Peace is an act of great personal strength and working together

The 70th session of the United Nations kicks off today. The largest topic was the meeting between Russia and RUSA (Putin and Obama). Both understand the need to battle terrorism yet the understanding stops with dealing with the President of Syria – Assad. As mentioned in a previous article, when trying to end a war you have to work with those that are involved. There is no choosing who you must deal with in such situations. If you think you can choose who is to be at the negotiation table you risk missing the solution, making matters worse and/or prolonging the war. This is the exact situation we have experienced with Syria, Libya, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and other areas of conflict. The lack of communication in the realm of peace has caused further damage and larger issues for the entire world. One of many reasons that the Syrian conflict is escalating rest with Russia and RUSA not finding a way to work together. We have seen the divergent ideology in each others speeches at the United Nations today. In peace there is a rather huge part of courage that is rarely understood. The part is to stand up and do what you are not use to doing. In the case of many of the conflicts around the world the stumbling point has been the unwillingness of the major powers to work together.

Peace needs us to act when we must

Four years ago the world watched as Syria was taken up in the Arab Spring/Occupy movements. Sadly the demonstrations were also when Syria began its slide into civil war. Everyone hoped there would be a calming point. Again it was with a sad heart we watched the chaos grow. As the chaos grew we fought about who should be at the peace talks, who should lead Syria, what countries have a legitimate reason to be involved and what strategy is best to solve the chaos. Then a three year old child washed up on a beach. Let this war be a turning point for all of us on how to deal with the chaos of war. Today the world is scrambling for a solution to the refugee problem. From now on we must understand to get such issues dealt with before hand. This would be our risk management teams focus of work. As for the Russia and RUSA standoff, this should have ended twenty years ago. However there are still some that need to have the cold war rage on. The standoff between these two is causing more civilian deaths, more refugees and more destruction. In many reports we hear how this war was caused by Assad. Well in truth there was another major player in the chaos and that partner is the Islamic State. They took advantage of a tenuous situation and helped make it worse. In absolute truth the entire world helped the Arab spring demonstration get out of hand. From the supply of weapons, equipment then coupled with a do nothing of serious impact ideology Syrian society was left to ravages of war. Four years ago we knew what could take place and we did nothing. Today we are now experiencing what was warned by many. What is so frustrating is that the media are telling us we had no idea this was going to happen or we have no idea how this war got to this point. The exact same thing is taking place in Libya. We knew what was going to happen and no one cared to take the advice of the experts. Now we have to work ten times as hard, a hundred times as long and suffer a thousand times more tragedy in both countries/regions. These are the impacts of chaos. If we do not have the courage to do what is necessary we can expect to endure the chaos of war in Syria and Libya for decades to come. From this moment on you can stop crying about how sad it is to experience the loss of life as three year children wash up on beaches. You can stop crying because now you know that we could have stopped both Syria and Libya from this hell. We did nothing when we should have. Why we did nothing was due to fear and intolerance. That is the impact of chaos. We get caught up in rhetoric. By the time we regain some sense of order we become perplexed as to the complexity of relationship building, peace talks and how to fight a war without actually physically fighting. We are well past the point of not engaging in a physical fight. Boots on the ground will be a cornerstone of ending the chaos in Syria as well as Libya. Who is strong enough to stand up for that duty?

Management of peace (savagery)

