Politics

为叙利亚设置禁飞区

Aug 30, 2013 Charles Tannock

布鲁塞尔—在对国际关系的解读上有一句烂大街的话，叫做敌人的敌人就是我的朋友。有时这句话是对的，通常它是错的。

三十年前，阿富汗圣战者在与苏联侵略者做斗争时错误地与西方交了朋友。然而站在现在看待此后发生的一切，却道教条害死人。

叙利亚危机的深化，以及使用化学武器的罪行，创造了一个类似的动态和困境。但西方不需要冒犯同样错误、接受同样错误的选择的风险。

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0 Comments on this paragraph, 4 Comments on this article

Paul A. Myers Sep 1, 2013

Re: "I believe that the fairest and simplest proportionate response would be to impose a no-fly zone on Syria."

A lot of truly stupid adjectives strong out in a row: "fairest, simplest, proportionate"

One presumes the Americans can probably rather quickly degrade the air defenses. Then aerial bombardment can begin. The Assad regime would have increasing rebel strength on their front and a rapidly crumbling military infrastructure in their rear.

The rebels might not be nice, but in a barroom brawl the tough guys with knives usually beat the grad students! I wish the grad students would keep this in mind.
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hari naidu Aug 31, 2013

General Dempsey (USJCS) has officially declared that a
no-fly zone in Syria is not feasible given the Russian Scuds deployed around strategic targets....[Libya it was a different matter]...and the cost is prohibitive for Pentagon.

Of course, your vision is myopic when it comes to Russian strategic interests in the region. Do you've any idea to what extent Russian military is (permanently) invested in Syria, including its coastal defense?

Putin would rather give Obama a black-eye than find ways an means of saving US face...
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S. Bait Aug 31, 2013

But a no-fly zone needs long term (months ?) commitment for it to be effective. A short and sweet engagement is preferred.

The west should declare this as an Islamic or Arabic problem and get the Islamic nations to solve it.
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m r Aug 30, 2013

The author's diagnosis and remedy and therapy and what else is based on passionate yet presumptive and unrelenting premise that Syrian Government is absolutely the perpetrator having been "shown" to so by the overpowering drum-beating ever since no sooner the chemical weapon use was reported.
Despite the fact that UN is still trying with all the help it needs to establish the facts.
The author ignores- what if it is NOT the Syrian Government that is culpable and thus this ranting would just be shown to be ranting, which is its purpose- as of now.
There is no way to “punish” anyone other than the Syrian Government in the conflict and the episode would have lost its value.
The more important part of the argument is that by ranting about "Red lines a la Netanyahu" is an invitation for different parties, and there are enough of them, to cleverly yet callously create a situation of accusing a wrong party to gain advantage by making intervention an imperative.
We have seen it that every intervention of late from Gulf War 1 to Kosovo to Gulf War2, Afghanistan and others were based on implanted or false evidence. It is the fundamental weapon of a propaganda war.
Intervention is thus being taken to a joke, when someone else is doing it and others are suffering. Intervention of any sort should not be subjugated to loudest ranting, but seen and shown absolutely to be morally compelling and nothing less.
It is NOT a joke.
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