I don't think the U.S. is at war with Syria. I think this is a Syrian war against it's own people that has become a minor nuisance for the U.S. government, in that extremist groups are quickly gaining control of much of the region.
The war in Syria started after 15 schoolchildren were arrested and tortured for writing anti-government graffiti on a wall. Protests and a demand for release of the children, led to an attack on the townspeople by the government's soldiers.
This simple story has now led to an all out assault on the people of Syria. Rebel groups, who were supported by the U.S., are warring with the Syrian government, demanding that President Assad step down. Extremist groups have taken advantage of the situation and have come in and brutally taken over parts of Syria.
The U.S. has attempted to intervene by way of a few airstrikes that are doing little to stop the tide of Syrian government and the Islamic extremists. The Syrian government has used chemical weapons on it's very own citizens. The extremist groups continue to rape, brutalize and behead anyone who stands in their way, including foreign aid workers.
So, is this war a just war? I don't think so. A just war means that you have an impact that hopefully ends the conflict. There is an end to a means. The minimal effort that the U.S. has given to fighting this war, has done very little, if anything to stem the tide of brutality in Syria. In fact, the extremist groups are controlling more and more of the country. You cannot pour a glass of water on a house fire and expect it to go out.
Could it become a just war? Possibly, but only if the U.S. efforts are amped up significantly and batter the enemy into submission or flight. Sometimes we have to accept that progress is not being made and our efforts might be worthless.
There is never justification for torturing children, regardless of what they have done.
ReplyDeleteJoanna, I absolutely agree with you that there is no justification for the torture of children. The question is whether the our participation in the war is just. I don't think so. If our efforts were making a significant impact to improve the situation in Syria, then it could be just. At this point, we are only pouring a glass of water on a house fire.
ReplyDeleteI like your statement about poring a glass of water on a house fire. I think that our cause here could be just, but I don't think we are doing enough to really matter. I think that because we aren't being directly affected that we aren't putting as many resources towards the cause as it could be. I do agree that terrible things are happening over there to undeserving people and something should be done about it.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the war in Syria is just either. I think it's interesting that occurrences like this happen often in the Middle East. I mean, the whole war on terror from post-9/11 dealt with similar circumstances, and is still going on now. Not very many people from America seem to care because this is just one of those everyday occurrences in the Middle East. I think it's going to take diplomacy to end the war on terror. Like maybe America, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and every other country involved in the war on terror to this point could get together for a conference to try to figure out why extremist groups act the way they do. It's very sad that our generation has grown up with the war on terror and it's a regular thing now. For instance, on one of my blog posts for this week, I talked about how being deployed to war has more of an impact on American families than the actual wars we're involved in.
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