Diplomacy relief, but Syrians will still suffer (Editorial, Sept. 11)

The editorial misses the mark on several points. First, the Syria conflict isn't a civil war. It's a not-so-covert, foreign intervention by Western and Arab states in Syria's internal affairs. The so-called Friends of Syria Group (FSG), which Stephen Harper's government belongs to, is organizing and financing al-Qaeda-affiliated mercenaries fighting for regime change. Under international law, this intervention is illegal, yet our government has donated at least $5.3 million of taxpayers' money to finance it. Canadians should demand Harper stop subsidizing al Qaeda in Syria, while keeping troops in Afghanistan to fight them there. We should demand that he withdraw Canada's FSG membership.

Second, Barack Obama's "red line" is both hypocritical and lacking foundation in international law. When mercenaries were found by UN investigator Carla Del Ponte last spring to have been the probable source of chemical attacks on Syrian civilians, Obama didn't respond. Now that he's fingering the Syrian government for the most recent alleged chemical attack, we need to remember that, except in cases of immediate self-defence, only the UN Security Council can authorize the use of military force against a member state.

Finally, the editorial should have celebrated brilliant Russian diplomacy, plus stubbornly-antiwar, world, public opinion that together prevented a war. At least for now, a war with the potential of becoming a major regional conflict and, indeed, a major confrontation between the U.S. and Israel on one side and Russia, Iran, and China on the other.

David Rennie, executive member, Hamilton Coalition To Stop The War