Bombing Syria

I am really disappointed at the response of the Western Nations regarding the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Of course, using Sarin gas to bomb anyone is abhorrent. It is a war crime and those who have committed this crime should be brought to justice in the ICC.

The evidence to prove that the Assad regime has committed this crime is inconclusive and would probably not stand up in a properly constituted criminal court. We need to find more evidence and correctly identify the culprits.

It is, therefore, unwise to make punitive military strikes against Syria for a number of reasons:

According to the United Nations charter it is illegal to commit a first strike against another member state.

The military action contemplated by Western Nations requires the approval of the UN Security Council.

A limited military operation will not stop the civil war and the killing.

Military action could cause the conflict to spread into neighbouring nations.

There is no plan for  the future or contingency plan for what happens if the war spreads other than more military action.

The military action will kill more innocents.

There are no peace negotiations taking place and negotiations have not been given a full chance to achieve results.

If Israel were to be attacked there would definitely be a new Middle Eastern war, as Israel is perfectly entitled to protect itself from bombing and the possible use of chemical weapons against its citizens.

The US and Israel are clearly aware of the dangers of military action against Syria because they have tested the air defence systems that would have to be deployed to meet possible attack by chemical weapons attached to rockets.

The situation is grave and the leaders of the Western world are right to consider all options to prevent chemical weapons from being used. But any measures taken must be effective and must not exacerbate the situation.

I believe that the UK Parliament was right to not to sanction military action against Syria. I feel that the authority of standing of our Prime Minister has not been diminished. He was right to refer the proposed military action to Parliament and he has had the courage to stand by its decision.

There is no doubt that our Prime Minister is a humane man and was troubled by the sight of the corpses  of innocent civilians who had been gassed and he was right to consider all course of legal action to prevent such atrocities. I believe that Parliament considered the proposal purely upon its merits and debated the issue fairly. It was not an easy decision to make - one that rests lightly on the conscience of humane people.

It is very difficult to control what happens in a war. During the Second World War the allies were fully aware of the Holocaust but the full might of several powerful nations could not prevent the horrors. We should not forget this. Dictators are capable of committing the most horrendous war crimes; it is better not to allow them to gain power in the first place.

With further regard to Western intervention in the Middle East, we could do well to learn from history again. At the end of the Second World War it was relatively easy to establish democratic government in Western Germany. Why was this? Most of the German population did not vote for or approve of the actions of Hitler; the national guilt to a certain extent lives on.

The German people understood the culture of The US, UK and France and we understood them. Peace could be establish relatively quickly and Europe could progress, in the main, to peaceful co-existence. This process took a long time however and there is still work to be done.

The case of the Middle East is different. Western Nations do not fully understand Arab nations and they do not fully understand us. This is a fact of life. The Arab nations, also, cannot understand why the UK and France should have colonised them by force and decided where international boundaries should be drawn up without consulting the people affected by arbitrary decisions. The West cannot impose a solution. Let us learn from the Suez crisis about what can go wrong in the Middle East and not continue the same mistakes.

The Iraq wars have failed to secure the peace and the recent war in Libya has also failed to secure stable government.

At one time Saddam Hussein was supported by the Western powers who helped him to attack Iran. In the end he had to be removed - so why was he supported in the first place?

All in all, continuous Western intervention in Arab states has lead to further problems of our own making.

The Syria conflict could cause similar problems. The Assad government is unpalatable to the West but so is the possible alternative. If Assad is deposed then Isis backed "jihadists", who are the  implacable enemies of the West, could take over. They are also the avowed enemies of Israel. The people of Syria are in the middle of all this, people who just want to live their lives in peace.

The US president is rightly concerned about the welfare of the Syrian people. But, any decision should be based on hard headed politics and diplomacy. Emotion alone will not solve a problem which requires wise and rational action.  Why can diplomacy not be given a try? The Russians and Iran have influence over Assad and the Arab Nations and the West have some influence over the opposition. There is still time for diplomacy to work. It is time that all the warring parties were forced to the negotiating table.

The problems of Syria will take years to resolve and tragically the killing will continue. The Western Nations cannot solve the problems of Syria. The consent of the people of Syria and their neighbours is needed to find a solution. The  authority of the United Nations is also needed. The tragedy and suffering of the Syrian people will continue despite any use of "limited air strikes".

I have been a big supporter of Barack Obama and his efforts to find peace but on this  issue I believe that he is wrong. The standing of the US President and the American people will not be diminished by stalling military action against Syria. So the US should wait until the UN Security Council gives approval.