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<td>[ufpj-activist] Syria: Pros and Cons</td>
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<td>Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:57:11 -0400</td>
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<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE">From: </th>
<td>David Swanson <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:davidcnswanson@gmail.com"><davidcnswanson@gmail.com></a></td>
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<td><a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:media@lists.mayfirst.org"><media@lists.mayfirst.org></a></td>
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<h1 class="">Syria: Pros and Cons</h1>
By David Swanson<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://warisacrime.org/content/syria-pros-and-cons">http://warisacrime.org/content/syria-pros-and-cons</a><br>
<p><strong>Mr. President, if I were a professional con artist
paid to give you the pros and cons on engaging in a war in
Syria, here's what they would be:</strong></p>
<p>As you know, former president Clinton, probably understood by
many to also be speaking on behalf of his wife, has called you
a wuss. Virtually nobody remembers or cares that you said "I
want to end the mindset that got us into war in the first
place." The majority of Americans, exercising that mindset,
want you to get us into a new war in the first place if the
alternative is having a wuss in the White House. I don't have
a poll on that, but trust me.</p>
<p>This is not contradicted by public opposition to U.S.
engagement in the war in Syria (as seen in the polls). If
U.S. casualties are minimized and if the financial cost can
come out of the base DOD budget -- at least at first -- then
the political cost is negligible while the political gain is
enormous. Unless you drag this out. The military budget is
being increased right now, and in violation of the sequester,
and nobody gives a rat's ass. They think it means jobs and
non-wussiness. Unless you drag it out.</p>
<p>With regard to claims of chemical weapons use by the Syrian
government, the best approach is to claim certainty, and to
insist on the necessity of secrecy for the evidence. You've
had a great deal of success with this approach on drone kills,
NSA programs, etc. Let the conversation focus on a demand for
the evidence. This allows you to talk about the scary dangers
requiring secrecy, and to question whether your opponents have
the appropriate level of patriotic barbarism. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, everyone has completely forgotten that both sides
in Syria are using hideous weaponry and committing horrible
atrocities, while we're only aiding one side rather than
both. Nobody, in this framework, will be capable of thinking
about the internationally condemned weapons we deploy, or
wondering whether killing Syrians to prevent Syrians from
being killed by the wrong kind of weapons even makes sense in
our humanitarian (wink wink) scenario. Much less will the
legality or morality of using war to prevent war be questioned
or even be questionable. Keep the focus on the extensive
evidence of chemical weapons use by Assad, one of the few
individuals in the world -- we should say constantly -- evil
enough to do such a thing. Stop mentioning Syria at all.
Always refer to Assad.</p>
<p>Key also is swiftness. Get this battle started! Get
progress and movement toward victory underway immediately. If
possible get a very small number of Americans killed, and
killed by Assad. Remember that the resistance to the 2003
invasion of Iraq shriveled away once the invasion happened,
and that the same sort of resistance is not even here now for
you. Your image is firmly established as a non-killer. Your
telling the <em>New York Times</em> about your kill list
terror-Tuesday meetings did nothing to change that. Your
bin-Laden announcement did nothing to change that. The danger
for you is not Texan sadist. The danger for you is Wuss.</p>
<p>The secondary danger is drawing the thing out. You've been
able to escalate and prolong the war on Afghanistan for five
years only because you've labeled it your predecessor's war.
The House just voted that you only get another year-and-a-half
there unless they vote again. I know, I know, it's cute how
they think we give a shit what they vote for. But Syria is
not Bush's war. If you drag it out you'll be in trouble. And
here's why you might: The people of Syria are largely against
the rebels and will be even more strongly against the United
States or NATO. There won't even be a momentary
flowers-and-chocolate welcome. Both sides are heavily armed
already, and the more popular side is winning. You're
proposing to fight on the less popular side in support of
overthrowing a more popular government in exchange for a
government that could end up opposed to Iran, but which will
also be opposed to the United States, not to mention its
opposition to restraint in mutilating and murdering
blasphemers. There will be a temptation to try to fix and
control what is guaranteed to be broken and uncontrollable.
And that's if the whole thing doesn't expand internationally
into a broader war involving several nations and costing you
practically as much as Wussihood.</p>
<p>So, what you need is swiftness and overwhelming strength,
devastation sufficient to shock and awe the Syrians as it
were. And then get the hell out of there and leave those
people to their catastrophe. That would be my advice. You
don't need, and the weapons makers and contractors who will
show you their gratitude don't need, a lengthy war in order to
profit. You need an example of a successful war that can be
held up as potentially needed again. Because, of course --
while you must absolutely not say this yet -- this is what
will get you into Iran. And Iran is where the real men go,
Mr. President.</p>
<p>You need to clamp down on Senator McCain and all other voices
connecting Syria to Iran. The two need to be separate and
happen sequentially. You need to control the media by
continuing to beat the existing sticks of intimidation, while
offering some carrots as well. Do they want to break the
story of the chemical weapons evidence? Do they? Do they? Then
they need to watch what they say. This can be a win-win for
everyone involved, Mr. President. The footage of the bombing
of Syrian air defense batteries in urban centers will be
stunning. It should come before the Fourth of July. </p>
<p>Footage from the ground in those cities, however, should be
banned under the threat of indictment for aiding the enemy.
This is important. Syria is not Libya. A lot more people are
going to die, and we do not want those images except in one
key case. We want the death of Assad on every television.
And we want it from a bomb, not a night raid. We want to
justify the killing of tens of thousands through the killing
of someone so demonized that his killing justifies all
killing. At that point, you can forget anyone caring about
the fate of Syria. Just look at Iraq. It's worse off right
now than Syria is, and I can count on one hand the number of
Americans who give a damn.</p>
<p>Courage, Mr. President! Don't be a wuss!</p>
<br clear="all">
<br>
-- <br>
<p>David Swanson's books include "<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://warisalie.org/" target="_blank">War Is A Lie</a>."
He blogs at <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://davidswanson.org/"
title="http://davidswanson.org" target="_blank">http://davidswanson.org</a>
and <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://warisacrime.org/"
title="http://warisacrime.org" target="_blank">http://warisacrime.org</a>
and works for <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://rootsaction.org/"
title="http://rootsaction.org" target="_blank">http://rootsaction.org</a>.
He hosts <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://davidswanson.org/taxonomy/term/41"
target="_blank">Talk Nation Radio</a>. Follow him on
Twitter: <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://twitter.com/davidcnswanson" target="_blank">@davidcnswanson</a>
and <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Swanson/297768373319#"
target="_blank">FaceBook</a>. <br>
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