Pandora’s Box

Striking Syria is completely illegal according to the Time, not a Syrian media source. In an interesting analysis by Paul Campos, professor of law at the University of Colorado, Campos underlines that the fundamental rule of international law is that states cannot attack other states, even for humanitarian reasons

The fundamental rule of contemporary international law is that states cannot attack other states. The U.N. Charter embodies this rule, and makes only two exceptions to it: a state can attack another state if it is authorized to do so by a Security Council resolution, or if the attacking state is acting in genuine self-defense.

Neither of these exceptions applies in the case of the United States and Syria. But a third basis for the legality of intervention has been suggested: “customary international law,” a somewhat mysterious, illegal, and poorly-defined concept of no precedent under the pretext of humanitarian needs.

Indeed, the legal argument for attacking Syria on humanitarian grounds a law-of-no-law as much as it is the law of aggressors. The humanity is to lose thousands of innocents’ lives. The Syrians are definitely to defend their country against any aggression and the US means of killing are definitely to end the lives of the innocents. A new human tragedy, misery and catastrophe is expected to spread not only in Syria, but in the entire region!

During Tuesday’s hearing on Capitol Hill, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) compelled the Obama administration to find anyone outside of Washington willing to launch a strike in Syria. “I haven’t had one person come up to me and say they’re for this war. Not one person,” Sen. Paul said to Secretary of State John Kerry during Tuesday’s hearing.

The US Congress has indeed the moral duty to stop the present US Administration reckless thrust into war against Syrians, who wouldn’t alone suffer a real humanitarian tragedy. Sufferings and humanitarian crises need no passport to cross borders; a US aggression would definitely open the Mideast Pandora’s box.

Dr. Mohammad Abdo Al-Ibrahim