Saturday, December 7, 2013

On the Syrian Civil War


On the Syrian Civil War

   The chaotic warfare that has consumed Syria is undoubtedly a mess. The oppressive State dominated regime of Bashar Al-Assad and close ties with Iran and Hezbollah make it a natural foe to the West. The long standing economic collaboration with the Saudi's make them easier to back with a clear irony in the fact they may be farther away from us ideologically then the Syrian/Irani axis. The tragedy of the conflict is clear, and there is no way to celebrate or exalt the senseless deaths and killings so vividly broadcast in these videos. Had the young men been given jobs working the fields, or in manufacturing, in sales, in engineering, in design or in any other craft or trade the wasteland would be marketplace, vibrant and comfortable. The actions on both sides are inexcusable, Assad pushed the populace to the point where rebellion was their only option, and Sunnis and Jihadist from around the globe flooded to Syria to combat a secular regime, easy to demonize by the reality of its own evils. The struggles of both sides are horrific, and I believe that all sides drawn into this fight are fighting for the hope that somehow in the aftermath, in peace they can make a better life for themselves. The hope is that they can have the opportunity to dictate their own lives path, and forge a better way than state managed suppression. The decisions by Bashar al-Assad and his loyalists to bomb their own people, to use chemical weapons against the populations he is tasked with protecting, and to knowingly torture and release rebels, even broadcast such actions on state airwaves to deter insurrection is such an affront to humanity and civilization that the measures of resistance taken by rebel forces must be framed in such a context. Whatever the final result of such civil war, I cannot as a human foresee any justice in Bashar Al-Assad's survival. The propaganda surrounding his willingness to protect minority rights and the reality that Al-Qaeda linked groups are fighting alongside the rebels, does not out way or justify the atrocious crimes against humanity waged by Syrian government. While The United Nations, Congress and the Republican Party have posed an outstanding obstacle to a successful resolution that addresses the security interests of the the United States and our allies, the Obama Administration has continued to prove their superior understanding and positioning on the matter with acumen and unparalleled calculation that deserve the subordination of others in regards to our decision to eradicate the regimes chemical weapons and to make efforts to coordinate with the Arab league in providing non-military assistance to the rebel fighters and occupied territories.

        China and Russia blocked the UN resolutions against Syria because they did not want an international precedent of intervention when unelected leaders put down rebellions by brutal, calculated oppressive force violating all notions of law and human rights. As the leader of the free world, for America to stand down to such immoral self-interested positions is egregious assault on the legacy of World War II and the global hegemony America earned by merit as the Berlin Wall toppled. While America Government is at war with terrorist organizations, the American People are at war with brutal repression in all its manifestations, and believe in a Universal Karma requiring us to seek out a more just regime in Syria. Strategic necessity, demands a preservation of force, and frugality as defeating our foes requires preventing our unilateral involvement in the high-cost/low-benefit fighting a ground invasion of Syria and head to head conflict with Bashar Assad's army of 160,000 soldiers would entail. Prioritizing a strategic effort to cement the gains made in Libya, where there is a much stronger prospect of a financially solvent, free trading partner and strategic ally, only makes sense. This could be accomplished by providing the material, training and personnel necessary to improve the security situation for the Libyan Prime Minister, accomplished by providing forward training to subdue the rogue militias which are a minute minority in a country where progress and prosperity is being made otherwise. As the conflict in Syria escalated to civil war, the international community should have been resolute in removing chemical and biological weapons from the conflict, quickly and efficiently using precision weaponry to wipe them from the battlefield. A no-fly zone would have enabled a rapid victory by the rebels, giving both the United States and the West a stronger hand in preventing the emergence of a terror state that may become a safe haven for Al-Qaeda to plan and wage expansive operations. NATO in partnership with the Arab League and Turkey should have done such unilaterally with care not to directly hit Russia's naval presence on the ground. Putin saw the rapid loss of pawns on his international chessboard and China's communist regime worried its sovereign hand to needle and dispose of all political opposition would be lost. Unfortunately, this is not what happened, and the American lead resolutions were rebuffed and our Nato Allies cowardly failed to take action.

