By: Emily Sullivan
Opinion and Associate Editor
Unless you live under a rock, there’s a good chance you’ve heard about the horrible things happening in Syria.
For those of you who don’t know, Syria is a country in western Asia, specifically in the Middle East. It’s a small country; according to the CIA’s website, Syria’s population is 22,457,336 as of this July, less than the population of Texas.
On Aug. 21, Syria lost 1,429 members of its population, according to an Aug. 30 Los Angeles Times story. Secretary of State John Kerry said the intelligence community was confident Syria’s government, under the direction of President Bashar Assad, used chemical weapons to kill 1,429 innocent citizens — 426 of which were children — in what Kerry labeled as a “crime against humanity.”
Frankly, I couldn’t agree more.
On Aug. 31, President Barack Obama answered that question in an official statement that was broadcasted live.
“This attack is an assault on human dignity,” Obama said. “After careful deliberation, I have decided that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets.”
Obama went on to say this would not be a “boots on the ground” operation. The object of the intervention would be to hold the Assad regime accountable for its actions and deter chemical warfare.
Despite his clear declaration, Obama did not give a set date for when the intervention would begin. Instead, he said he was going to seek authorization from Congress to use force in Syria. In his speech, he said he wanted to let the representatives of the American people take part in his decision.
Like him or hate him, Obama is in a tough spot. During the broadcast, news stations showed footage of protesters outside the White House holding signs saying to leave Syria alone and not to take military action.
But can we really ignore what’s going on? Can we really turn our backs on innocent people as their leaders attack them?
At the end of his speech, Kerry said “History would judge us extremely harshly if we turned a blind eye.”
I’m not an advocate of war. People fighting and dying in the name of peace is wrong. Rushing off to war is definitely not the answer.
That being said, we can’t just stand back and watch people be chemically murdered by a heartless government.
Obama is stuck between a rock and a hard place; no matter what he does, he’s going to upset someone. But here’s the thing we need to remember: Obama will do what he thinks is right. While going to war may not be the smartest decision, neither is standing back and doing nothing.
We need to put politics aside for the moment and take into consideration the lives being lost.
We need to act.
sullivec10@bonaventure.edu
