Mar 26, 2018 4 min read

Is the Syrian civil war coming soon to its bloody conclusion? How much blame does the United States and the world community bear for the horrific war crimes still being committed in that devastated land?

Indeed, with the total acquiescence of the Trump administration, Syria’s brutal dictator, Bashar Al-Assad and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are busy mopping up the few remaining rebel-held areas of the country. In doing so, they have unleashed the daily hell that are merciless attacks on civilian targets without regard for the slaughter of innocents.

Since the beginning of the uprising against the Assad regime, the children of Syria have paid a terrible price. Many have been killed in bombings carried out by both Syrian and Russian military aircraft. Without doubt, numerous war crimes have occurred.

Yet the United Nations and other international organizations are impotent in both their criticism and action to seek prosecution for the guilty. While willing to seek the most severe sanctions against Kim Jong Un and North Korea, the United Nations turns a blind eye to the brutal behavior of Assad and his Russian allies. Of course, a veto by Russia or China would sink any attempt to put some muscle behind the rhetoric of condemnation.

So Assad’s final push to crush the opposition is about to claim success. Major rebel-held cities, like Aleppo, are now safely in government hands. But for a few small areas of resistance, mainly in the Damascus suburbs, Assad’s strategy of scorched earth, of constant attacks with barrel bombs and chemical weaponry, of laying siege then starving city occupants into surrender are yielding results. When the history of this civil war is finally written in the blood of its people, mankind will surely judge the deafening silence of the international community of nations as complicity in the genocide of the Syrian people.

It is true that then-President Barack Obama warned Assad about the use of chemical weapons. He drew his now-infamous red line, promising direct American intervention. When Assad ignored Obama’s threat and gassed civilians anyway, no retaliation took place. This gave Assad the green light to increase the barbarity of his military against defenseless civilians. It also paved the way for a significant Russian presence and role in the conflict. Moved by videos of gassed children, early in his presidency, Donald Trump ordered a Tomahawk missile attack against Assad. Since then, Assad has switched to chlorine gas, and the Trump administration has gone silent. Never will we hear word one from Trump when it comes to Russia’s role in this war. Putin is determined to maintain a solid military presence in the region along with safeguarding his warm water naval base on Syria’s Mediterranean coast. Perhaps one day, the American people will learn why it is that Trump would not criticize Putin for the Russian atrocities in Syria. Or why Trump has turned a blind eye to Putin’s meddling in the 2016 election. Or why this president continues to refuse to enforce the strong Russian sanctions bill passed overwhelmingly by Congress last August.

Meanwhile, the tragedy that is Syria seems to be moving into its last savage stage. A gentle people has been sacrificed on the altar of worldwide indifference. After World War II, surviving leaders of Hitler’s Third Reich were held accountable at trials held in Nuremburg, Germany for war crimes committed by them against humanity. Most eventually faced the hangman’s noose. One wonders if there will ever be justice for the many innocent lives lost in Syria today. At times like this, it is fitting to recall the words of Elie Wiesel, a noted human rights advocate and holocaust survivor:

“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe.”

Carl A. Haberl is a resident of Washington.