H
HabemusFrancis
Guest
Hi all!
I am doing a paper for a Catholic studies topic on the following issue: Is American and international support for the toppling of Bashar-Al Assad of Syria just or good? Would such a war be just under the “Just war theory?”
I posit that it would not be, not under Catholic theory, or any moral theory.
I know this is a problematic position. Bashar Al-Assad rules (his portion) of Syria with an iron fist, and democratic freedoms and constrain on government power as we know them simply don’t exist. He and his supporters have committed legions of atrocities against innocent civilians, inculding the use of poison gas.
Yet… I fear what would happen if he or his regime were to fall. In areas he controls there is some semblance of predictabilty and law and order. There is a functioning society and government, a certain reliability. This is far cry from the areas controlled by ISIS, and the Syrian “moderates” (many part of an Al-Qaeda affiliate, or at least hold views not that far from them:blush
.
Most importantly ( and the reason Assad gets so much support from his people) is that his reign is a bulwark, guarantee of religious tolerance and pluralism. His regime is from a minority sect of Shia Islam, and has guaranteed the rights of other minorities, including Christians, Druze, and even some Sunnis among other groups. All such groups likely face a genocide if he were to fall. Perhaps it was different at one point, but as of now, the “Syrian opposition” (which by extension includes ISIS) is fighting a war of Sunni supremacy, rather than one for democracy over tyranny.
Finally, Assad’s secular rule guarantees some amount of dignity and autonomy for Syria’s female population. He is no world class feminist, and there are no doubt serious issues in regards to his regime’s treatment of women. It just seems to me that with him gone, there is nothing standing between women and reactionary Sharia law:blush:.
The more I studied this conflict… the more nuanced my opinion of Assad grew. At first I thought he was a monstrous person, and at some level he may well be. But as they say, “War makes monsters of us all.
”. The minority sect has family is from has only been in power since 1970, and there relativly pluralistic (but tyrannical) Syria has only existed since then (give or take.) Before then, his sect and the other minorities were treated as third class citizens by the Sunni Majority.
Perhaps he was a tyrant but perhaps he truly feared the chaos and violations “his people” would suffer were he to be removed.
This is sort of a confusing issue, yet I cannot conceive how what Obama and our allies are doing can be conceived of as right. All those who say “Assad MUST go” seem to not have a full understanding or apprecation of this conflict.
Thoughts? Ideas?
I am doing a paper for a Catholic studies topic on the following issue: Is American and international support for the toppling of Bashar-Al Assad of Syria just or good? Would such a war be just under the “Just war theory?”
I posit that it would not be, not under Catholic theory, or any moral theory.
I know this is a problematic position. Bashar Al-Assad rules (his portion) of Syria with an iron fist, and democratic freedoms and constrain on government power as we know them simply don’t exist. He and his supporters have committed legions of atrocities against innocent civilians, inculding the use of poison gas.
Yet… I fear what would happen if he or his regime were to fall. In areas he controls there is some semblance of predictabilty and law and order. There is a functioning society and government, a certain reliability. This is far cry from the areas controlled by ISIS, and the Syrian “moderates” (many part of an Al-Qaeda affiliate, or at least hold views not that far from them:blush
.Most importantly ( and the reason Assad gets so much support from his people) is that his reign is a bulwark, guarantee of religious tolerance and pluralism. His regime is from a minority sect of Shia Islam, and has guaranteed the rights of other minorities, including Christians, Druze, and even some Sunnis among other groups. All such groups likely face a genocide if he were to fall. Perhaps it was different at one point, but as of now, the “Syrian opposition” (which by extension includes ISIS) is fighting a war of Sunni supremacy, rather than one for democracy over tyranny.
Finally, Assad’s secular rule guarantees some amount of dignity and autonomy for Syria’s female population. He is no world class feminist, and there are no doubt serious issues in regards to his regime’s treatment of women. It just seems to me that with him gone, there is nothing standing between women and reactionary Sharia law:blush:.
The more I studied this conflict… the more nuanced my opinion of Assad grew. At first I thought he was a monstrous person, and at some level he may well be. But as they say, “War makes monsters of us all.
”. The minority sect has family is from has only been in power since 1970, and there relativly pluralistic (but tyrannical) Syria has only existed since then (give or take.) Before then, his sect and the other minorities were treated as third class citizens by the Sunni Majority.Perhaps he was a tyrant but perhaps he truly feared the chaos and violations “his people” would suffer were he to be removed.
This is sort of a confusing issue, yet I cannot conceive how what Obama and our allies are doing can be conceived of as right. All those who say “Assad MUST go” seem to not have a full understanding or apprecation of this conflict.
Thoughts? Ideas?