U.S. Intervention

Potential harms must be viewed in light of culpability, but if the U.S. causes needless/mass suffering, they are responsible for diverting from their mission. For example, if they decided to nuke Damascus, sure, it would move their objective forward, but it would cause needless and mass suffering and could be achieved through less invasive and destructive measures. You must fight wars humanely, even unjust ones.C1: Self-Defense and Humanitarianism:First of all, my main piece of evidence came from the National Review, which in turn cited the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. These news publications come from the U.S. and Germany, both NATO countries and both Western nations. They are both highly respected publications that hold to a high standard of conduct. As for the Voltaire Network publication, it was based on original on-site research by a Russian publication, Vesti24. It was not original VoltaireNet journalism, it was commentary. A similar account from an on-site freelance Syrian investigative journalist (Marat Musin from Abkhazian Network News Agency) can be found here [1]. Marat Musin is quoted as (translated) "After a visual inspection of Al Houla it is impossible to find traces of any fresh destruction, bombing and shelling." All my information, in fact, is not based on the Government. I never cited the Syrian Government or included one of their claims in my argument. I think the Syrian Government is not to be trusted. I also question your reliance on the U.N. as a credible news source- Rupert Colville, UNCHR spokesman, was interviewed by a No War Network journalist [2], and was quoted as "The U.N. observers are another body…", "Our local contacts in Syria say they were Shabbiya…". The UNHCR in fact has never set foot on Syrian soil and relies on, according to the NWN journalist, "the opposition groups [UNCHR] spoke to on the phone, the opposition they met in Turkey, and other 'activists' they met in Geneva." Do you find it unsettling that the U.N. relied completely on local "sources" and expat opposition leaders? Do you find it strange that the BBC used a photograph depicting the Houla massacre that was actually taken in Iraq in 2003? [3] How about the fact that the UNCHR itself said that "under 20 of 108 killed in the attack can be attributed to artillery and tank fire," [4] which goes against your argument that their deaths were caused by Government tanks/Artillery. How about the fact that they were executed at point blank range? [4] Killings, Beheadings, Slitting of throats- does this sound like Government artillery? No. Because most likely the deaths were from Sunni rebels who found the perfect opportunity to depose of their pro-government counterparts and blame it on the government. Government backed militias- that exclusively killed Shia/Alawites? Highly unlikely.And now you fall back on your nice statistic of 100 deaths per day… how many people do you think are killed by police per day in other Middle Eastern nations? how about even in the West? Is that justification for war? How many will Americans will die from Military intervention? How many will become injured?C2: Iranian Influence:My argument is not mutually exclusive- but what if all we needed were the sanctions? Not another ridiculously expensive war budget. Not more troops dying and becoming injured in the scores. Iranians [5] would unite against war, and would oppose the Government, as evidenced in this interview. All you need to do is push the people to a tipping point. Don't have the U.S. be the problem, make it the Iranian Government. US intervention is needless and the results it could deliver could also be delivered in an easier way, without introducing U.S. military troops.C3: Radicalism:"solidified and organized opposition to the degree of the SFA…" The SFA is neither solidified or organized. The SFA is split and divided over a large part of the country with no central command, training or strategy. It has stated it does not have the power to assault and control territories and relies instead on hit and run attacks designed to make the Syrian Army withdraw. My point actually emphasizes that the U.S. should not intervene. It is not organized enough to hold territories and gain ground, therefore it should not be supported. The SFA has committed numerous acts of needless desecration [6] [7] and according to a three-man AP team, is "divided" and "violent" [8]. I find them a weak cause to support, especially with previous US-Middle Eastern knowledge.C4: U.S. Inaction Leads to U.S. DeclineI did make the claim that the U.S. has a pretty small military force. This is true, and it is not misleading. The U.S. does have a very large military expenditure, but spends only $79.1 billion on R&D, out of $684 billion [9]. Perhaps a Syrian invasion would come from air. A fair argument, as Israel or Turkey would certainly allow the U.S. to send air forces to their countries. The U.S. however could not rely simply on the SFA as their only ground force. Backlash from Arab States? Unlikely. From the SFA? Unlikely. From Russia & China? Most likely. This backlash is actually to be feared. If it is the U.S.'s job to instill democracy and freedom everywhere, as I said before, it would need to assault many more nations to avoid a costly double standard. Perhaps the U.S. could manage all these assaults and create a large amount of democracies, but probably not. It is not the U.S.'s job to end world suffering. This argument of innocents dying is largely speculative. Perhaps the U.S. will save lives, and perhaps it will worsen the situation.As I have proven, the Houla Massacre is not black & white as my opponent claims. The SFA is not worthy of U.S. backing. The backlash of Russia and China together is to be avoided if possible. Innocents will die either way. It is not a civil war, it is a failing revolution. Systemic killing occurs elsewhere and the U.S. does nothing.Sources: [1]: http://www.syrianews.cc...[2]: http://www.rt.com...[3]: http://tehrantimes.com...[4]: http://www.rt.com...[5]: http://www.npr.org...[6]: http://www.rt.com...[7]: http://www.rt.com...[8]: http://www.sacbee.com...[9]: http://en.wikipedia.org...