The Great Indecision

Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(Germany) on 24 August 2013
by Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Holly Bickerton. Edited by Natalie Clager.
It is only human to demand that someone should do something about the killing in Syria. But who?

A terrible war is raging in Syria, which is creating millions of refugees. If the Assad regime has used chemical weapons, it would be a crime against humanity. And so it is only human to demand that someone must do something against this killing, namely by intervening. But who?

The United States is tired of interventions, and its indecisive president has drawn an elastic “red line.” The Europeans? That is hard to imagine, even given the threat of a reaction with force from France's excited foreign minister. In the spring, Paris and London still wanted to supply the rebels with weapons, but not much remains of this enthusiasm.

We can complain about the division in the U.N. Security Council and the protection that Moscow grants to Assad, but that's how it is. If an outside power were to directly intervene then it would probably be America, if it sees its interests threatened by events in Syria, in particular by the use of weapons of mass destruction. After all, the country once considered itself indispensable on the global political stage.


Das große Zaudern
Es ist nur allzumenschlich, jetzt zu verlangen, jemand müsse etwas gegen das Morden in Syrien unternehmen. Aber wer?
In Syrien tobt ein furchtbarer Krieg, vor dem Millionen Menschen fliehen. Sollte das Assad-Regime tatsächlich Giftgas eingesetzt haben, wäre das ein Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit. Und so ist es nur allzumenschlich, jetzt zu verlangen, jemand müsse etwas gegen das Morden unternehmen, also eingreifen. Aber wer? Die Vereinigen Staaten sind interventionsmüde; elastisch ist die „rote Linie“, die der zaudernde Präsident Obama gezogen hat.
Die Europäer? Das kann man sich kaum vorstellen, mag auch Frankreichs erregter Außenminister mit einer Reaktion der Stärke drohen. Paris und London wollten noch im Frühjahr Waffen an die Rebellen liefern, aber von diesem Enthusiasmus ist nicht viel geblieben.
Man kann die Spaltung des UN-Sicherheitsrats beklagen und die Protektion, die Moskau Assad gewährt. Aber so ist es nun mal. Sollte eine äußere Macht direkt eingreifen, dann letztlich doch Amerika - wenn es seine Interessen von dem Geschehen in Syrien, insbesondere vom Einsatz von Massenvernichtungswaffen, bedroht sieht. Immerhin hat das Land sich einmal für weltpolitisch unentbehrlich gehalten.
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

Hot this week

Ireland: Irish Examiner View: Would We Miss Donald Trump and Would a Successor Be Worse?

Luxembourg: Thanks, Daddy: Trump Is Imposing Putin’s Will on Europe

Germany: The Art of Strategic Flattery

Australia: Donald Trump Is Taking Over the US Federal Reserve and Financial Markets Have Missed the Point

Mexico: Trump and His Personal Style

Topics

Poland: Ukraine Is Still Far from Peace. What Was Actually Decided at the White House?

Ireland: Irish Examiner View: Would We Miss Donald Trump and Would a Successor Be Worse?

Canada: Minnesota School Shooting Is Just More Proof That America Is Crazed

Australia: Donald Trump Is Taking Over the US Federal Reserve and Financial Markets Have Missed the Point

Israel: From the Cities of America to John Bolton: Trump’s Vendetta Campaign against Opponents Reaches New Heights

Australia: Australia Boosts Corporate Law Enforcement as America Goes Soft

Turkey: Pay Up or Step Aside: Tariffs in America’s ‘Protection Money’ Diplomacy

Related Articles

Germany: Unfortunately, Reality Comes to Those Who Wait

Germany: A Software for Authoritarian Restructuring

Russia: The Issue of Weapons Has Come to the Forefront*

Germany: Can Donald Trump Be Convinced To Remain Engaged in Europe?

Germany: Friedrich Merz’s Visit to Trump Succeeded because It Didn’t Fail