Yes, concerning Richard Falk’s February 27, 2014 ZNet article – “Syria What to Do Now” – there is definitely “a new mood of moral desperation associated with the ongoing strife in Syria that has resulted in at least 135,000 deaths, 9.3 million Syrians displaced, countless atrocities, Palestinian refugee communities attacked, blockaded, and dispersed, and urban sieges designed to starve civilians perceived to be hostile”, but we shouldn’t succumb to despair since it is not an option. We must persevere in finding a viable diplomatic and political solution to this tragic, horrifying conflict. Moreover, despite the fact that “as the second round of negotiations in Geneva-2 ended as fruitlessly as the earlier round, there is a sense that diplomacy is a performance ritual without any serious intent to engage in conflict-resolving negotiation”, we must do whatever it takes to make it fruitful. Therefore, we must do every thing we can to make the unscheduled, but still planned, third round of this Geneva-2 process.successful in spite of the lower expectations.
Yes, it is crystal clear that there are no simple answers at this stage as to what should be done about the Syrian situation, and dogmatic discourse for or against intervention misses very much the deeply tragic nature of the policy predicament for all political actors. I would also feel a lot more comfortable about the intervention debate if it were expressed in a discourse that confers prominence to the virtue of humility, making the utmost effort to discover a peaceful,diplomatic solution instead of the use of force to obtain a solution to this tragic, horrendous conflict. . There is just certainly too much in Syria remains unknowable to have any confidence that a clear line of advocacy will be historically vindicated. Therefore, it is imperative that we must demonstrate humility, prudence, patience, and caution in pursuing and achieving a genuine, peaceful diplomatic solution to this Syrian conflict.
Yes, also for me, it is certainly, even indisputably, the case that the fundamental question is what it is wisest to do or not do in such a desperate situation of radical uncertainty. Yes, further, it is not only that the interventionists, and maybe ” the anti-interventionists are motivated by a convergence of humanitarian/moral considerations with geostrategic ambitions, but that the nature of these hidden calculations are discussed in governmental circles behind locked doors and transcribed in secret policy memoranda”, thereby tragically avoiding transparency that is vital for a truly successful peaceful solution to this terrible conflict.. Yes, we must address these questions of consequences and secret goals in the context of uncertainty and unknowability, so that the public discourse on what to do about Syria proposes substantial insight “into how best to evaluate policy options being endorsed by policymakers and leaders.”
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