There might be life, yet, in the US promise to intervene if the Syrian dictator uses chemical weapons against its people or anyone else.
Bashar al Assad had been warned a long time ago: that line in the sand, which he was admonished never to cross, had been the single identified factor that could warrant the intervention of the US in the Syrian civil war.
However, chemical weapon use has been found, at least as far as some of the rebels and other human right watchdog groups have documented, and now it remains to be seen what the US can do to keep its warning from losing its punch.
The hot potato that Syria has become seems to be jostled between one party or another. Israel threw its hat in last week, saying that it has sufficient evidence of the ghastly deed. That automatically called for some sort of statement from the United States.
But the single factor that could see decisive action in Syria does not rest with the United States as many believe, but in the findings of the UN, which has called for its own investigation into the use of chemical weapons. Of course Russia is also getting into the fray. They have sent their own contingent to Syria to find out whether there is any truth to the story.
In the end, that does not mean that the UN has unilateral power to give the go ahead., but only to say whether or not its findings are positive or not. People who have seen the latest development as a sign that their hopes might come true, will have to contend with the UN's bureaucracy and the final decision in which Russia and China, now apparently in lockstep with many of their UN decisions, decide to relent and allow such actions. The chances of that, if the past is any indication, are not very good.
Meanwhile, the news that 8,000 children have perished in the Syria civil war made its way to the major news outlet this week. If anyone has any doubt what condition Syria is in, the pictures speak for themselves.
And then of course, there is the problem of global indifference. As much as the media is blamed for not following more closely the Syrian war amidst calls of audience fatigue, the people of the world are to be blamed in equal measure, when they are found to be following the latest tweet on some celebrity or the other with incredible eagerness, instead of seriously pondering the worldly state of affairs.
That said, the grinding of the international war machine seems to be getting louder. The English prime minister, Cameron, is all for action and has already said that war crimes appear to have been committed in Syria via chemical weapons, as if the bombing and slaughter and torture of 80,000 people before the news of chemical weapon use was mere 'order getting' in Syria.
Meanwhile, president Obama in speaking with Jordan's regent, but still sitting on the fence, while Jordan is fast becoming snared into the wider net cast by the civil war.
Of course, no one can call the US to action in a place where many rebels have affiliation to either Al Qaeda or Hezbollah. In fact, some could say that their presence there is not incidental. They are waiting for US soldiers, some say, quite eagerly. It has become an Al Qaeda strategy after all, to find themselves in war theatres in anticipation of US deployment, such as has been the case in Somalia.
OP_ED
Partial Source: BBC 4.27.13
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