If you have been thinking that the U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East is a bit schizophrenic and a whole lot hypocritical, you’re right on both counts.
A U.S. attack on Syria is a bad move for several reasons. The majority of Americans oppose the military action; U.S. military leaders are lukewarm to the idea; some other G20 leaders are opposed to military strikes; there’s no military exit strategy; the U.S. doesn’t have a clear understanding of all the forces operating in the Syria and who could assume power if Assad is weakened; and the U.S. has no business going into sovereign countries to settle their affairs.
The Middle East is an area where the U.S. has supported dictators before they were against them. Here are a few examples from the not-too-distant past.
Under the first Bush administration, billions of taxpayers’ dollars were secretly funneled to Saddam Hussein during the late 1980s. These dollars allowed Iraq to build a formidable arsenal, including chemical gas used against the Iraqi Kurds. These same dollars were used against the U.S. and allied military during the Persian Gulf War.
The Bush administration falsified documents to Congress and attempted to derail investigation into the aid to Iraq. This military scandal was dubbed Iraq Gate. No U.S. officials were charged with war crimes; Saddam was eventually executed in 2006.
Then the Arab Spring swept across the region. President Mubarak was a U.S. ally before he was deposed. The U.S. supported the democratic election of Mohamed Morsi. The U.S. decided it didn’t like Morsi either and subsequently supported the Egyptian military coup that kicked Morsi out.
The U.S. government also decided Libya needed a regime change and took out Muammar Gaddafi. It invaded the sovereign country of Pakistan to take out Osama bin Laden.
Now President Obama says as a morally responsible country we cannot sit idly by as Bashar al Assad uses chemical gas on his own people. He says the U.S. is not interested in a regime change in Syria but only wants to teach Assad a lesson.
In the past, the U.S. government has been silent on other governments killing its citizens, including its children. Saddam and his cousin “Chemical Ali” gassed up to 100, 000 of their people based upon American aid. There was barely a peep from the U.S. government during the Rwanda and Dalfur genocides. What about South African apartheid?
The U.S. is selective about when it sheds tears and what interventions it makes. This is not good foreign policy, and it certainly isn’t a humane practice.
Let’s encourage the Congress to vote against the call to arms. This will give President Obama the political cover he needs, as well as the time, to explore non-military options to address the actions of yet another dictator that the U.S. has supported.
War-weary citizens in this country should continue to oppose any military strikes against Syria and demand some meaningful support from the government to improve our lives here at home.
