Okay, regarding Syria: A personal confession.
I haven't weighed in on the whole situation on DU because honest to God, I considered myself totally torn every which way on the matter.
I like to consider myself a pretty strong pacifist. I abhor military conflict unless it is completely justified and truly the last resort of action.
On the other hand, I was sickened by what I saw on the news regarding the use of chemical weapons on civilians. And as much as I hate military action, I also hate human rights abuses by governments upon their own people. And while some have cast doubt as to whether it was Assad who gassed his own people and have argued it may have been the rebels, everything tells me that this was indeed Assad at work.
On the third figurative hand, I was concerned that if Assad is removed from power, what effect a power vacuum might have on the Syrian people, and undoubtedly there would be major blood spilled by whomever seeks to capture the throne of power. So while my initial inclination was to somehow have Assad arrested and extradited to the Hague for war crimes (a la Slobodan Milosevic or Charles Taylor), I worried about both the logistics and the after effects of such a mission.
I don't know how much lobbing a handful of cruise missiles would have done. Probably not a whole lot. But I'm no isolationist and I think we should have done something. If only I knew what "something" was.
This is why I'm pretty much welcoming the Russian plan as the best of all possible solutions, while admitting that it itself is flawed (if it even works, that is). It won't change the balance of power and probably keep everything in Syria as a stalemate, but I don't know what else could possible be done without subjecting the Syrian people to even greater harm. And yes, the President does come out looking good on it, even if that was or was not his intention.
Am I a coward for not announcing my position or thoughts on Syria while so many of you were arguing it intensely, pro and con? Perhaps. But as a mere participant in the theoretical world of internets discussing things, my opinion in the end matters little. I don't have much of a say in the matter.
And for that, I am glad.
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