[Peace-discuss] David Swanson: Syria: Pros and Cons

[Stuart Levy]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	[ufpj-activist] Syria: Pros and Cons
Date: 	Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:57:11 -0400
From: 	David Swanson <davidcnswanson at gmail.com>
To: 	<media at lists.mayfirst.org>



  Syria: Pros and Cons

By David Swanson
http://warisacrime.org/content/syria-pros-and-cons

*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:*

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 /New York Times/ 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Courage, Mr. President!  Don't be a wuss!



-- 

David Swanson's books include "War Is A Lie <http://warisalie.org/>." He 
blogs at http://davidswanson.org <http://davidswanson.org/> and 
http://warisacrime.org <http://warisacrime.org/> and works for 
http://rootsaction.org <http://rootsaction.org/>. He hosts Talk Nation 
Radio <http://davidswanson.org/taxonomy/term/41>. Follow him on Twitter: 
@davidcnswanson <http://twitter.com/davidcnswanson> and FaceBook 
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Swanson/297768373319#>.
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