would support them in their attempt to unleash the horror as the US did in Iraq and Libya. The rebels didn't have ability or even wish to improve lives of Syrian citizens simply because the rebels are a bunch of the various militias with different agendas and visions. All what they wanted was to carve the regions of their influence where they could abuse the population as in Afghanistan or Libya. Majority of the rebels were Islamists that were bend to build some kind of Islamic regime forcing the mostly secular population to live under Islamic laws. If the rebel so much value the human lives, why don't they put down their weapon or at least stop shelling the Government area, provoking the response? What about the 44 civilians that were killed in the shelling by the rebels? Don't they deserve the sympathy? Or in the eyes of the author they are a merely collateral damages in the great freedom fight of the rebels? I am sure there are people in Syria who hope for the US help, but there are also a lot of people who curse the day when the US decided to get involved in the ME and unleashed horror of the modern era here. I say to people who wish the US to help, be careful what you wish for. Just look at Iraq, look at Libya, look at Afghanistan, look at Yemen. Do you really want such fate for your country?
20
@yulia These "freedom fighting" rebels are ISIS and Al Qaeda. But let's pretend we don't know.
Fear of mass slaughter shouldn't be enough to justify foreign intervention. The same fear led us into the Libya fiasco. Assad has no reason to decimate this last stronghold when the world's eyes are only on it. We've done enough to prolong this war for no reason. Arming rebels, conducting airstrikes have been fruitless, only extending the war's scope to include more people. America is not the world's "guardian angel".
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@LR Wow a new narrative for the disastrous destruction of Libya. "Fear of mass slaughter?" Propaganda clearly penetrates minds and gets results. Sad and ridiculous. Africa's most educated, 93% literate, and prosperous economy, popular with it's citizens and a SECULAR Muslim state as well. Nope, the French felt threatened by Qadaffi's Pan-African Currency movement and convinced Obama to help destroy him. The pretense being that a very popular leader was murdered because he was somehow evil. Much better apparently to turn Libya into chaotic jihadi heaven.
"Many Syrians I spoke to often wondered why the world did nothing to help them, why the West — a substitute term for the United States — stopped at offering mere words, why every act of horror evoked mere outrage and posturing at the United Nations Security Council."
This is the major question when the focus is international. But I suggest looking inward.
These are for the most part Syrians doing this to Syrians and for the most part Muslims doing this to Muslims and this reality is not limited just to Syria.
These are questions that are not asked because they are not politically correct.
However, they reflect the reality and fears, and schisms of the Middle East. They should be asked in the Middle East and outside the Middle East. And they also reflect fears of non-Muslims in the Middle East.
Answer these questions and then decide how to run the Middle East.
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@Joshua Schwartz, These are for the most part Syrians doing this to Syrians and for the most part Muslims doing this to Muslims.." True. But for the most part, the murderers will be Iran, Russia and Turkey. And in the end it will be them and not Assad who owns Syria. And Iran will be on your country's border. I had always hoped for a 2-State solution between Israel and the Palestinians. But this will now become impossible.
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Civil wars are brutal. They become even bloodier when religion gets pulled into the mix.
I feel bad for Syria. I wish Syria the best.
Syria, however, is of no interest to the United States. The well-being of its people is not our concern.
If private individuals want to help let them help. No national resources should be spent on Syria.
The people of Syria should be left to decide their own future- to live together in peace or to continue murdering each other over religious quibbles.
But the United States should withdraw itself from the internal troubles of foreign countries. And enough about 'values.' We can maintain our national values without interfering or having to import the entire third-world as 'refugees.' Democratic self-government for the benefit of the people of OUR NATION is a value. Intervention in Syria, or taking 'refugees' are policies individuals may hold- they are not national values.
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Don't want to blame Obama but his policy to do nothing caused refugee crisis, led to Trumps ascendancy and similar anti-immigrant sentiments to rise in other parts of the world. That is a great burden to live with..
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It is our post 9/11 interventionist policies that have destabilized the Middle East and caused the refugee crisis in Europe while the USA closes the door to immigration.
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The United States cannot be the policeman of the world and at some point at this late hour in human existence, other nations should step forward and stop waiting for the US to be their daddy. This is not 1945 where much of the developed world lay in ruins and most of the rest was incapable of action, today there are any number of nations who had the ability to intervene yet did nothing. Maybe it is time that they grow up, step up and accept a larger role in the protection of human rights and the maintenance of regional and global security.
What has transpired in Syria is a tragedy, but it is nothing but a small taste of what is to come in a world increasingly impacted by a changing climate, growing populations and an increasing scarceness of essential natural resources. There is not one more drop of water on our planet than when world population was less than a billion and the same is true for any number of critical resources. Meanwhile, the population of many parts of our world continue to explode well beyond the carrying capacity of their resources. Overlay that with corrupt or inept governments that are increasingly incapable of performing the most basic functions for their people.
