VERSION|0.5.1|NAME|Dinah|DATE|1377984331|CONTENT|Intervention in Syria seems a case of ‘damned if we do, and damned if we don’t.’  Although I have respect for pacifists, I agree with Vishvapani that issues of aggression, war and peace are infinitely complex and no single approach or solution is going to work for them all.  If we always take the pacifist line, it is likely the world will gradually be taken over by bullies and thugs.  But wars result in terrible consequences, increasing divisions, suffering and reprisals, where the innocent suffer most.  Even if they are started with genuinely humanitarian intentions, they usually leave lasting legacies of bitterness, hatred and intolerance.

In the case of the Arab and Muslim countries, the complexities deepen.   They condemn what they see as Western imperialism, they will hate us if we interfere and hate us if we stand by and do nothing.  We have the problem of deciding who the real enemy is, when the dreams of establishing democracies in which the rights of women and minorities are upheld are so often dashed and the only choice at the ballot box turns out to be between theocracy and secular tyranny.  When there are good guys and bad guys on both sides, whose side are we supposed to be on?
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