Fuchs, you miss the point totally (either deliberately or inadvertently).

This is about enforcing the prohibition on the use of chemical weapons which is especially important when a country which has refused to sign on to the convention uses these weapons on a repeated and escalating basis.




Quote Originally Posted by Fuchs View Post
(I) Illegality

Charter of the United Nations
signed by the U.S. president
ratified by U.S. Congress
supreme law of the land in the U.S. according to U.S. constitution

Article 2


North Atlantic Treaty
signed by the U.S. president
ratified by U.S. Congress
supreme law of the land in the United States according to the U.S. constitution



Military action against is illegal so far because Syria does not attack another nation, is member of the UN itself and the UNSC did not give green light.
Granted, a specific law of the U.S. Congress weighs heavier than a less specific one, so a U.S. law permitting an attack on Syria weighs heavier than the less specific UN Charter and North Atlantic Treaty. An attack would still be an illegal act and violation of both charter and treaty if looked at by other member countries, of course.
An attack of Syria would basically be a violation of the duties as a NATO member. But that's nothing new to some members, of course.

__________________________________

(II) Illegitimacy

Legitimacy (UN aside) can only be had if the action is a ceteris paribus improvement. It cannot be legitimate if it makes the crisis worse.

Killing and destruction is clearly bad in itself, and requires to be outweighed by benefits.
No such benefits have been laid out convincingly.
__________________________________

(III) Efficiency

If civilian suffering is the issue, why not help civilians? Why add destruction, instead of humanitarian goods, to the mix? Compare the cost efficiency.
__________________________________

(IV) ...


(More than enough arguments already in my opinion, so I'm not motivated to sum up all the others. Feel free to add them.
This thread was created because I disliked the imbalance of having a "case for action" thread, but no "case for inaction" thread. The urge "to do something" is strong in humans, but this doesn't mean that action is better than inaction - especially when one can avoid involvement.)