Beware of the shadows behind the Syrian issue (2)

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Beware of the shadows behind the Syrian issue (2)

By Zhang Qian (People's Daily Online) 16:37, August 30, 2013

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The nature of the war in Iraq – forcible regime change in a sovereign state while bypassing the UN – contravened both the charter of the United Nations, and all basic moral principles of international relations. As momentum for a military intervention in Syria grows in strength, the international community should remain especially vigilant against a repeat of this pattern by external forces in Syria.

After two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, even the American people are skeptical about the reckless use of military force in Syria. According to surveys carried out by Reuters and Ipsos market research, 60 percent of respondents were directly opposed to Washington intervening in the Syrian civil war, and only 9 percent thought the US should take action.

Since the Syrian civil war broke out, the idea of toppling the regime of Bashar Assad has been repeatedly promoted. "The Libya pattern", "The Kosovo pattern", "buffer zones", "a no-fly zone"... the various plans have different names, but the bias in favor of the opposition forces in Syria is consistent. These ploys have destroyed unity within the Security Council, increased the difficulty of the international community in providing effective mediation, and served no purpose other than to stoke Syria's civil war.

The new allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria demand to be treated with the utmost gravity. Any subsequent action must be based on information that is incontestably true and unquestionably reliable. The solution to the Syria issue is to launch an inclusive political transition process, and a second meeting in Geneva must be held as soon as possible.

Read the Chinese version: 叙利亚问题，当心“模式”背后的私货; source: People's Daily, author: Zhong Sheng

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