To the editor:

For the past two years, the United States has been relatively openly seeking to overthrow the sovereign government of Syria. They have done so through arming and funding the rebels, who are primarily composed of al-Qaida affiliates and foreign mercenaries.

In May, after a chemical weapon attack in Syria, the U.S. postured about a “red line” that would be crossed if the Syrian government used chemical weapons. The United Nations, however, found evidence linking the rebels to the use of chemical weapons. The White House remained silent.

In a sign of their total disregard for the truth, the U.S. government has declared, in advance of any actual investigation, that the Syrian government is guilty of using chemical weapons. We must remember the Iraq War in 2003, where “overwhelming evidence of weapons of mass destruction” were used as the pretext for a war that killed hundreds of thousands and tore Iraq apart. No such weapons were ever found.

The idea that the Syrian government, having just allowed U.N. inspectors into the country, and with a clear and almost decisive upper hand in the war would use chemical weapons defies all logic. The government has absolutely nothing to gain from this. The rebels, however, who cannot win without more foreign intervention, have something to gain.

Polls indicate 89-91 percent of Americans oppose foreign intervention. Many of us know that “our” government cares nothing about humanitarianism. It’s concerned with overthrowing another independent nation, just like it did in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Panama, Yugoslavia and so many other countries.

Instead of bombing these countries, the U.S. could take a lesson from them. What is of particular note for students is that the countries targeted by the U.S. often have nationalized education systems. Iraq and Libya, for example, had free and accessible colleges with state of the art facilities. In Syria, college tuition is heavily subsidized and often completely free.

To stand against U.S. intervention in Syria is to stand with the Syrian people and Syrian students.
Derek Ford
Youth and Student ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism)
PhD student, Teaching Assistant

Published on August 29, 2013 at 2:54 am