To this, I would again add, among other things, Avaaz completely ignoring -- or not even considering -- the warnings of top U.S. generals and other experts expressed earlier in this article. These warnings are not even mentioned in Avaaz's Q&A, nor is there any mention of Avaaz's previous disastrous "humanitarian" call (along with interventionists from across the political spectrum) for a no-fly zone in Libya.
In response to the criticisms, the previously mentioned Avaaz campaign director and former State Department official John Tye emphasized that his organization was only trying to save lives and was not seeking more war in the Middle East or doing the bidding of U.S. or other imperial interests. Tye wrote that with "more than 210,000 killed. Over 10 million people driven from their homes. More than half the country's hospitals damaged or destroyed. Millions of children out of school. This is the worst refugee crisis since World War II" the humanitarian disaster of our generation, and it continues to crush innumerable lives."
Tye went on to note that Avaaz had tried everything short of recommending military action to alleviate the plight of Syria's civilians. Wrote Tye:
""We supported civilians and non-violent activists to document human rights abuses, and gave millions of dollars for food, medicine, and humanitarian supplies and to put refugee children in school. We campaigned to stop arms dealers from sending weapons to the country, called for sanctions, and then urged the U.N. to help stop the fighting. More than a million of us from across the world called on the U.S. and Iran to come together to help craft a negotiated solution, and then once again we backed UN-sponsored negotiations. This community has worked for nearly four years to stop the war and help the needy, but the crisis continues and is spreading."
Tye wrote that having tried all these other forums and methods, "it is up to a community like ours to continue to look for legal ways to intervene to stop the carnage." And this is where the no-fly zone comes in.
Rather than being "the deceitful 'pre-emptive war' doctrine advocated by neo-conservatives looking to remake and dominate the Middle East," Tye -- presumably drawing primarily on his State Department and other governmental contacts -- wrote that the Avaaz call for a no-fly zone (NFZ) "is a very serious strategy made only after intensive consultation with diplomats, regional experts, and Syrians to save tens of thousands of civilians' lives. [My emphasis.] After four years of brutal violence on all sides, the war in Syria will be extremely difficult to end. But a NFZ could help curb the violence and bring the warring parties into peace negotiations. Right now Assad has no incentive to negotiate peace. He believes he can continue exterminating his people until they submit. A NFZ will show Assad that the world will act to stop this carnage, and it will change Assad's calculus."
Additionally, Tye wrote, a no-fly zone "will also provide a safe place for the Syrians who have been driven into extremists' territory as they are fleeing from the regime's terror. Lastly it would reinforce the international military campaign against ISIS." He added that an NFZ "that protects civilians in northern Syria could strengthen the conditions for a negotiated, political solution to the conflict."
Tye continued that the most common criticism of Avaaz is that it claims as fact certain allegations of Syrian government forces' atrocities that had not been confirmed when Avaaz published them -- such as Avaaz alleging chlorine gas attacks from the air killing civilians, when it lacked corroboration for the allegation. While acknowledging that "it continues to be difficult to independently and unequivocally confirm details on the ground in Syria," Tye said the Syrian military "have relied on non-chemical weapons dropped from aircraft to kill thousands upon thousands of civilians in northern Syria. Even if, contrary to current evidence, it somehow turns out that the Assad regime was not responsible for this recent chlorine attack, it is still the case that a no-fly zone in northern Syria would dramatically reduce civilian deaths."
As to the criticism from some Avaaz members that the organization is pushing for more war in Syria, Tye responded: "The answer is an unqualified 'no'. U.S. and allied aircraft are already patrolling airspace in northern Syria, as part of the U.S.-led anti-IS coalition, so a no-fly zone would not require significant new deployments. Bloodshed in Syria will continue with or without a no-fly zone, but a no-fly zone would dramatically decrease civilian casualties."
Yes, Tye is saying, take it from us that this is exactly how a no-fly zone would work out. Ignore those pesky generals who say otherwise -- and I do mean ignore them. Do not let their warnings enter the Avaaz dialogue.
Avaaz's only acknowledgement of possible dangers comes in this one paragraph from Tye: "As with any military mission, a no-fly zone may endanger the pilots enforcing it, or Assad forces trying to break it."
Tye continued: "Those possibilities are real, but we know what will continue to happen until there is a no-fly zone: weaponized chlorine bombs will fall on sleeping families; and near daily barrel bombing will continue over Aleppo. Thousands and thousands of people will die, for years to come, if we turn away and wring our hands"Prior efforts to put an end to this, through diplomacy and sanctions, have all failed. If nothing changes, another 100,000 could be killed" in 2015 alone.
Note again, there is no mention that a no-fly zone could -- and in Syria, likely would -- endanger not only U.S. and NATO pilots and Assad's forces, but the very civilians Avaaz says it wants to protect.
Responding to comparisons to U.S. involvement in Iraq, Tye said: "A no-fly zone over Syria is not the same as the disastrous war in Iraq"This campaign for Syria is not invasion or regime change, it's about protecting defenseless families."
As for one of the other criticisms -- that Avaaz is serving U.S. and western interests "to (re)shape and exercise imperial ambitions in the Middle East," Tye responded: "The answer again is a very definitive 'no'. Our community regularly campaigns against morally unjustifiable foreign engagement in the Middle East, whether it be Israel's brutal occupation of Palestinian lands or the U.S. and E.U.'s rapprochement with a new tyrant in Egypt. We understand the tragic and often cynical legacy of foreign engagement in the Middle East and North Africa."
Tye wrote that he understands that a no-fly zone "could conjure up images of George W. Bush's foreign policy and illegal Western interventions. This is a different thing." In Avaaz's vision, a targeted no-fly zone can't just be a U.S. undertaking. "It must be an international effort, with a clear objective: the protection of civilians. And the states like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates that have openly called for a no-fly zone, and the protection of civilian populations in Syria, must take the lead in providing resources to implement it. France's Socialist government has also voiced strong support for a targeted no-fly zone. But, these governments won't act without some support from the United States, which has the diplomatic and military resources to serve as coordinator for a limited period of time -- until the safety of civilians is secured."
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