Syrian and Middle Eastern Christians Condemn US Strike Plans<http://www.juancole.com/2013/09/eastern-christians-condemn.html>
Posted on 09/05/2013 by Juan Cole Syria and Lebanon are multicultural societies, but the American discourse about Syria tends to focus on the Muslim majority and to ignore the substantial Christian minorities. It is interesting that these Eastern Christians are solidly against an American missile strike on Syria. Many US congressional representatives discussing the possibility of military action against that country invoked God and prayer in their remarks, lending the discussion a Christian ambiance. But they didn’t refer to any statements on the crisis by actual Syrian or Lebanese Christians (the two are closely linked). On Tuesday, the Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, Gregorius III Lahham,<http://alhayat.com/Details/548229> said, “The military strike that is expected against Syria will increase the distress of the Christians and lead to the destruction of Syria, of both its Christians and its Muslims–no one will be spared.” Gregorius added that 450,000 Syrian Christians had been displaced from their homes since 2011, either remaining inside Syria or fleeing abroad. Christians may make up as many as 14% of the Syrian population of 22 million. That is, there may be as many as 3 million of them (about the population of Iowa or Kansas). The biggest denomination is Eastern Orthodoxy or Greek Orthodoxy, i.e. the same branch of Christianity as in Greece and Russia. The second biggest is the Greek Catholics, who had been Eastern Orthodox but who came into communion with Rome in the 1700s and recognized the Pope. The Christians of Syria for the most part are either neutral toward the Baath regime of Bashar al-Assad or support the government in preference to the radical Sunni fundamentalists of Jabhat al-Nusra (The Succor Front). The Christians of Lebanon support the Christians of Syria and also tend to favor the Damascus government versus the al-Qaeda affiliates. The Bishopric of Damascus praised the call of Pope Francis I to make Saturday a day of mourning <http://www.lebanonfiles.com/news/596621> and prayer on behalf of Syria. They said that the planned military strike was planned out by the enemies of the Syrian people. (The US Catholic Bishops have decided against the war; but the Catholic clerics are only allowed to be seen on television in the US on such matters when they support the hawks; i.e., almost never). The Maronite Catholic patriarch of Lebanon, Bishara Butrus al-Ra’i, and the bishops warned against<http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2013/Sep-05/230050-sleiman-maronite-bishops-warn-against-military-strike-on-syria.ashx> a US strike on Syria on Wednesday. “The bishops denounce the use of chemical weapons in Syria, but they call for being aware of the risks of a potential military strike… “We call for resolving the Syrian crisis through dialogue and peaceful diplomatic means; a political solution is the best option for Syria…” About a quarter of Lebanese are Christian, and about 40% of the electorate is. The majority of Lebanese Christians belong to the Maronite Church, rooted in the teachings of a medieval saint. In the 1500s, the church came into decisive communion with Rome, though contacts went back to the 1100s. (Maronites claim always to have been Catholics, but I’m a historian, not a theologian). As with other Uniate churches, Maronites were permitted by Rome to retain their own liturgy (in Syriac, close to the language Jesus spoke) rather than being made to switch to Latin. The current Maronite Patriarch, al-Ra’i, was also appointed a cardinal by the Pope. The prospect of the American attack comes at a time when Eastern Christians feel fragile and under the gun. In Egypt, the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood government on July 3 was followed by widespread attacks on Coptic Christian churches by Muslim fundamentalists who blamed Copts for the coup/ revolution. (Actually the latter was made for the most part by secular Egyptian youth of Muslim heritage.) Christians in the Levant are afraid that the Lebanese Shiite organization, the Hizbullah, will retaliate against Israel after an American strike on Damascus. Such an action could lead to a wider war. <http://www.reddit.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.juancole.com%2F2013%2F09%2Feastern-christians-condemn.html> 0Retweet<http://twitter.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.juancole.com%2F2013%2F09%2Feastern-christians-condemn.html&text=Syrian+and+Middle+Eastern+Christians+Condemn+US+Strike+Plans> 0Share <http://www.juancole.com/#> 7Google +1<http://www.juancole.com/2013/09/eastern-christians-condemn.html> 0StumbleUpon <http://www.juancole.com/#>0Printer Friendly<http://www.juancole.com/#>Send via email<?subject=%22Syrian%20and%20Middle%20Eastern%20Christians%20Condemn%20US%20Strike%20Plans%22%20on%20Informed%20Comment&body=Link:%20http%3A%2F%2Fwww.juancole.com%2F2013%2F09%2Feastern-christians-condemn.html%20%0D%0A%0D%0A----%0D%0A%20Syria%20and%20Lebanon%20are%20multicultural%20societies,%20but%20the%20American%20discourse%20about%20Syria%20tends%20to%20focus%20on%20the%20Muslim%20majority%20and%20to%20ignore%20the%20substantial%20Christian%20minorities.%20It%20is%20interesting%20that%20these%20Eastern%20Christians%20are%20solidly%20against%20an%20American%20missile%20strike%20on%20Syria.%20Many%20US%20congressional%20representatives%20discussing%20the%20possibility%20of%20military%20action%20against%20that%20country%20[...]