Elliot Abrams, a "Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies" at the Council on Foreign Relations Note 1 wrote in his blog at http://blogs.cfr.org/abrams/2012/05/06/standing-idly-by-in-syria/ that if only Americans would pay attention "American leadership would change the balance diplomatically and on the ground, affect the policies of the Europeans, Jordanians, and Turks, improve the morale and performance of the Syrian opposition, and begin to move those still on the fence into an anti-Assad position."
It is not enough that we publicly are involved in Iraq (still), Afghanistan, and Pakistan; that we are undoubtedly surreptitiously meddling elsewhere. No. Abrams would have the U.S. involved in Syria's civil war. We didn't learn from Iraq? We haven't learned from Afghanistan. We certainly didn't learn the lesson the Vietnamese taught the French since we went in after the French were chased out.
Does anyone remember a little document called the Monroe Doctrine? In its simplest form, the Monroe Doctrine states that in return for the European powers of the time staying out of our perceived "realm of influence" - then mostly North and Central America - we, the United States, would stay out of the European's affairs. Unless of course the U.S. deemed it was endangered by Europe's affairs or was "invited" to join the fray (as in World War I).
We had NO business in Libya. We had NO business in Egypt. We had NO business in Iraq. We have NO business in Syria.
If any organization has any business in Syria, it might be the Arab States' organization.
If any organization has any business in Iran, it ought to be the Arab States organization; after all, Iran is a threat to Saudi since it's brand of Islam is different from the kingdoms; it is a threat to the so-called "moderate" Islamic states such as the UAE since they fail to follow the Iranian ayatollahs' extremism. It is a threat to the entire Middle East with its potential to start nuking any and all of its neighbors on its way to wiping Israel off the face of the earth - much as the Crusaders murdered thousands of innocents on their way to free Jerusalem from the infidels.
The Arabs have shown - in Syria and in Sudan - that they really don't care if a regime slaughters its people, even if those people are fellow Moslems. They care even less if the murdered are non-Moslems.
The United States has NO interest in Syria's civil war. If Russia wants to arm the rebels, let it. Will the arms buy Russia influence in the Middle East. Maybe, but not for long.
The U.S. and Russia, and to a lesser degree, France, long sought to buy influence in the region. The Arabs took what we (collectively) offered and in the end ignored everyone. If Iran supports Syria's despotic ruler, let it. Iran's brand of Islam is the same as Syria's rulers. If Iraq wants to support the revolutionaries, let it.
The United States has one - only one - ally in the Middle East, and that ally is NOT an Islamic state, not even a "moderate" Islamic state such as Turkey.
Abrams contends that ”It seems the Syrian people will not “somewhere, somehow find the means to defend themselves” unless we do (provide the means).
I'm sorry, Mr. Abrams, Syria is NOT THE U.S.' PROBLEM.. It's an Arab problem if it is any external entity's problem. The war is a civil war; the war is within Syria's (extended-to-include-Lebanon) borders. So far, the war has not spilled over into Turkey, Jordan, or Israel, although refugees may be heading for the borders.
I'm not an isolationist, but I see what happens when the United States, with its Western mentality, muddles in the affairs of a Moslem-dominated country with a far different mentality. For the U.S., it is a lose-lose situation and we should, we must, avoid being sucked into another intra-Islam conflict.
If someone from an Islamic state wants to enter the fray, let them. If an American Moslem wants to fight in Syria - for either side - let them, and let the U.S. turn a blind eye on this activity as it did when American's joined Canadian forces to fight the nazis before December 7, 1941. But the United States, as a nation, should keep far away from the Syrians' internal conflict.
Consider this: The U.S. is bogged down in Afghanistan, and Pakistan, countries far removed from America's borders. If the politicians really must fight, let them invade Cuba. It's only 90 miles away from Key West Florida - combatants could come home on weekends and holidays. To be perfectly clear, when I suggested that "they" invade Cuba I meant the politicians who want war with someone, anyone. I am NOT suggesting the U.S. send troops anywhere. The U.S. can no longer be, should no longer be, and must no longer be, the world's policeman.
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Note 1: The Council on Foreign Relations is, by its own account (see http://www.cfr.org/about/ , "an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher. CFR members, including Brian Williams, Fareed Zakaria, Angelina Jolie, Chuck Hagel, and Erin Burnett, explain why the Council on Foreign Relations is an indispensable resource in a complex world." The Wikipedia description is found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_on_Foreign_Relations.
