Only diplomacy can stop horror in Syria

THE latest horrific chemical attack in Syria provides further evidence of the cruelty of President Assad’s regime.

Yet he is by no means the only guilty party responsible for the chaos that persists in the Middle East.

In Syria alone, there are so many rival factions that it is difficult to identify those that could be said to be on the side of good.

When a group allied to Al-Qaeda can be described as a relatively moderate force in comparison with so-called Islamic State, we are surely doing no more than comparing gradations of evil.

The broad spectrum of opposition forces have been unable to work together to defeat a common enemy, and no one could have any confidence that if Assad were overthrown – an increasingly unlikely scenario in any event, thanks to the support he receives from Russia – the life chances of the Syrian people would improve.

Western interference in Syria and Iraq has led to more bloodshed, not less.

President Trump’s threat to take military action against the Assad regime will not bring peace closer.

What we have been witnessing for years is the utter failure of diplomacy.

Instead, external powers from the United States, Europe, and the Middle East itself have chosen to support factions in the hope that a military stalemate would lead to a political settlement.

In fact, the lack of a unified opposition, with rival groups fighting each other, has put Assad into the strongest position he has been in for years.

For that, he can also be grateful to Russia.

The current world order is not working. It won’t work until the relevant players decide that diplomacy and negotiation will get them more of what they want than military action can.

There seems no immediate likelihood of that being the case, which means that further chemical attacks – denied, of course, by the perpetrators – are quite likely to take place.

Blasting Syria with Cruise missiles, as President Trump has hinted he may, will certainly impress his gung-ho supporters, but it won’t significantly change things on the ground.

The stricken people of Syria need less rhetoric and more diplomacy if they are to have less bloodshed.

Sadly – and tragically – there seems little chance of that.

For the moment they remain pawns in a surrogate war.