The idea that bombing a country can promote peace is not a new one–at least not in this country. The United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the second World War. They’ve done it in past years. And Donald Trump has done it now to Syria. Allegedly, the bombing was done in response to an atrocious chemical attack on civilians, of which activists report is the Syrian government’s doing. The chemical attack left around 85 dead, according to CNN, and many injured. The Syrian government claims this was not their doing, however. In the meantime, Russian involvement is being investigated.
As a result of the incident, without consulting Congress, Trump called for bombs to be ordered to attack the base where the chemical weapons originated. Fifty-nine missiles were fired and six deaths have been reported. Each missile reportedly costs $832,000 dollars, making the attack cost upwards of $49 million dollars. Comparatively, here at home, we are struggling to retain necessary government services, like health care and other social safety net services, that cost no where near this amount. But this is how much the military can blow in one night-and still not have their funds exhausted.
Bombing Syria creates more harm than good. Now, other countries see what the United States has the capacity to do it and most are strongly opposed. China and Israel are both calling for the United States to stay out of Syria. It has been called an “act of aggression” by Russia. For far too long, the United States continues to poke their heads where they aren’t needed, and many times it makes matters worse. And credit for destroying countries isn’t ever taken. Trump’s and the United State’s air strikes can be seen as an act of war. Hopefully he doesn’t go any further.
For some, bombing can be seen as necessary. However, if you want to promote peace, using bombs always fails. Bombing countries for the sake of the actions their government, or outside forces, committed only puts more innocent people in harm’s way. There is no way innocent civilians will not end up in the crossfire of this supposedly “righteous” act. What happened in Syria was, and continues to be, absolutely atrocious. My heart hurts for all the civilians–children and adults–who lost their lives in such a terrible way.
If Trump actually cared about Syrian lives, he could’ve taken any number of other actions, such as opening the border to Syrian refugees. The decision to bomb Syria in lieu of opening the United States’ borders to the very people he allegedly seeks to protect shows where his true priorities lie.
