History will judge those who used liberalism as a face to cover war industry

History will judge those who used liberalism as a face to cover war industry and use of force instead of liberal diplomacy. That is totally true…Secretary Kerry said that history would judge those who do not act to protect innocent civilians that died from chemical gas. No one can agree with this sentence but many would ask questions about it.

Was it proved that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons? What about AL Qaeda members that are destroying Syria? What is the use of the United Nations if its reports aren’t important and its security council cannot decide anything? Isn’t the UN supposed to be the symbol of International cooperation and understanding in order to reach the best ways of solving conflicts around the world? How many times did the United States of America use force since the Vietnam war to solve conflicts and found itself making it more complicated with more weight on the shoulders of its people and more suffering to the peoples of the countries invaded? Did we already forget the latest experience in Iraq and Afghanistan? Weren’t we presented with intelligence reports that were later criticized and denied? What is the real goal behind attacking Syria with force and military rather than trying to find with other powers ways of solving the conflict between the regime and the real opposition…and when I say the real opposition I mean those who did not invade Syria under the black flag of AL Qaeda claiming that they are Jihadists fighting for the freedom of the Syrian people.

I have met many American officials and discussed with them the American industry of making decisions when talking about the Arab Spring and the Middle East in general. Eventually they all agreed that the United States of America have interests in the region and these interests are the real reason for any kind of move within it especially when talking about operations that include the sacrificing of American souls for the sake of getting another victory. Liberal values, democracy, norms and International Law are simply secondary reasons used in order to justify the actions that are made on the bases of the first goal which is Interests. Interests would vary into national security interests or economic interests or political interests. The only thing that does not work with this equation is that every time the U.S used force it did not bring long term benefit for these interests but on the contrary affected on them negatively for a long time.

I won’t discuss the negative effect that this strategy of using force left on many countries that were dealt with force and invasion since it is clear for everyone but what interests me more is the kind of effect that is left on liberalism and democratic norms and thought following the use of this strategy by the prophets of this kind of thoughts. If war is justified by explaining liberal meanings and human rights every time in a different way, then soon it will lose its meaning and basic principles. Liberalism and human rights call for the protection of the basic rights of freedom but the kind of way of doing that is left to the liberal leader that must measure his/her decisions according to the proportionate relation between the strategy used, the damage and the result. Unfortunately the personal or national interests of the leading liberal makes him/her lose this basic principle and be pushed towards destroying the meaning of liberal thought by using it to justify realist actions built on the principle that no conflict can be solved through international relations and only wars define the balance of power in the world and the one who can control and lead it. Such a thing by human nature makes the leading power lose its human and liberal values and make it more a one man rule that decides what is good and what is not for the world.

The only good thing that I learned from the recent discussion in the West about whether it is good to strike Syria or not is the people’s word that have been said in the English Parliament and through the polls that were held at the U.S. The majority was against use of force and it was clear that everyone was thinking more about a better economy rather than starting a new round of violence that would explode the Middle East and affect the entire West. The people did not buy the story easily and thought twice about the meaning of patriotism and real “Interests” of their countries.

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