al Qaeda – Speak Your Mind

Unintended Consequences In Syria

Yaël Ksander — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 14:00:26 +0000

In his announcement that he will not run for President, Vice President Joe Biden stated his core beliefs. Among them was an observation about foreign policy: “We’ve learned some very hard lessons from more than a decade of large-scale, open-ended military invasions.… The argument that we just have to do something when bad people do bad things isn’t good enough.”

Biden’s words were directed at the current front runners in both parties. Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio want to send more arms to the “moderate” rebels against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and to establish a no-fly zone that would bar the Syrian air force from controlling part of Syrian air space, in order to protect not only civilians but also armed combatants against the Assad regime.

Clinton and Rubio have the righteousness that is legitimized by the manifest brutality of the Assad regime, which has used chemical weapons against its own people. But so did Iraqi President Saddam Hussein; yet regime change unleashed sectarian strife, including ISIS. Rather than strengthening Syrian moderates, U.S. arms would likely wind up falling into the hands of ISIS and al Qaeda. A no-fly zone could involve a clash with Russia, which is supporting Assad. Rubio and Clinton take a tough tone toward Russian President Vladimir Putin as well, without saying how far they would go. And that invites unpredictable escalation.

A diplomatic solution must involve everyone, friend and foe. It will be far from perfect. Everything else would be much worse.

References

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/22/us/joe-biden-concludes-theres-no-time-for-a-2016-run.html

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marco-rubio-russia-no-flyzone_5612e38ae4b0368a1a60ad06

https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/hillary-clinton-calls-no-fly-zones-syria

https://blog.peaceactionwest.org/2015/10/27/peaceful-alternatives-to-war-pick-up-steam-in-congress/

https://fcnl.org/issues/middle_east/34_organizations_urge_administration_to_tackle_root_causes_of_syria_crisis/

Peace

Yaël Ksander — Thu, 05 Nov 2015 14:00:32 +0000

I often stop in Bryan Park at the tree dedicated to the victims of the American nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. The plaque concludes with the words, “Remember war, cultivate peace.” These words speak to me. Lies about nuclear weapons in Iraq and the chase after Al Qaeda in Afghanistan have led to the disintegration of Iraq, Syria, Libya, the creation of the Islamic State, and floods of migrants fleeing violence. President Obama caved into pressure, and America’s longest war–14 years in Afghanistan–goes on, the Taliban stronger than ever, and Al Qaeda continues. With the advent of drones, we bomb suspected terrorists in Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan etc; many innocents die.

War is not the answer but is big business for a few U.S. companies. We are the largest maker of weaponry and sell arms to the world. The U.S. just concluded the biggest arms deal ever with a key player in the Syrian conflict: Saudi Arabia.

Let’s cultivate peace and turn to a diplomatic solution. Military action has only made things worse. The talks in Vienna are a good start. Over 18 nations are taking part. Remember, one must bargain with ones enemies as well as with ones friends. Perhaps a cease fire will begin the peace process; then an arms embargo for all government and rebel groups. A UN peacekeeping force can be called in. President Obama may have to lead diplomatic efforts to reach a negotiated end to the civil war in Syria. All the above would slow the flow of migrants and bring some much-needed stability to the Middle East. There is another way!

Derailing Diplomacy With Iran

Betsy Shepherd — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 16:14:25 +0000

Last November, the United States, with other leading world powers, reached an interim accord with Iran to curb that country’s nuclear program in return for modest relief from sanctions that have hurt Iranian civilians.

In his State of the Union speech, President Obama warned: “The sanctions that we put in place helped make this opportunity possible. But let me be clear: If this Congress sends me a new sanctions bill now that threatens to derail these talks, I will veto it.”

Yet Indiana’s Senators, Joe Donnelly and Dan Coats, are sponsoring just such a bill, the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act (S.1881). It demands that Iran totally give up enriching uranium—a requirement that most arms control experts consider unnecessary and that Iranians reject as violating Iran’s right to civilian nuclear energy under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

The bill also says that if Israel attacks Iran, the United States should provide military support, in effect delegating to a foreign leader the decision to take the U.S. to war.

Senators Donnelly and Coats received five-figure campaign contributions from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other hawkish groups. But J Street, the pro-Israel, pro-peace organization, strongly opposes this bill.

With a common adversary in al Qaeda, the United States and Iran need not be eternal enemies.

As President Obama said, “We must give diplomacy a chance to resolve one of the leading security challenges of our time without the risks of war.”

Sources

“A Step, if Modest, Toward Slowing Iran’s Weapons Capability” (NYT)

“Obama’s 2014 State of the Union address: Full text” (CBS News)

“Analysis of Faults in the Menendez-Kirk Iran Sanctions Bill (S. 1881)” (The Center For Arms Control and Non-Proliferation)

“Revealing Money’s Influence On Politics: Pro-Israel” (MapLight)