OPINION:
What happened to respecting sovereignty? When Russian troops invaded and captured Crimea, President Obama stomped his foot and declared in his most menacing tone that this act of aggression would not be tolerated. He said that it violated international law and that Russia must recognize Ukrainian national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Vladimir Putin yawned.
We all know that deploying military personnel in a foreign country without that country’s consent is against international law. It’s called war. So how can Mr. Obama deploy United States Special Forces to Syria, no matter how small the number, without the consent and approval of Syrian leaders? Doesn’t this violate Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity?
Last Friday White House spokesman Josh Earnest gave a very convoluted answer as to what gave the United States the legal authority to place ground troops in Syria. He said that congressional authorization in 2001 to fight al Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan allowed us to follow these terrorists, now the Islamic State, into Syria. He tried to further justify the action saying Islamic State terrorists in Syria threaten Iraq, and therefore threaten the United States.
Using this nonsensical reasoning, the United States could deploy offensive military personnel in northern Mexico (without permission from Mexico) to battle the drug cartels and human traffickers. After all, don’t these entities pose a direct threat to the United States?
RANDALL STEPHENS
Falls Church
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