As to the swipe at Europe, it is not Denmark’s job to host the war weary that Turkey, Jordan nor Iraq are unwilling to host. Europeans rightly fear their culture, open society and democracy being swamped by an uncontrolled invasion of unwanted people who do not share faith, language or values.
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Kareem. It is a tragedy that there are only three comments to your powerful article, and only few dozen comments on today's editorial on the same theme, while any article about the looney tunes in Washington immediately receives hundreds of comments. We are clearly distracted. While the greatest humanitarian crisis in decades is unfolding before our eyes in Syria, we are more focused on the tweets of a deranged man.
There is much wisdom in what you say, and I am especially moved by:
"Many will die, many will flee, many will be buried under the rubble. It happened before. It will happen again. We know it. We are complicit in our knowledge, indifference and inaction."
This is Srebrenica redux. Bosnia was a rare example of the international community using force (too late and too little) to actually intervene in the interest of civilians rather than in the interest of national security. It was a rare moment, and has falsely given hope to so many since.
"Kan ya ma kan", there was a brief epoch on earth when there was a bold idea of enlightenment driven by knowledge, facts, and reason.
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So far, a million have fled to Europe, and behaved badly enough that Europe does not want the other three million. Some cultures are not as good as others. War comes with them.
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@Chip That's exactly what our Native Americans said about white people.
Deeply moving piece by Kareem Shaheen on Bashar al-Assad's impending slaughter of innocent residents in Idlib, the last rebel-held province in Syria. The gathering storm in Syria will affect 3 million people in Idlib. The gathering storm in America will affect far more millions of people, and there is no narrow Muslim "al-sirat" bridge over troubled waters in our blighted country to assist the distraught, the grieving and fearful to paradise. Trump is crossing the Rubicon and we're all in a mega carnival cruise boat crossing the Social Media Styx.
Russia and Iran are in league with Bashar al-Assad to remove every trace of rebellion from the bloody country that has committed genocide for 7 years. President Trump doesn't understand history -- of Syria or the Middle East or American history. Ms. Haley, our Ambassador to the U.N., said that an attack on Idlib (the last redoubt of Syrian rebels) would be a "reckless escalation" of the Syrian War. So today we await a military offensive by the Russians and Iranians, and we wonder what our president will do. Donald Trump is reckless, ignorant and impulsive. Who can say what he will do in Syria? Or America? Arabic fairy tales begin with the words, "It was or it was not". Ours begin with "Once upon a time". Once upon a time there was a bad president...
No matter what one thinks of Assad, and it can't be good, the majority of the responsibility for the slaughter over the past five plus years and still to come lies with the rebels. They have clearly lost. There is nothing to be gained for them in continuing this futile conflict except more death and suffering of the Syrian population. The Japanese were cudgeled into surrender in WWII and even the mighty US was forced to withdraw from Vietnam. Should Japan and the US have continued these conflicts at the cost of untold additional lives?
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More than half of all Lybians live as refugees. Yet the German hegemony over the European Union and their misplaced (and way too late) guilt from the mid last century combine to leave the US alone as a proactive force against the evil of al Assad (and tbe other forces in the Middle East - truly forces of hateful evil. So Bush 2's mistakes now leave as impotent the only nation truly disposed to defending a western liberal order. Where are our allies? Who stands against evil? On campus we find succor in shallow "self" blame (which never takes a very close look at the selves who rant about America's shortcomings). In the White House Trump rants about America First in an equally shallow return to isolationist nationalism. Whonstands against evil?
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The Obama and Trump administrations have both failed to apply sufficient economic and diplomatic pressure on Russia not only to prevent Putin from enabling Assad to carry out these atrocities, but also to force Assad to treat his people humanely. I believe this is the essence of our failure.
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@Steve, You state, "The Obama and Trump administrations have both failed to apply sufficient economic and diplomatic pressure on Russia.." But, actually, because of our policies, Russia and Iran are now both failing economic countries, yet continue to commit mass murder. This is what their leadership does, regardless of the hardships faced by their own people.
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I think about the people in Syria, regular people who live there, (not the armies and factions we mostly read about). They're present for me in all my unknowing, in abstraction I guess -- not unlike the children ripped from their parents on the border who are still in detention, who will probably never see their parents again, never grow up in a family or lead "normal" lives. Tiny prisoners who have done nothing. I remember the outcry at the gassing of Syrians, the outcry at separating parents and children at the border. I hear silence now, the going on about our lives in the midst of the gigantic suffering of others. Not blithely necessarily, but truly helpless in the maw of a machinery that seems to conspire against all of humanity, against even the ground we stand on where we're still planting our olive trees. Thank you for your article, your report. Most of the paper is sawdust compared to this.
