Describing recent Russian and Syrian airstrikes against Syrian civilians, United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet noted “It seems highly unlikely, given the persistent pattern of such attacks, that they are all being hit by accident.”
No excrement, Sherlock.
As I’ve explained, Russian targeting of hospitals, schools, markets, and other Syrian civilian sites reflects a deliberate strategic gambit, one that seeks maximum civilian suffering in the belief that it will motivate cease-fire agreements on Russian terms. The brutality of these strikes is extraordinary, and Russia’s disregard for humanitarian norms equally so. But Russia wants the rebel resistance in the Idlib governate gone. Vladimir Putin will do just about anything to get his victory quickly. Bashar Assad is happy to follow this Russian strategic direction.
Yet it’s not enough simply to identify these war crimes. They deserve a U.S. response.
To that end, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo should introduce a sanctions resolution at the U.N. Security Council. He should make public U.S. intelligence identifying flights of Russian war planes from their Khmeimim Air Base on Syria’s west coast onto civilian targets in Idlib. He should show satellite and ground photography of the impact of these strikes.
Russia or China will vote down and veto the resolution, but at least they’ll be forced to go on the record in doing so.
This matters in equal measure for the strategic context.
The U.S. is an imperfect nation with an imperfect foreign policy. But our military is governed by a respect for the preservation of civilian life and the advancement of democratic values. The absolute opposite is true of the Russian military’s tactical operation and strategic pursuit. Alongside China, in the rubble of civilian lives, Russia would destroy the international order that we most hold dear.
It must not stand.
