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| Cold war legacies that hamper the search for a solution in Syria | Cold war legacies that hamper the search for a solution in Syria |
| (14 days later) | |
| Although I thoroughly agree with Shirley Williams (Iran can help us with Syria, 3 September), in common with MPs and ministers over the past weeks she fails to bring up a strategy that would not only help resolve the Syrian situation, but also the Palestinian question and any other crisis where international pressure would be deemed appropriate. | Although I thoroughly agree with Shirley Williams (Iran can help us with Syria, 3 September), in common with MPs and ministers over the past weeks she fails to bring up a strategy that would not only help resolve the Syrian situation, but also the Palestinian question and any other crisis where international pressure would be deemed appropriate. |
| If the security council was not hamstrung by the cold war era vetoes available to the five permanent members, the UN would be in a position to resolve most if not all international crises. | If the security council was not hamstrung by the cold war era vetoes available to the five permanent members, the UN would be in a position to resolve most if not all international crises. |
| The complaint that the UN does not work that is made by politicians is nearly always the result of the permanent members of the security council being guided by their narrow nationalistic self interests, and the concept that five nations – only three of which could be described as world powers – should have the final say on international matters has not been credible for a long time, especially since the emergence of South American and Asian "super economies". | The complaint that the UN does not work that is made by politicians is nearly always the result of the permanent members of the security council being guided by their narrow nationalistic self interests, and the concept that five nations – only three of which could be described as world powers – should have the final say on international matters has not been credible for a long time, especially since the emergence of South American and Asian "super economies". |
| Will this situation change? Of course not. In the same manner that we retain Trident, one does not relinquish power and influence. However, it would be nice if politicians recognised that they are the problem with their attachment to the status quo rather than indulging in their sanctimonious hand-wringing. Jon Neal Crawley, West Sussex | Will this situation change? Of course not. In the same manner that we retain Trident, one does not relinquish power and influence. However, it would be nice if politicians recognised that they are the problem with their attachment to the status quo rather than indulging in their sanctimonious hand-wringing. Jon Neal Crawley, West Sussex |
| • No one with a scintilla of intelligence could disagree with Shirley Williams' contention that the UK should seek urgently to re-engage diplomatically with Iran. But I must take issue with her use of the phrase "the Muslim world". | • No one with a scintilla of intelligence could disagree with Shirley Williams' contention that the UK should seek urgently to re-engage diplomatically with Iran. But I must take issue with her use of the phrase "the Muslim world". |
| The Syrian conflict has made it clear that there is no such entity. On the contrary, the crisis has made it absolutely obvious that the end of the cold war was proclaimed prematurely. We still live in a bipolar world in which Washington and Moscow (and, to a lesser extent, Beijing) continue to exert neocolonial influence through proxy states and regional spheres of influence. | The Syrian conflict has made it clear that there is no such entity. On the contrary, the crisis has made it absolutely obvious that the end of the cold war was proclaimed prematurely. We still live in a bipolar world in which Washington and Moscow (and, to a lesser extent, Beijing) continue to exert neocolonial influence through proxy states and regional spheres of influence. |
| Iran's support for the Syrian government is but a counterweight to those nominally or avowedly Muslim states such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia aligned with the United States' position. Vladimir Putin's defence of the Assad regime is no different in kind from the backing offered by the US (and the west more generally) to Israel, regardless of its breaches of international law. | Iran's support for the Syrian government is but a counterweight to those nominally or avowedly Muslim states such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia aligned with the United States' position. Vladimir Putin's defence of the Assad regime is no different in kind from the backing offered by the US (and the west more generally) to Israel, regardless of its breaches of international law. |
| It is precisely because the "Muslim world" is divided that Williams's call for better relations with Iran makes sense. The UK parliament's vote against British military action in Syria opens the door to such diplomatic moves. Mark Brown Glasgow | It is precisely because the "Muslim world" is divided that Williams's call for better relations with Iran makes sense. The UK parliament's vote against British military action in Syria opens the door to such diplomatic moves. Mark Brown Glasgow |
| • On Syria we should think Bosnia, not Iraq. We hesitated and hesitated and thousands more died. After our bombing – no boots on the ground – the slaughter ended. There was a political solution, not perfect, but the resulting countries are now applying to and even being accepted by the EU. I heard an expert comment that because of 5,000 jihadis we are abandoning 100,000 rebels who are against them. The jihadis are financed and armed from the Gulf, so anything that would reach them because of us would not matter as much as we think. And when we do not help, it makes the position of the jihadis stronger. Katerina Porter London | • On Syria we should think Bosnia, not Iraq. We hesitated and hesitated and thousands more died. After our bombing – no boots on the ground – the slaughter ended. There was a political solution, not perfect, but the resulting countries are now applying to and even being accepted by the EU. I heard an expert comment that because of 5,000 jihadis we are abandoning 100,000 rebels who are against them. The jihadis are financed and armed from the Gulf, so anything that would reach them because of us would not matter as much as we think. And when we do not help, it makes the position of the jihadis stronger. Katerina Porter London |
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