Today's MOZEN: The Tail Waggin' the Dog

F LoBuono

Suddenly, for an Administration that prides itself on the overuse of intimidation as a negotiating tactic and whose bluster borders on the psychotic, they seem to have added a strange new word to their lexicon: Compassion.

Yes, you heard that right, compassion.

You see, there have been reports of a poison gas attack perpetrated in Syria by the Russian and Iranian supported Assad regime against rebels fighting to overthrow him. The gas killed many, including innocent women and children, in a most horrific fashion. Video from the attack was disturbing to say the least. Blaming Assad directly, the world was rightly outraged. An imaginary line in the sand had been crossed. Using chemical warfare to dispatch one's enemies would simply not be tolerated. Action would be taken and, of course, America would lead the way.

Now, on the surface, who would argue with any steps taken to stop a barbarous dictator from brutalizing his own people? Joining the U.S., France and the U.K. launched aircraft and missile strikes against specific targets inside Syria. Initial reports indicate that the missions were successful in destroying their targets with minimal loss of life.

So, what's the problem?

Well, I have a few.

First, and perhaps most importantly, what difference does it make if children are killed by so-called conventional weapons compared to those murdered by chemical ones? And, Syrian children have been suffering and dying by conventional means for years now. Isn't one violent death as disturbing as another? Why should our interest to "save the children" have peaked now. Has our President truly discovered compassion?

Perhaps.

But, there are those who would argue that this has happened because our President is in dire straights at home with many salacious scandals and needed a distraction - one that would make him look both powerful AND empathetic. And, what better way to accomplish this than by throwing red meat to his base than with screaming fighter jets and booming rockets punishing a despot?

But, without a follow-up policy, what have we really accomplished? Will the civil war there be brought to a halt? Will the children stop dying? Unfortunately, I think not.

Then, there is the issue of our involvement in a country nearly 6 thousand miles away and that has been involved in a violent internal conflict for many years. Yes, it seems noble to want to save innocents but is it truly altruism on our part or something more nefarious? What will "Nation Building" get us? It certainly did not work in Iraq or Afghanistan. And, it won't work here, either.

Next, there is the issue of the cost. The US alone is reported to have launched at least 118 missiles into Syria. Assuming that they were Tomahawks (our weapon of choice), that would be a total of over $162,000,000 spent to punish Assad. $162,000,000. Now, no one likes to put a price on saving a human life but, just for context, it is said that it would cost only $55,000,000 to repair the water pipes that are the cause of the toxic water inflicting the children of Flint, Michigan. So, in other words, we have PLENTY of money to exert our influence in a foreign country but not enough to save one of our own cities.

In the final analysis, we have a slogan to describe this type of scenario: The Tail Waggin' The Dog.

And, it ain't right. . .