The lowest
estimate of total casualties in Syria is 321,000,
the highest 470,000. These figures
include approximately 55,000
children. More than 5,000,000 human
beings have been displaced and are now refugees.
I don’t
ordinarily use boldface or italics or even exclamation points. I made an
exception here because many of us, including myself, tend to read these numbers
without visualizing the torn and bloody flesh that gave rise to them. That’s
especially true when the conflict is intractable. We block the horror out, a
reflexive and very protective (not to mention necessary) reaction to matters beyond
our control. Nevertheless, there remain scattered moments when the horror is
unavoidable. Thus, images of children struggling to draw a tiny sip of air into
their burned lungs penetrates the barriers we’ve thrown around our consciences.
The visuals, the stories, Bashir al-Assad’s cold, cold heart – they refuse to
be dismissed. But take another look at those
figures in the first paragraph. The casualties in Khan Sheikoun form only a
small part of the overall nightmare. The Sarin attack was in no way decisive.
It will not alter the course of the Syrian civil war.
And neither, of
course, will Trump’s response. Sure, Assad may not use Sarin in the future.
Maybe he’ll settle, instead, for barrel bombs laced with shrapnel. Meanwhile,
the war goes on with the overall strategy and tactics employed by Assad
unaffected.
Trump, on the
other hand, will probably benefit. I’ve already heard one CNN pundit declare
the attack “presidential” and Fox is positively bubbling over. A story in
today’s Times cites a number of Dems who support the attack, along with a
who’s-who of supportive Republicans. The list includes Mitch McConnell and Paul
Ryan. Both opposed authorizing the use of force in Syria while Obama was
President, yet now endorse Trump’s attack even though he doesn’t have (and hasn’t
asked for) the authority to use force.
Don the Con,
that ultimate narcissist, must be lapping up the praise, a kitten at a bowl of
milk. His administration might be falling apart, with the Bannon and Kushner
factions at each other’s throats, with more than 500 positions unfilled, with
his Obamacare repeal down the toilet, with his tax reform plan now little more
than a distant dream, but Don’s still a bad, bad dude. He’s a chest-pounding,
mother-f***** right off the cover of a gangster rap album. And don’t you forget
it, Vladimir. You either, Jinping.
Seriously,
folks, like any narcissist, Trump needs affirmation every bit as much as a
junkie needs a fix. If war is the only way to get it, we can expect further
adventures as we go forward. And the fact that Donald Trump is intemperate,
incompetent, impetuous and a natural bully doesn’t bode well for the international
order. Not at all.
Welcome to
TrumpWorld.
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