An air strike on Syria has been on everyone’s mind. Is it the job of the United States to step in and correct the actions of another country?
According to John Kerry, it’s a fact that Syria’s government massacred more than 1,400 people with chemical weapons. It’s also a fact that the Geneva Protocol exists; a treaty prohibiting the first use of chemical and biological weapons in international armed conflicts.
President Obama has made it clear that he feels it is the job of the United States to step in. His first suggestion was an air attack on Syria. He could have made the decision alone and went right to it, but he asked for the support of Congress. Congress couldn’t agree with the decision right away, but it felt something should be done.
Now the major problem with the air attack is not the attack itself, but what happens after. Russia and China are supporters of Syria; would they come after the United States? Let’s not forget the fact that Syria has these chemical weapons. They could easily use them on us, couldn’t they? We must keep in mind, before the hypothetical attack; Syria posed absolutely no threat to the United States.
Syria has been living in a civil war since 2011. According to huffingtonpost.com, about 100,000 people have already been killed, but now we chose to step in. Admittedly circumstances have changed, but I still feel uneasy about the United States getting involved.
We do not understand their country; we do not know how they live their day-to-day lives. This means we can’t just barge in and decide things need to change for them. Although I do feel the chemical weapons need to be destroyed, an air attack is not the way to go about getting it done.
Thankfully there has been a solution, and Russia is on our side for this one. The United States and Russia agreed to go in and get all of the chemical weapons from Syria. Of course, that is an extremely difficult task, and they expect to have this mission completed by 2014. Having such a constricted time to do it also adds to the difficulty.
So back to the original question, is it the job of the United States to step in and correct the actions of another country? No, it’s not the job of the United States. It is however up to someone to step in. Using chemical weapons is banned, and if we let the ruler of Syria think it’s okay to use them on his own people; where is the line drawn that using them isn’t okay?
Getting involved in the Syria conflict isn’t the right decision; it’s the justifiable decision. Years from now we will look back as a country and create more and more excuses as to why it was a good plan. It’s happened time and time again.
Syria needs an intervention. The United States doesn’t need to be the one to do it.
