A Necessary Intervention

A Necessary Intervention

When mass atrocities occur in today’s world, humanitarianism is often vital to the situation in order to promote human welfare.  In Syria, a large group of people is facing mass destruction during a deadly civil war and intervention is necessary to stop this injustice and human suffering. In a case as extreme as this, it is the United States’ moral obligation to provide aid to the innocent suffering civilians in Syria, and do whatever is necessary to end the mass killing in the region.

            Military force should never be the first option in any case similar to this, however in Syria, it may be essential. In opposition, Ed Husain claims that military intervention is ill conceived, counter productive, and likely to increase, instead of reduce, killing of innocent cvilians.  I don’t believe this is particularly true, as the killings will only increase if we just become bystanders waiting for things to pan out, while innocent people are getting gassed to death and murdered by chemical weapons. We must not intervene to show our power in the Middle East or for our own self- interest, however it is necessary that we aid the refugees immediately and ensure that the mass killings and injustice come to an end. As mentioned by Shadi Hamid in his article, no one is arguing for an Iraqi- style invasion with thousands of boots on the ground, as this will only make matters worse.  However, it is critical to establish safe zones to ensure humanitarian assistance and safety for the civilians.

 It is the United States’ moral duty to protect innocent lives that are threatened every day by the deadly civil war taking place in Syria and it is essential that we do everything in our power to end this.  I don’t understand how we can consider sitting back and watching the mass murdering of tons of people by a dictator. If the problem doesn’t “resolve itself”, how many more people have to die before we decide to step in and take action. While the support of other countries would greatly contribute to the resolution of the problem, we can’t rely on others to step in and do what must be done.  A joint coalition of nations to aid the people of Syria may be the best option, but if this is not a conceivable plan, then the United States must take it upon themselves to step in and end the mass suffering.  Right now, American intervention is the best way to put an end to the crimes against humanity and suffering in Syria.