Letters: An Attack on Syria? The Tension Rises

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Re "Obama Set for Limited Strike on Syria as British Vote No" (front page, Aug. 30): It is troubling that we are again considering bombing another far-off country, and possibly without support from the international community.

The use of chemical weapons is unacceptable, but establishing that Syrian forces used them is not alone sufficient to justify unilateral intervention.

The lessons of our recent military adventures in the Middle East and Central Asia dictate that before we start bombing we should have a game plan, that we must know what good we can reasonably expect to accomplish, and that we should have a clear exit strategy.

It does not appear that any of this is in place. Have we not learned the limits of our power? Let us not further destabilize this troubled region.

BRUCE A. BURNS
Spencertown, N.Y., Aug. 30, 2013

To the Editor:

So Prime Minister David Cameron cannot wage war without the consent of the British people as represented by Parliament. I guess this is what a democracy looks like.

BRIAN DEIMLING
Brooklyn, Aug. 30, 2013

To the Editor:

Secretary of State John Kerry has made the case for retaliation against Syria. The die is cast. Forget further efforts at negotiation, a Security Council resolution or a political solution: they will never happen.

I believe that President Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons and that we have the proof. No more wringing of hands. This is not like the invasion of Iraq on false premises. Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. Syria has used them, and it sends a clear signal that it would do so again.

We should attack Syria with full force in the air and decapitate its command and control and its leadership in palaces, airfields, and weapon sites and logistical support. Syria is a threat to our national safety. Congress must get on board. France supports us. Let's do it now.

LAURENCE C. DAY
Ladue, Mo., Aug. 30, 2013

To the Editor:

The fact that President Obama is prepared to carry out a go-it-alone strike on Syria is not a good thing.

It will further inflame the negative feelings toward America in the Middle East with little likelihood of achieving any benefits that might be gained.

We have already compromised our moral position in that part of the world, jeopardizing the opportunity to help achieve peace and stability.

I hope that Congress will exercise its constitutional obligations with respect to our country's involvement in another Middle East war.

JOHN A. VITERITTI
Southold, N.Y., Aug. 30, 2013

To the Editor:

Re "Reinforce a Norm in Syria," by Nicholas D. Kristof (column, Aug. 29):

In urging President Obama to take "a tougher approach" toward Syria, Mr. Kristof tells of a Syrian grandmother who lost her husband, her son and her daughter-in-law to the regime of Bashar al-Assad, and he asks, "What do we tell her?" It is a painful question, but surely the answer should not be to launch a missile attack that will kill yet more people and add to the turmoil in the region.

Ideally, what we should tell that grandmother is that the United States is working through the United Nations to achieve an immediate cease-fire in Syria, to be followed by an intensive diplomatic effort to work out a permanent and peaceful solution to the conflict so that the killing will stop once and for all.

Our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan should have told us by now that dropping more bombs on a Muslim country will do nothing but perpetuate violence and increase hatred of America.

RACHELLE MARSHALL
Mill Valley, Calif., Aug. 29, 2013

To the Editor:

In Rwanda, an estimated 800,000 people were murdered in 100 days. In Syria, more than 100,000 have been killed in two years. The slaughter in both cases has been horrific, but the two situations are not comparable. One involved failure to intervene in a clearly defined genocide where United States military action could have been decisive.

In Syria, you have a complex civil war, where both sides have a significant number of bad actors and where even a full-scale invasion might not achieve the desired result. And people who engage in symbolic gestures involving guns often end up shooting themselves in the foot. The trouble with red lines is that they can easily become a green light for ill-considered military action.

SUSAN ALTMAN
Washington, Aug. 29, 2013

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