Beware politicians who say something is non negotiable, or a red line which cannot be crossed. I have done this job for nearly 3 years now and politics is rarely black and white: I worry when we get ourselves backed into a corner because of rhetoric.
This week-end the issue is Mr Obama’s use of the red line phrase over Syria. The US and other countries are rightly demanding more proof that chemical weapons were used, that they were used by the Syrian government, and that the user had the full authority of Assad. If this is forthcoming then it is a war crime. War criminals need prosecution once they have been toppled from the protections of state power.
Although some people do not realise this, as yet, but we in Europe have got very good at prosecuting war crimes and the tribunals have brought many dictators and offenders to justice.
There is plenty of evidence of how loathsome this Syrain government is, and how cruel it is towards its own citizens, with or without using chemical weapons. Shelling and bombing civilian populations with conventional munitions can impose horrendous injuries and deaths. The issue should be how could western military intervention help, rather than whether there is sufficient pretext for such intervention.
As one colleague put it:
The problems with any military intervention are manifold.
- How could western bombs rain down without killing some people who are not part of the government and state armed forces?
- If the west uneashes some of its might to tip the balance in favour of a rebel victory, what kind of a government might replace Assad’s?
- How would any such replacement government heal the wounds of the current civil war?
- Is there a danger that more people who do not share the west’s beliefs in democracy, freedom and human rights take over in this blighted state?
- Could a change of government usher in a new instability, as pro Assad forces became the new rebels?
For me the best way is to assist the Syrain opposition as best we can without getting involved with offensive measures or boots on the ground
