Though chemical weapons bans should be heavily enforced, since they are virtually the only weapons ban we have, it is extremely hard to believe that this intervention policy is inspired by saving lives or ending the use of chemical weapons. It’s always been said that “actions speak louder than words”. So does the U.S. leadership’s walk match up with it’s talk?

• Neither of the U.S.’s two greatest middle-eastern allies, Egypt or Israel, have signed the chemical weapons convention, banning their use. None-the-less, they receive billions from us each year.
• There have been a number of instances over the past few decades in which the U.S. has either used chemical weapons itself or else sabotaged international regulation of chemical weapons use, including when used by Israel in 2009 and Iraq in 1988.
• Finally, the U.K., our biggest international supporter for the case of Syrian intervention, were responsible for the sale of chemical weapons to Syria just 10 months after the rebellion began.

There’s no doubt that what happened was disturbing and tragic and action needs to be taken, whether diplomatic or military. However, Americans should also be calling on U.S. leadership to apply their justice to all nations, and to quite using it as an excuse to intervene where we benefit the most. Not doing so is what truly threatens our credibility, not off-the-cuff comments about arbitrary “red-lines”

The specific death toll of 1,429 has continually been reported by American officials and news outlets. However, no one knows where this number came from and it is nowhere near estimates by British (350) or French (281) allies, and more than triples the total offered by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (502), generally regarded as one of the most reliable sources of information on casualty figures.

Although there is no international argument as to whether or not chemical weapons appear to have been used, it should be mentioned that no direct evidence of Assad’s role in their use has been offered by the U.S., however, the Human Rights Group has released a report outlining the major factors which led them to conclude that Assad’s regime is responsible. Also, refer to this memo delivered to the UN by Russia, for a more robust understanding of the different claims.

Check out a timeline of events in Syria:

HERE

As of August 2013, the UN estimated nearly 2 million had fled the country.

Although no one can rightly characterize the Assad regime as innocent here, the displacement is largely due to the shift, beginning around December of 2012, from a secular protest regarding human rights, to an all out sectarian conflict with absolutely no concern for human rights. This is precisely when violence began to increase significantly.

Both Christian and Muslim non-combatants have fled Syria, not only because of the current violence, but also due to the prospect of rebel control and change of a regime in which they were otherwise safe living and practicing their different religions. However…

The refugee crisis is both internal and international.

The full pdf version of this review can be found, here