During the past four years we have witnessed the collapse of Syria. Sadly this was a situation that could have been avoided if we (the world leaders) had acted with peaceful respect. That was not the case and now we must endure the pain of war. Equally as disheartening as the loss of life is the sudden loss of memory the entire world has concerning how we got to this point. Both Russia and RUSA have countered each others peace plans. Such action has stalled any hope of a quick solution to the war. Added to the stalling of action was the and still is the finger pointing of who to blame for the chaos. To be very blunt, the government of Syria was partly to blame for the civil war. At least half the blame goes to the parties such as Islamic State and those that provided the weapons to wage civil war to the rebel groups. Even though the past can not be change and such finger pointing accomplishes nothing, we must acknowledge that the government of Syria was not the only factor in destabilizing the country. Where do we go from here? The game plan that needs to be used is the exact game plan that Islamic State used to destabilize the country. This game plan is the book known as the Management of Savagery. There is no time line, no set course of action, no clear operative measurable goals and clearly there is no one chain of command. We use that management system for peace instead of chaos. For that to happen we will need both Russia and the RUSA to put aside the childish rhetoric and start working together. Next we need a strong international support network to encircle the area. From there we have to be completely resolved in this war. The Islamic State as we all should understand now, is very far from what Islam stands for. This war in Syria has very little to do with religion and everything to do with power being grabbed by a group of lost souls. Will the world have enough courage to pull together? With the recent escalation of Russia there seems to be a greater hope of a quicker end. If we can get past some of the finger pointing and second guessing we may see a major shift in the world of peace.

Unity for a Syrain Peace

Doing what is right in hopes of solving middle east conflicts has been amplified this past week due to the refugee deaths. The popular question of how to solve the conflict coupled with finger pointing to heave blame on who started the conflict are fueling a wider circle of chaos. The only reality that needs to be noted is that the Syrian conflict was mishandled by everyone except Islamic State. How we got to this point is only valuable information if you are going to seek an unbiased view. Furthermore, solving the conflict will need an equally unbiased view of the current situation and future possibilities. To encourage such a state we must lean on the cliché – politics makes strange bedfellows. In such circumstances as Syria, we have Hobbes state of nature taking place. Life really is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short for every person trying to survive in Syria. On the global scale we have Russia and RUSA at odds with how to solve the conflict. This global conflict only makes matters worse. At this very moment we have a responsibility to protect both the individual that is currently living in the middle east and the entire world at the same time. There can be no doubt of the importance of the Syrian conflict if it spreads. We have allowed it to spread far enough due to mismanagement, old childish global squabbles and ignorance of peaceful tactics. Countries that deem themselves too small to have an impact are vital to the solution. Having such countries at the table can speak as a collective. This was known as smart power or soft power during the 1990’s. Regional powers and of course the United Nations are vital to the process. There must be a singular global tactic taken because without out a singular front we are all in danger of failing. Sadly there will be the questions of motives as to why any country will become involved. Even more disappointing is that some will be motivated by selfish ideology. Even though such a reality is going to happen we must take the steps with a questioning heart. Rest assured that setbacks will take place for the simple reason that we are dealing with people. That is how we got into this mess in the first place. One of the first steps to take is the letting go of who is to sit at the table for peace talks. Assad is the leader of Syria. Whether we like it or not that is the reality. Assad must be voted out, not assassinated or forced out by other similar external means. The Syrian people must have every opportunity to speak their collective mind to vote for or against Assad. In truth we must all realize that the people will vote against Assad. Even Assad must understand that by now. The complete collapse happened with him in power so why would anyone (even himself) want to have him return. Until the vote can take place we must include Assad in the peace negotiations. Those that will not allow him to be apart of the process have little to no understanding of a peaceful transition. In such cases you have to engage with the people that are there. You have to engage with the people that made the mess and the people that are working to clean up the mess. Furthermore, you have to respect internal constitutional laws. Respecting the internal laws will allow for the continuity of culture, provide a framework of succession and give the people a chance to progress under familiar circumstances. Of course this progress is done so under tight security provided by the agreed international methods – whatever they are to be. Knowing that talking, dwelling over the past mistakes is of little help, peace processes are more difficult to manage and endure than chaotic wars as Syria is. The reason that peace is more difficult to manage is that each of us has to let go of the emotional satisfaction of quick redemption. Case in point Iraq invasion of 2003 was an emotional response. That response has provided us with the chaos we are currently in now. Had the world taken the difficult path of peace then -?????