The Syrian internal conflict continues to attract international attention especially after the Assad led government alleged gassed hundreds of civilians including children to death using chemical weapons. The United States of America through its presidency has insisted that Assad and his cronies would not and should not be allowed to use chemical weapons. In this week’s proposal the President seems to have mellowed on his vow to intervene militarily. The proposal flouted by President Obama entails the pursuit of a diplomatic option. In his proposal, Syria would have to hand over any and every element of chemical weapons in its possession to the international community. This path has been supported by Russia led by its presidency Putin.
The purpose of the President’s (Obama) policy is to have chemical usage contained and misuse of chemical weapons to contain the Syrian opposition stopped. Interestingly, Obama seems to have taken an about turn after seeking the support of Congress for military action. However, it is noteworthy that the President and his men have not ruled out the prospects of military intervention in Syria. Signs that the strike has merely been put on hold and not permanently abandoned include the fact that the president asked for the postponement and cancelation of the vote by Congress and equally reminded the military to be on the ready to act at any time once authorized. This perhaps leads one to the conclusion that the diplomatic proposal may not necessarily work. In fact, to further suggest possibility of failure of the diplomatic proposal is the fact that it was just a casual preposition flouted by American Foreign Secretary John Kerry and picked up by Russia’s President. However, it is not lost on the international community that Russia remains close to Assad led Syria and cares less about what the larger international community share. Chances are that Russia is using the Kerry preposition to buy time and may as well be seeking for other overt methods of supporting the Assad government retain power.
That the policy may be a pipedream can be arrived at from the dicey nature of Assad’s government. To expect a government facing internal threats that could see it lose control of strategic regions of the country, to surrender the weapons of last resort is at the least naïve. In addition, it is evident that the Western powers led by America have already assumed an anti-Assad position and any ceasefire in terms of surrender of chemical weapons is not likely to be taken positively by Assad as his government clearly knows it would making itself vulnerable.
However, this paper equally appreciates the fact that the Assad government has committed to surrendering the chemical weapons to international control. This acknowledgment should be treated with caution and trepidation given the parties in the forefront. As mentioned before one of the proponents of this option and a key ally of the Assad government is Russia. Russia’s traditional opposition to United States has at times occasioned international embarrassments and delayed discharge of justice. The Syrian case could yet be another instance where Russia could be trying to flex its relatively weak muscle.
In conclusion, this paper takes the diplomatic preposition with skepticism and urges the United States of America to press on to full military intervention in the overall interest of humanity which include innocent victims of the Syrian power struggles.
References
Fox News. (2013, September 10). Syria plan in limbo, Obama asks Congress to postpone strike vote. Fox News: Politics . Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/10/president-obama-to-address-nation-on-syria/
Miklaszewski, J., Kube , C., & Simmons, K. (2013, August 29). Obama on Syria: 'I have not made a decision'. NBC News. Retrieved from http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/28/20227083-obama-on-syria-i-have-not-made-a-decision?lite
Smith, M. (2013, September 10). Syria chemical arms plan promising 'if it's real,' Obama says. CNN.
Stangling, D., & Madhani, A. (2013, September 12). Obama says Russian Syria proposal could be a breakthrough. USA TODAY. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/09/09/russia-syria/2785703/