> Posted in Christianity <http://www.juancole.com/christianity>, Syria<http://www.juancole.com/syria> | Leave a Comment<http://www.juancole.com/2013/09/eastern-christians-condemn.html#respond> Obama’s Syria Strike Part of ‘Broader Strategy’ (Germanos)<http://www.juancole.com/2013/09/broader-strategy-germanos.html> Posted on 09/05/2013 by Juan Cole *Andrea Germanos writes at Commondreams* As the Obama administration continues its "flood the zone<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/02/obama-syria-flood-zone_n_3857487.html>" campaign to win congressional support for military force against Syria, a statement by the president Tuesday indicates its plan is to go beyond punitive strikes against Assad and to pursue a "broader strategy." President Barack Obama meets with his National Security Staff to discuss the situation in Syria, in the Situation Room of the White House, Aug. 30, 2013. (Photo: White House/Pete Souza) Although, as *McClatchy* reports<http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/09/02/201027/to-some-us-case-for-syrian-gas.html#.UiYOJrxQ1yh>, the administration's case to use force against Syria "is riddled with inconsistencies and hinges mainly on circumstantial evidence," Obama signaled<http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iYxd3Var6L1ubHoH-FUXmalAlhWw> he was confident his request for authorization to use force would win votes from Congress next week. Speaking to congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday, President Obama outlined<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/09/03/remarks-president-meeting-members-congress-situation-syria> the broader strategy, saying: As I've said last week, as Secretary Kerry made clear in his presentation last week, we have high confidence that Syria used, in an indiscriminate fashion, chemical weapons that killed thousands of people, including over 400 children, and in direct violation of the international norm against using chemical weapons. That poses a serious national security threat to the United States and to the region, and as a consequence, Assad and Syria needs to be held accountable. [...] This is a limited, proportional step that will send a clear message not only to the Assad regime, but also to other countries that may be interested in testing some of these international norms, that there are consequences. It gives us the ability to degrade Assad’s capabilities when it comes to chemical weapons. It also fits into a broader strategy that we have to make sure that we can bring about over time the kind of strengthening of the opposition and the diplomatic and economic and political pressure required so that ultimately we have a transition that can bring peace and stability not only to Syria but to the region. But I want to emphasize once again: What we are envisioning is something limited. It is something proportional. It will degrade Assad’s capabilities. At the same time, we have a broader strategy that will allow us to upgrade the capabilities of the opposition, allow Syria ultimately to free itself from the kinds of terrible civil wars and death and activity that we’ve been seeing on the ground. Republican Senators John McCain (Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.), who have pushed for an aggressive attack on Syria, left a Labor Day meeting with Obama "encouraged the administration appeared to be developing a plan for Syria that would degrade the military capabilities of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime while improving the capabilities of rebel forces," *The Hill*reports<http://thehill.com/homenews/news/319909-mccain-graham-encouraged-on-syria-after-meeting-with-obama> . And on Tuesday, "the House leadership on both sides has publicly positioned itself behind the president," the *Guardian* notes<http://www.theguardian.com/world/middle-east-live/2013/sep/03/syria-crisis-2-million-refugees-live> in its Syria live blog. House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi was among those offering support for this "broader strategy," though she also said that congressional support wasn't really necessary: House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, and speaker John Boehner, a Republican, have both just delivered statements outside the White House calling for *support for military strikes in Syria*. House majority leader Eric Cantor subsequently released a statement of support. Speaking in separate appearances after a meeting with the president, Pelosi and Boehner said they would urge their caucuses to support Obama. "The use of these weapons have to be responded to, and only the United States has the capability and the capacity to stop Assad," Boehner said. Pelosi said the case for taking action is strong. "I feel pretty confident… that we have a good conversation to have with our members," she said. Pelosi said did not think congressional authorization "is necessary" for the president to use force in Syria, citing the 1999 Nato bombing of Serbian forces in Kosovo. However, whether or not Obama gets this congressional authorization, if he goes forward without approval from the United Nations, it would be a war crime, Noam Chomsky told<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/02/noam-chomsky-syria_n_3851911.html> the Huffington Post. Further, the implications of the authorization for the use of military force<http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/politics/president-obamas-draft-legislation-regarding-the-syrian-conflict/555/> (AUMF) could be far-reaching, as Jim White writes at emptywheel<http://www.emptywheel.net/2013/09/03/rush-to-syrian-war-what-about-us-relations-with-iran-and-russia/#more-37857> : It is not lost on Iran that the AUMF for action in Syria is written broadly enough that US military action could spill over into Iran. A Fars News article dated yesterday cites the Jack Goldsmith analysis of the draft AUMF that foresees US action in Iran: "Goldsmith asked whether the proposed AUMF authorizes the President to use force against Iran or Lebanon’s Hezbollah, in Iran or Lebanon? Again, yes, if the President accuses Iran or Hezbollah of having a (mere) connection to the use of WMD in the Syrian civil war, and the use of force against Iran or Hezbollah would prevent or deter the use or proliferation of WMD within, or to and from, Syria, or protect the US or its allies (e.g. Israel) against the (mere) threat posed by those weapons. Again, it is very easy to imagine." The article continues, noting (as Marcy [Wheeler] has many times) how the 9/11 AUMF has been interpreted broadly: "It brings to mind the AUMF passed in the aftermath of September 11. While that resolution directly concerned Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, it was later broadened to justify drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia–even on targets that were clearly not part of Al-Qaeda." Amidst the sound of the drums for war, the U.N. stated<http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45757&Cr=syria&Cr1=#.UiYiz7xQ1yg> on Tuesday that ongoing violence has created two million Syrian refugees and over four million internally displaced people, and warned there was no end in sight to the “humanitarian calamity.” —— This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License Mirrored from Commondreams.org<http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/09/03-3>
