Syria Upstages 9/11
PRESIDENT Barack Obama is in a
bind. He has vowed to punish
Syria's President Bashar Al Assad,
for allegedly unleashing
poisonous gases on his people –
many are unconvinced.
The 12th anniversary of
September 11, America's excuse
for attacking spots round the
world since 2001, is taking a
back seat.
The war drums are beating
again. Washington is angry and
the world is not at ease. Russia
and China are not in support, so
are traditional allies Britain and
France.
Germany is lukewarm. Americans
at home and abroad wonder if
regime change in Syria is a
worthy enterprise. It is a war
that may produce another anti-
American regime.
Their stance has played a major
role in the deal that Russia has
broken to put Syria's chemical
weapons under international
supervision. Obama would seek
Congress' approval and can only
strike Syria if it reneges on the
deal.
September 11 marked one of the
most horrendous attacks on
people. Nineteen young Arabs
rammed four passenger planes
into the Pentagon, America's seat
of military power and the World
Trade in New York, killing 2,996
and injuring 6,000. Syria is
upstaging this year's memorials.
For two years, Bashar has been
waging a war of survival with
Syrians opposed to the
hegemony of the Assad dynasty.
Bashar succeeded his father
Hafiz Assad who was in power
for 30 years.
The gale of social discontent that
swept through Algeria, Tunisia,
Egypt, Libya and Yemen since
2011, has found a next stop in
Syria. A mass protest
degenerated into a full blown
war with the Free Syrian Army,
an amalgam of groups opposed
to Bashar.
The bloody war has seen over
two million Syrians flee to
neighbouring Jordan, Turkey,
Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, and
Egypt. The killed or injured are
over two million.
Reports of chemical weapon
attacks on August 21, which the
social media alleged killed over
1,000 Syrians, have given Obama
renewed reasons to invade Syria.
America in embracing diplomacy
in the Syrian crisis also expects
Assad would respect the
agreement. The Russians should
hopefully see to it.
Departures of Saddam Hussein in
Iraq, Col. Muammar Gaddafi in
Libya and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt
created more instability in the
global system. Precarious security
in West Africa, indeed Nigeria,
has strong links to the terrorism
wars in the Middle East.
Al-Qaeda groups are fighting
Assad. The deployment of
American might to weaken Assad
would benefit Al-Qaeda backed
groups that want Damascus
under a fundamentalist regime.
Military strike should be a final
option. We expect things would
never get to that dangerous
point.
September 11 is about to be
remembered as the day America
re-appraised its strategies on
terrorism. Diplomacy may be the
key to success.
bind. He has vowed to punish
Syria's President Bashar Al Assad,
for allegedly unleashing
poisonous gases on his people –
many are unconvinced.
The 12th anniversary of
September 11, America's excuse
for attacking spots round the
world since 2001, is taking a
back seat.
The war drums are beating
again. Washington is angry and
the world is not at ease. Russia
and China are not in support, so
are traditional allies Britain and
France.
Germany is lukewarm. Americans
at home and abroad wonder if
regime change in Syria is a
worthy enterprise. It is a war
that may produce another anti-
American regime.
Their stance has played a major
role in the deal that Russia has
broken to put Syria's chemical
weapons under international
supervision. Obama would seek
Congress' approval and can only
strike Syria if it reneges on the
deal.
September 11 marked one of the
most horrendous attacks on
people. Nineteen young Arabs
rammed four passenger planes
into the Pentagon, America's seat
of military power and the World
Trade in New York, killing 2,996
and injuring 6,000. Syria is
upstaging this year's memorials.
For two years, Bashar has been
waging a war of survival with
Syrians opposed to the
hegemony of the Assad dynasty.
Bashar succeeded his father
Hafiz Assad who was in power
for 30 years.
The gale of social discontent that
swept through Algeria, Tunisia,
Egypt, Libya and Yemen since
2011, has found a next stop in
Syria. A mass protest
degenerated into a full blown
war with the Free Syrian Army,
an amalgam of groups opposed
to Bashar.
The bloody war has seen over
two million Syrians flee to
neighbouring Jordan, Turkey,
Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, and
Egypt. The killed or injured are
over two million.
Reports of chemical weapon
attacks on August 21, which the
social media alleged killed over
1,000 Syrians, have given Obama
renewed reasons to invade Syria.
America in embracing diplomacy
in the Syrian crisis also expects
Assad would respect the
agreement. The Russians should
hopefully see to it.
Departures of Saddam Hussein in
Iraq, Col. Muammar Gaddafi in
Libya and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt
created more instability in the
global system. Precarious security
in West Africa, indeed Nigeria,
has strong links to the terrorism
wars in the Middle East.
Al-Qaeda groups are fighting
Assad. The deployment of
American might to weaken Assad
would benefit Al-Qaeda backed
groups that want Damascus
under a fundamentalist regime.
Military strike should be a final
option. We expect things would
never get to that dangerous
point.
September 11 is about to be
remembered as the day America
re-appraised its strategies on
terrorism. Diplomacy may be the
key to success.
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