March 29, 2013

Naresh: Syria is in a state of crisis

Naresh: Syria is in a state of crisis. More than 70,000 people have been killed—over 3,700 are children—since the conflict started two years ago. President Barack Obama made stopping mass atrocities a priority and a “core national security interest.” Yet U.S. efforts to slow or stop the crisis in Syria—diplomacy and sanctions against the regime, primarily—have had little effect. We need a new approach: the United States must cut off the supply chains that provide Assad the resources his regime needs to commit atrocities. This includes weapons, troops, and access to money provided by Iran and Russia, among many other actors. Urge President Barack Obama to stop the supply chain to Syrian atrocities! We have been tracking Assad’s supply chains since the conflict spiraled and found that the United States is well positioned to disrupt it. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Iraq recently and  told Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki that Iraq must stop Iran from shipping arms to Syria through Iraqi airspace. This is a good step. But stopping Assad’s enablers of mass atrocities requires a multi-prong approach. The United States can do much more. Syrian casualties are mounting. Failure to act now to cut off these supplies will lead to even more bloodshed and will send the wrong message to those fueling Assad’s atrocities. Urge President Barack Obama to stop the supply chain to Syrian atrocities! Sincerely, Sadia Hammed Human Rights First