         When Chemical weapons were used, killing over two thousand Syrian civilians the Obama administration refused to look the other way. We saw the bodies of young men and women, boys and girls, flopping on the ground at the hospital from exposure to the deadly chemical agents that have long been forbidden from usage during warfare since their horrific invention during World War I. Barack Obama was decisive in his decision to respond, requesting Congress authorization to use tomahawk missiles to target sights and units involved directly in the production of chemical weapons. Unwilling to give republicans in Congress more ammo, Barack Obama was unwilling to take action without congressional legal authorization. As congress rebuffed, the administration was successful in collaborating with Russians to reign in their client to impose a plan to disable the chemical weapons. The criticism, however, is that while the chemical weapons are being destroyed, and Bashar Al-Assad's regime to date is believed to have met his bench marks for the disposal of the weapons, the rebels resistance make the slow and onerous process of their destruction a serious security risk for as long as they exist, the potential acquisition by Al-Qaeda continues. While diplomacy prevailed, it weakened our hand in negotiations with Iran and while they may have ultimately lead to a comfortable agreement, our ability to enforce it has been reduced by a display of America's internal divisiveness and lack of resolve in holding our position. The praise goes to the American negotiators who were sincere in their willingness to use military force to eradicate Iran's nuclear program, but fair in allowing Rouhani to save face, by maintaing a tolerance for the peaceful enrichment of up to 5% as older sanctions placed on the regime are removed, standing as a masterful exhibition in the art of negotiation. The agreement, as is, is for only 6 months, so as future negotiations commence it is vital that America show no Democratic or Republican divide, providing the funding necessary for continued Governance without conditions or squabbles over trivial details like free condoms and the source of healthcare. The saboteurs, traitors and treasonous snakes in our midst need to be bowdlerized by the surfeit quorum of meritocratic plutocrats transcending party membership and international borders within the intelligence community and across the wise societies of university graduates and higher level intelligence everywhere.

      Congress has continued to waste our country's resources, occupying positions in Congress to advance their own self-interest, with blatant disregard for the country they are tasked with representing. The fund raising necessary to protect seats and fickle positioning according to polls cause a discord that discourages outside investment and reveals vulnerabilities to our enemies internal and abroad. Many Republicans have turned obstruction of justice into a political strategy, defying their own beliefs and deliberately sowing discord based on fictional slander and incredulous ideological stances pushing the boundaries of political brinkmanship to the point of outright subterfuge better addressed as treasonous behavior by which Republican greats from Abe Lincoln, to Theodore Roosevelt to even Ronald Reagan would be appalled. When you win the elections you can have your way, but Barack Obama has won again and now is the time for reconciliation and collaboration, the restoration of trust in Government, our economy and each other.

      Domestically, we need to halt the draw bridge economics of the recession and centralize authority in the secretary of commerce to bring employment back towards 100%, less 4-6%, for structural unemployment as necessary by tightening coordination between schooling, government, business, banking and organizations of all types to provide the talent and training for an enduring period of health and prosperity for all. An important part of this is an improved understanding of how disruptive technologies have altered the way our societies function and improving the quality of programing and accuracy of information across our society. Part of effectively restoring the rule of law, is to simplify the law and to avoid unnecessarily criminalizing activities that have high levels of societal participation. The other component of such is to avoid leaving citizens with no means of providing for themselves aside from crime, instead finding a wider range of activities and measures of productivity within to monetarily reward. Instead of incorporating everyone into for profit organizations, we need to also provide for the blossoming of other talents, encourage study in a wide range of fields, compensate the arts & sciences beyond economic output and order the maintenance of an adequate industrial base capable of producing the means of defending our country from outside attack. America cannot count on confronting its enemies of the future with chinese manufactured parts and software developed in India. Competitive dynamics have allowed for this, and it is not laws that can correct this, its orders by the executive, with National Security serving as a long established legal justification to secure jurisdiction and cause enough in itself to justify coercion, that if ignored could force seizure on grounds of eminent domain. With a velvet glove concealing an iron fist, what I mean to say is that the privatization of healthcare, banking and manufacturing along with other key components of our defense industries is tolerable so long as they better serve the interests of our citizens and society, so an adjustment in strategy by CEOs that better aligns their actions with the interests of a broader set of stake holders is crucial to the continued provision of such immense financial resources.

      The challenge ahead lives in the continued recovery and improved decision making and coordination between a wide range of countries, departments, agencies, corporations, companies and organizations that provides adequate structure and provision for all, while continuing to reserve space for the individual and financial reward for merit, virtue, hard-work, heroism and ingenuity of all types, with Universal Human Rights protected and provided for as a matter of law and government.

About the author:
I ask you all for your continued financial support so that I can see my Master of Science in Homeland Security threw to completion, continue to work on music and screenplays, while finding time and financial resource to release recommendations unadulterated by either physical intimidation or financial duress.  

I'm looking to sell or license a recently completed screenplay on “William the Conqueror,” am looking for a corporate sponsor or funding to complete the musical album, “King Theo: One Crown, One Throne, One King,” film, edit and launch a professional music video with a sizable promotional budget and eager to consider paid research or writing positions beyond my current employment. I wish you all a tremendous holiday season! 


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