What would our government do if Syria killed over a thousand civilians with white phosphorus or

[yurbud]

depleted uranium?

Or just plain cluster bombs or helicopter gunships shooting at reporters and kids?

How about if he just killed a million people in a country on the other side of the world instead of a few thousand in his own country?

Would we still be figuring out "military options" to end his atrocities?

[Jackpine Radical]

1. No, of course not. What's your point?

Those are all normal and acceptable means of diplomacy of a sort that we have used many times over the years, along with other humane interventions such as burying land mines all over the place and enacting blockades to block kids from getting medicine and food.

[yurbud]

2. all of which are the only ways to end human rights abuses.

by killing both the abuser and the abused and then taking their shit and taking over their country.

[Jackpine Radical]

5. Well, obviously.

If you eliminate the humans, you eliminate the abuses. Q.e.d.

[LuvNewcastle]

3. The U.S. usually gets involved in conflicts with countries

who don't have manpower and/or weaponry comparable to ours.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Would the U.S. stop at Syria or would it also hold the country(ies) that

sold the white phosphorus or depleted uranium to Syria to account?

[n2doc]

6. Do as we say, not as we do!

And we would do nothing, if only Assad would agree to buy all his weapons from us!

[LuvNewcastle]

7. The arms companies are the one American industry that

seems to be impervious to recessions.

[yurbud]

8. and do what we, Israel, and international banks tell them to the letter

[n2doc]

9. I'm not sure Israel has much say in this matter

After all, we sell plenty of weapons to the Saudis and up to very recently to Egypt, and I can't imagine they are very happy with either.

[yurbud]

12. Israel has a treaty with Egypt and Ally of Saudi under the table

but it's always hard to tell if Israel is the tale or the dog on any given issue in the region

[bhikkhu]

10. Good point - what if someone built a wall around a troublesome city

maybe just let some of the women and younger children out, and then (like in the good old bible) slaughtered every living male?

[yurbud]

11. I tell that story to my college students and I don't know if they believe that it actually happened

But that's what those dirty natives deserves for lynching four mercenaries from the Chimp's favorite contractor.

Or were you thinking of a different city?