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"The story many Americans believe in and propagate about their country is one molded in the Cold War ethos of spreading liberalism and freedom, . . ."
I'm sorry to say it, but if History shows us anything, it is that we in the United States talk a good game, but when our soldiers' boots hit the ground - if indeed they do - it's another story altogether.
After the Spanish-American War, the Philippines thought they were going to be free, until we told them they had merely traded one master for another. They still wanted their freedom, so we killed more than 100,000 of them to subjugate those islands.
We babble about freedom all the time; especially Republicans, who are as busy as they can be right now trying to take many of our freedoms away right here.
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It's frustrating and agonizing to read this is the comfort of my own home and feel absolutely powerless to prevent this impending genocide. We are still in the early stages of human evolution and at times I feel like this species is on the way out. We're just stuck in the atavistic world of our territorialistic ancestors.
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Such eloquent testimony to the suffering and loss of so many innocent civilians, caught in the vise of destructive powers well beyond their capacity to resist. Mr. Shaheen lays bare the extent to which the current (so-called) "world order" has failed to address this humanitarian disaster. The void of vision and leadership, both within the US and around the globe, has encouraged acquiescence to such atrocities as "the new normal." If it is, then it is because power brokers have retreated to their defense and interpretation of self-interest at the expense of a country (region, really) and a people brought to ruin. No, it is not an easy proposition to solve this mess. But Mr. Shaheen shows that the arid calculations of those in positions of governance are stained with the blood of so many lives lost, a bitter and irretrievable result.
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"The United States intervened in Syria to protect its “national security” interests, not to protect civilians."
And observe that no one else has jumped in to help, including France and Great Britain - who created the problem to begin with.
And the Russians, predictably, revel in making someone else's bad situation even worse.
The United States cannot solve the problems of the Middle East. That, can only be done by its citizens. And that rarely happens in lands that have been under the thumb of dictators from the beginning of time, until things get so bad that there is no other option than to fight.
Can the US solve the problems in Syria ?
Unlikely.
The history of US intervention in the Islamic world is full of repetitive examples; the people temporarily cheer the assistance until their foes are driven away, and then they turn against the US.
The long standing, and accurate, local saying: I and my brother against my cousins, I and my cousins against the world...
It is unfortunate but also unavoidable, that the bloodshed will continue.
Eradicating Assad and every single one of his henchman would be a temporary solution, and also impossible from a practical perspective.
The other long standing, and accurate local saying: When someone kills the wolf, the only question is: Which sheep becomes the next wolf ?
Lebanon finally settled down. Maybe Syria will some day.
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@Objectivist
Nice rationalization to assuage the guilt we all share for
what has happened in Syria—but far from accurate.
France did support more robust action after Assad’s first major chemical attack, but it was Britain and the the US that backed down. And even prior to that, back in early 2912, there was a path had the US stepped up support to the opposition it may have led to a negotiated settlement that forced Assad from power.
It was a road not taken by politicians who failed to grasp just how many terrible outcomes would flow from this unchallenged carnage.
The author has accurately and eloquently expressed the horror of our inaction even as we stand by as Putin,Assad and Iran openly plan their continuing slaughter of civilians, whom they do not differentiate from groups listed as “terrorists.” For them, as their actions have proven over the last 7 years, civilians—including children—are also “terrorists” who stand in their way of regaining the power, influence, wealth and unbridled corruption the revolution sought to deny.
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@rb
I have no guilt whatsoever, over what has happened in Syria.
What happened is, the "Arab Spring" failed.
We didn't start the Arab Spring, the Arabs did.
Assad saw it coming and prepped accordingly.
The spineless and feckless Obama frittered away any sense of credibilty we had with his dumb "red line" comment.
Quiet diplomacy, and occasional covert ops are always ongoing, even when he rand the ship aground, but they are no match for Russia - a blunt instrument roughly equivalent to Chad, but with thermonuclear weapons.
That the Irani zealots are involved is no shocker and predictable as well, and they are ruthless.
There is no "solution". Assad was going to make sure that an Arab Spring never got any running room in Syria.
Obama was not prepared to assassinate him, and his elite. he was also unprepared to engage Iran through force- how could he, and also fly an entire cargo plane load of cash to them at the same time...
Beautifully written, and unfortunately completely true.
Syria is the Spain of our times, a war with a dozen sides not two, and a helpless west doing nothing to stop the bloodshed. Meanwhile, the Axis of Dictators commits mass murder, in broad daylight with the cameras rolling, because they are confident we will do nothing.
