The world is faced with a serious crisis in Syria. We are seeing mounting evidence of the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime in the ongoing civil war. Russia is solidly against any action against the Syrian regime. China has been somewhat silent and invisible on this issue. If any country has the privilege of occupying a Security council seat , it also has an obligation to lead and be clear on its position on any matter such as the one about the use of chemical weapons. China's leaders need to say where it stands as a responsible power in the world.
I am a Gandhian. It is an extremely difficult issue for me. His Holiness the Pope has made it more difficult by saying and I paraphrase "no war, no more war" in Syria. With the utmost respect one cannot just wish away the Syrian civil war. One cannot turn a blind eye to Assad killing his own people using chemical weapons. Several decades ago the world decided to prohibit the use of chemical weapons and consider their use as a crime against humanity. Even Mahatma Gandhi had suggested in some cases violence was preferable to inaction. This is one of those cases. Inaction is not acceptable. Yes, Syria like many others is a complex country. There are many minorities. Furthermore the current civil war may become more difficult with elements like Al Qaeda or other Jihadists already active on the ground in Syria.
President Obama has made a serious tactical mistake by not using his war powers to act in the interest of the world. Yes I say the world because the United Nations has shown itself to be unworkable and impotent . In the face of that impotence the British Prime Minister David Cameron capitulated to the momentarily populist antiwar sentiment of the British Public by bowing to the House of Commons' defeat of his position. The leaders are elected to lead. In some situations they may have to disregard or go against the will of Parliaments or the transitory winds of war weariness currently blowing in both UK and the US. David Cameron should not have forgone his right through the royal prerogative to order military action against Assad. I know the experience of Iraq looms large in the current anti war sentiment. Leaders do make mistakes. Sometimes they are blunders blunting our will to act for a long time to come. Iraq may have been one such blunder. President Obama should have been able to see his way past the temporary American condition of war weariness and should have ordered the strikes against Assad. I hope his error does not blind the Congress to its obligation. I have not always agreed with the US policies in the world. I too walked in the antiwar demonstrations against the Vietnam war. So It is quite ironic that a Leftie like me is urging the US Congress to go where a Leftie president Obama feared or refused to go alone: Order punishing strikes against the Assad regime.
On issues of great importance like the use of chemical weapons, the world cannot divide itself between the Lefties and the Righties. It should debate the Rightness and the Justness of ending the use of chemical weapon; punishing those that use them; sending a message of deterrence to any future madmen. That is how the serious issues in our increasingly smaller, intensely interconnected and interdependent world must be viewed. We cannot live in isolation from each other. We are people of the world. We are countries of the world . When United Nations becomes a helpless witness to the gassing of people anywhere in the world, the "Countries of the World" must act. China and Russia obviously do not believe strongly enough as "Countries of the World". They stand in the way of military action against Assad. The united States of America has long believed itself strongly to be a "Country Of The World". History of the 2nd World War bears glorious witness to that belief. I hope that in its voting on Syria the Congress remembers that the United States of America is a Country of the World and as such has an obligation to act . Not acting would be an abdication of its duty as "Country of the World". To act would be just!
