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Billboard with portrait of Assad and the text God protects Syria on the old city wall of Damascus 2006 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The US of America is in a state of freeze. It is for the first time, perhaps, that the Rambo like attitude is enveloped in uncertainty. Should they or shouldn’t they? The crisis in Syria continues, there is a sense of impunity on the part of Assad. he has backing of China, Russia and Iran. What more can a person like him want? Even France is now having second thoughts as there are divided opinions on action in Syria. The Iraq episode is recalled by those who find any intervention by the NATO allies repulsive. Given that UK had already expressed its inability, and UK being the all weather friend of America, matters seem to be standing still.
I recall that I had criticized inaction on Syria. However, it was in a different context. There are persuasive ways that can be employed against Syria which do not involve the armed forces. US can send military hardware to the vicinity of Syria and then try some arm twisting. The problem is whether China and Russia would agree to join in? Russia has slightly modified its stand on Assad. Forcing Assad to hand over the chemical weapons to international control could, “take years”, according to some. However, a beginning could be made. Mr. Putin has also put his weight behind the idea that to avoid a military action, Assad could hand over the weapons. According to The Guardian, Mr. Putin is wary of the chemical weapons falling in the hands of the jihadists.
This could be a life line for Mr. Obama (The Guardian, September 10 2013) who may face defeat in the Congress. This may also have international repercussions for him as his stature world wide could be “shortened”. Will this mean a reshuffling of the power balance? Not a chance, not in the short term. There are many more factors in play than Syria. Globally, a big, powerful “watchman” is required. As it happens after a setback for US, people try to read its “obituary”. The US of A has suffered debacles before and bounced back. We are going to have Uncle Sam for a long time, someone everyone grudgingly admires. However, bumbling it may be, it does sometimes deliver results.
Filed under: People, the State and Technology Tagged: Assad, Bashar al-Assad, Chemical weapon, China, Russia, Syria, United States, Vladimir Putin Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
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