Connundrum

A few days ago we were horrified at pictures of children dying in Syria. They had been exposed to poison gas, chemical weapons, and there was nothing that could be done for them. People watched in shock as they drew their last breaths. It was truly horrifying. Worse, their own government had poisoned them. When a country kills its own children, something has gone horribly wrong.  

There was some wobbling on whether or not they had actually used chemical weapons. Our President had said if Syria used them, he would act militarily to stop it. Nobody wants any more military actions going on, so he was waffling a little on this promise. Well, nobody knew for sure if it was chemical weapons or not... no smoking gun... hard to tell...

But then they did know. They had the chemical signature of it. They knew it was poison gas that killed those children. There was no denying it anymore, though the British Prime Minister is still saying it's not a sure thing, one can never know, etc...

The warships are standing off the coast of Syria. Armed to the teeth, if ships had teeth. You get the idea. Missiles at the ready, aimed at Syria. Ready to blow it to smithereens. Clean, no troops, just technology. It is the new war. 

Can someone please explain to me why blowing up the people of Syria is better than blowing them away with chemical weapons? It's the same poor souls who will get hit, the kids, the old grannies, the young mothers trying to shelter their babies, the old men hanging out and reminiscing with their friends, those people... the same ones who were being gassed. Not only will there be "collateral damage" in the form of the civilian population, but also the infrastructure, the houses, schools, hospitals, bridges, transportation systems, plumbing, water systems, all the trappings of a civilized existence.  If you need help imagining this, just take a look at the before and after pictures of Iraq. We blew Iraq back to the stone age. Who knows when, if ever, they will get back what they have lost? 

Explain to me how military intervention is going to convince Assad that chemical weapons are a bad idea. How is this going to win over the hearts and minds of a government that has produced over a million refugees and and 100,000 dead, so far? 

When are we going to realize that military intervention is not the solution, but only an escalation of the problem?  

Let's leave blowing things up to the special effects guys in Hollywood. 

Photo credit: Google images