The Syrians are amazed that we cannot see ourselves in them. They are right, but naive. Even before Trump the US was hardly eager to fight in Syria, intervening only when ISIS threatened our positions in Iraq. It's obviously pointless to expect American leadership, or even any substantive help. But perhaps this is a moment when the European democracies can act decisively? Acting decisively is not exactly a strength of the EU, but it's true that the survivors of this massacre will add to the flood of refugees in Europe. The EU has more reasons to act than the US, let's hope they choose to do so. Since Russia is the guiding hand and weapons supplier behind Assad, financial and diplomatic pressure could make a big difference -- Russian energy exports rely on the SWIFT network for payment, the west could deny access within seconds if we wanted to.
Exactly 100 years ago my family escaped genocide in Turkey by fleeing through Syria and then to the west. Today, refugees escape genocide in Syria by fleeing through Turkey and then to the west. 100 years later, and we have learned nothing.
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@Milo Minderbinder My family also escaped the genocide perpetrated by Ottoman Turkey and thanks to the people of Syria, survived. I will never forget them. At that time, much of the world did not know what was happening in Turkey's interior. It sickens me that the US is sitting by and watching as this slaughter occurs in full view on Twitter and Facebook, with full media coverage. However nothing is done to prevent it. There is no excuse.
Mr. Shaheen,
Thank you for being brave enough to face, what I barely have the courage to read.
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An excellent piece. I for one do not blame the people fighting for their freedom of ideas, thought and life. This too, ab desire for freedom is something that America spread throughout the world in it's cinema, TV and writings, and in a country of once 25 million people there were clearly millions for whom this was something worth fighting and dying for, or frankly, fleeing to for those who saw how hard it would be to take a stand at home. Instead of celebrating that these humans, like us, just want a good life, many have vilified them for staying and fighting or fleeing. I find I must read these articles, hard as they are, to remind myself that we are mostly lucky just by location of our birth first. How I would behave if I had been born in Syria 60 years ago instead of here, is an open question, even to me.
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Great reporting, this piece brings the horror of this war to our doorstep: Civilians are always the victims in war.
The "Blacklist" show makes you reflect on how much our TV and entertainment media provide a violent and cruel image of America to the world." The US intervened in Syria to protect its "National security" interests not to protect civilians." Is the best description of the US commitment.
Will this story appear in any news outlets across the Mid-west?
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'Idlib is also the last refuge of some three million people. Hundreds of thousands living in the province were already displaced from their homes elsewhere in Syria by the steady march of Mr. Assad’s army etc".
The hundreds of thousands who "were already displaced from their homes" were not, as this article makes it seem. displaced against their will. Instead these people these people insisted on being moved to other areas that were still under rebel control. And not these same people have to face reality, and that is that the rebels have been defeated and that any rational fighting force would give up and not fight a battle they will lose in a war that has already been won by the other side.
So if those people value their lives and the lives of their families more than they value making a final suicidal stand against Assad they should quit their fight. The problem here is not the Assad regime which at the stage has won the war, but the rebel fighter in Idlib who insist on fighting and taking the rest of the civilian population with them.
Therefore the sole issue here is whether 1. the civilians in Idlib themselves would rather die than allow Assad his inevitable victory, and 2. if they do not and the only reason they cannot surrender is because the fanatical jihaids in their midst won't allow them to, the blame lies with them, not with the government forces.
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@Michael Stavsen You highlight an extremely important issue in the dynamic that is often not discussed and or not reported. I do not know anything about the circumstances of repatriation of the civilian populations in the conflict so I don't know if the fear of retribution by the civilians is valid. Who exactly these civilians hostages of isn't clear but what I do know is that legitimate protests by the populace were met with force by Assad and the Sunni Islamicists stepped in to foment a conflict which we conveniently refer to as a "civil war." Other than the people who agreed to be bussed around (coerced? at gunpoint?), I don't see how you can say that the population has made "a choice." Many in Idlib are in the wrong place at the wrong time and suffering tremendously.
To Mr. Shaheen's excellent points, I think that we have to admit is is "ma kan" (sorry, I don't know Arabic): there is no international community that has values and therefore no one to fight for justice. There is however, so aptly pointed out in another comment, a business/government community that moves money to all players in this conflict but moral outrage cannot sway anyone there from changing the rules from which they benefit. I am sorry but there are members of the international community that are not unlike the Islamist that invest or profit from war. These, I believe, are the responsible parties because they have the power, but not the moral judgement, to pull the plug. Citizens are innocent.
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@Michael Stavsen, your alleged issue is built on a false premise. It is NOT a question of whether civilians would rather die than allow Assad in. Once he is in, they will die anyway.
Their question is whether they will allow themselves to be killed like sheep, or fight back knowing Trump will sit back and watch.
Powerful article. It brought home the Syrian horror like nothing I have read before, while also summing up what has become of our Western ideals; that they are now pretty much a myth from a time long ago.
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