Dear President Obama;
All right, so you made a mistake. Everyone does sometimes. Using the use of chemical weapons as a red line to get Assad to stop
killing his own people was not a good idea. You thought that being threatened
by the United States of America would be sufficient to make him stop killing
Syrian civilians. This was a major tactical error on your part. Anyone who has
already ordered the killing of as many people as he has will care little about
the USA killing a few more. You were on the right track before when you
hesitated to get us embroiled in another war in the Middle East. No good guys could be identified and as far as I know, they still haven't. We
didn’t stop the genocide in Rwanda or Biafra. There are numerous oppressive
governments around the world in which we don’t intervene. Why Syria? I can’t
believe that you really think that any good could come from such an attack
other than your saving face for having made the crossing the red line
statement.
As much as your red line statement was a mistake, I have to
congratulate you for asking Congress to authorize an attack. It’s a great way
to save face without getting anyone killed. I hope and pray that behind the
scenes, you’re begging all those Senators and Congressmen to “just say NO.” As
an Illinois resident in the Ninth Congressional District, I have e-mailed
Senators Durbin and Kirk and Congresswoman Schakowsky beseeching them to deny
you this authorization. If Assad is toppled, we aren’t even sure that a decent
government will emerge. Once again, you were right before. This is clearly a
time to let bad enough alone and I am hoping against hope that Congress pulls
you back from this brink.
If by some chance, however, Congress finally gets its act
together and does something you purportedly want and votes yes, it will be a
tragedy for the Middle East. Nevertheless, in that worst-case scenario, there
is a lesson to be learned. Congress responds well to reverse psychology. This
strategy can be employed during the year to pass something positive. Raising
the debt ceiling and getting a farm bill that includes a decent amount of
appropriations for Food Stamps comes immediately to mind.
In closing, Mr. President, I have always been one of your
staunchest supporters and I’m still rooting
for you. I’ve supported you ever
since as a state senator, you announced that you opposed the USA invading Iraq.
I cheered when you welcomed the troops home after you brought our involvement
in that disaster to an end. I am really disappointed that you are doing a 180
-degree turn by planning this invasion of Syria now. I trust that you will find
a way to cancel your plans.
Good luck in your efforts to keep America safe and make the
world a better, more peaceful place.
Sincerely,
Lisa Sachs
PS. If you really feel the need to have this invasion,
shouldn’t there be an element of surprise? At this point, all Assad has to do
to find out what you have in mind is to read the New York Times.
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