Pelosi Spins for Obama

Dear Representative Pelosi,

I received your letter this morning in response to my views on Syria. You point to “strong, clear, and compelling evidence that President Bashar Assad’s regime was responsible for chemical weapons attacks against innocent Syrian civilians.” That is not the issue; my objection was to the use of force rather than diplomacy. That a Nobel Peace Prize winning American president was so hell-bent to “punish Assad” that he had to be shamed and coerced into negotiations that actually address the core problem—and by the Russians no less!—is astounding and disheartening. Your implication of international support for a military strike—“the Assad regime crossed a red line – not President Obama’s red line – but the line the international community drew nearly a century ago”—is pure political spin; except for France, there was and is zero international support, including our own citizens—70% are opposed. As for the president’s demonstration of the “strength of his leadership and his willingness to exhaust every remedy before the use of force,” that too, is political fiction. While the world was calling for diplomacy rather than bombs, Obama and his faithful servants, including you, Representative Pelosi, were pounding the war drums; there was no talk either in Congress nor from the White House of negotiations or trying to get rid of Syria’s chemical weapons until the Russians proposed a reasonable deal. Shame on all of you. Use this opportunity not just to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons but to negotiate a cease-fire. And instead of beating war drums, try beating peace drums for a change; begin working to outlaw not just chemical weapons but all weapons. As horrific and indiscriminate as chemical weapons are, Hellfire missiles, bombs, artillery shells and bullets are no less horrific and indiscriminate. Yes, perhaps 1,000 civilians were killed in the Aug. 21 attack, but what of the other 120,000 killed by conventional weapons? Yes, hundreds of children were killed but how many have we killed in Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia with Hellfire missiles? How many thousands have our bombs and bullets killed in Iraq and Afghanistan? You were quoted in an article in the September 10 NYT (“Sharp Test Among Democrats of Loyalty to Obama,” p. A9): “I think war should be obsolete. I don’t think it is a reasonable way to resolve conflict. I think we should eliminate it as a possibility.” Why not work toward that end instead of rounding up votes for violence?
cc: President Barack Obama