Please President Obama, First Things First

President Obama please find a path around opening a new and unnecessary front within the Middle East. Instead of waging even a limited war and instead try and save lives which your Cairo speech and the Arab Spring which you supported so completely have left behind and are facing unimaginable sorrows, violence, persecution, and hatreds. When you were first elected you yourself spoke about a kinder, gentler America which was loved around the world and stood for peace and the betterment of mankind. You yourself scolded America’s past where we were perceived as warmongers who only knew how to rain death and destruction down on people who strayed from the path we had chosen for them. You went on an apology tour and now you threaten to continue with dealing out death and destruction, the very thing you once denounced. There are avenues right now that cry out for a hero to come and save innocent lives which simply wish to live in their homes in peace and security, worship as they choose, and have those simple things which you and I almost take for granted.

 

Unfortunately these unfortunate victims of sectarian violence no longer have their homes, their businesses, their houses of worship, or any vestiges of a normal life. And the only thing that you and your administration need to do, Mr. President, is allow them a Visa to come to the United States. These people are the Coptic Christians and if a brave and compassionate world leader would open their borders to the Coptic Christians then there are people who would see to getting them out of danger and to safety. It would require less planning and less efforts to provide this religiously persecuted minority a venue to freedom from persecution and the free pursuit to worship in their religion in peace and security than it will take to launch Tomahawk Missiles at Syrian military and government targets. There would also be less ramifications and danger to the delicate balance on which the current peace of the world is now teetering. Providing the Coptic Christians a route to freedom and liberty would gain you much recognition as the great transformational leader that you once claimed you strove to be instead of simply being just another President of the United States who resorted to bombs and missiles over diplomacy and new solutions.

 

Once you let loose the dogs of war on Syria over what many say was a use of chemical weapons by the rebel forces and not Bashir al-Assad there is no taking those actions back. Once the buttons are pushed launching your next kinetic action there will be no turning back. This Syria slap on the wrist tempts the fates and could set in motion a series of responses which would have the ability to fly out of control and cause results that nobody in their right mind could desire, unless the destruction of much of the world and the collapse of the world’s economies is one’s idea of a desirable end. Saving the Coptic Christians could only lead to be an example to other nations who could follow in kind and be the first wave in a sea change of compassion and consideration instead of an attack in the name of retribution. Is validating your “Red Line” threat worth risking kindling the instigation of war by Iran, Syria, Lebanon and numerous terrorist interests and other allies of Syria and Iran including both Russia and China, especially after that very same “Red Line” had been crossed twice previously as per intelligence provided by American allies Britain and France as well as Israel? Why this time and not those two previous deployments of chemical weapons? Please just pull back from the brink and instead make a gesture of kindness and compassion by extending a hand to rescue the Coptic Christians instead.

 

Beyond the Cusp