By now, everyone has seen the horrific images of the child in Syria who was badly wounded in an air strike. Omran Daqneesh sits stoic, awaiting medical care after a brush with death. More recently, the media released the news that the boy's brother, Ali, later died due to injures he sustained from the strike.
Ali was ten years old.
Naturally, the world is buzzing with opinions. Why aren't we doing more to save the world's children? How come nobody has declared war in an effort to stop the violence of Assad? Then there's the controversial issue of whether or not to allow Syrian refugees into one's home country. Quite frankly it's a mess. There are no simple answers to these questions. I believe it comes down to a matter of morals and, unfortunately, prioritizing the safety of one group's lives over another.
Why don't we, the United States, declare war against jihadists terrorizing human lives?
Those against The War on Terror will tell you going into the Middle East in 2001 was a mistake that resulted in numerous, unnecessary deaths of US troops and caused a nasty PTSD epidemic for many after homecoming. In this sense, we fear history repeating itself.
On the other hand, others feel that, as one of the world's most powerful forces, we have a moral obligation to help people from other nations who have no means to protect themselves. America prides itself in taking the suffering citizens of horrific regimes under its wing. In the end, we are all humans, capable and responsible for helping each other live a life worth living.
Why don't we send in a task force to stop Assad? Even better, why don't we deploy them to take out terrorists and extremist leaders all over the world?
Some believe this is a no brainer. America has done it before. One of the proudest moments of our country and Obama's presidency was the Navy SEAL mission and success of ending Osama Bin Laden. Those men did the unthinkable, showed the indivisibility of our nation and brought honor to the US. They instilled a greater sense of safety to Middle Eastern citizens, if only for a time.
In contrast, we must remember that every time we send forces into a high risk area to apprehend a target, we are sending a father, a mother, a sister, a brother or a friend that may never return home. Additionally, we are all human, we make mistakes. What if the only way to terminate a target is to blow up an entire building? What if there are children inside? When we have the collateral damage of innocent lives in the hands of American forces, how is that much different than what the terrorists are doing?
The answer is it isn't.
