Assad and Putin to blame for Aleppo

Re: The Tears Of Aleppo, editorial, Sept. 27.

The carnage in Syria is numbing to observe, and it is galling that repeated attempts to negotiate a ceasefire have failed. Your editorial finds a villain in U. S. President Obama, saying he could have attempted to create a no- fly zone in Syria. I posit that Obama weighed the option of destroying Russian-made fighter aircraft in a Russian client state and decided the risk of expanding the conflict was too great.

The one state with a history of destroying Syrian jets and land installations from the air is its neighbour to the southwest. I can’t imagine that Israel failed to consider the option of neutralizing Bashar Assad before Russian air forces became involved. I applaud U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry for his efforts to re-establish peace in Syria. Blame for the tears of Aleppo should lie where it is placed each day: at the door of Assad and the Russians. Cam Christie, Cobourg, Ont. Your editorial argues that “Western air power” (I guess that means us too) should have attacked Syrian airfields and shot down Syrian air force jets to lift the siege of Aleppo. First of all, you’re suggesting we attack a sovereign country, contrary to international law. Secondly, you are suggesting we kill Syrian soldiers and airmen; again an illegal act to say nothing of being immoral. And thirdly, since Syria is allied with Russia, you contemplate Canadian jets mixing it up with Russian jets, potentially touching off the Third World War.

Since the Syrian war is actually a proxy conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, helping t he rebels would also mean joining in a sectarian dispute between two branches of Islam. Frank Hilliard, Penticton, B. C.