Sir, – At its nearest point, the European Union is approximately 600 miles from Syria. This is far less than the distance between Rome and Paris, for example. Syria is our neighbour as much as Rome and Paris; so too are its citizens. Let’s protect our neighbours.
I wonder would the French government fail to intervene if the throats of Italian children were being cut by that government, or would any European country? Perhaps a Syrian life just isn’t worth as much to us as a European one is. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – I wish to take issue with those who lambast the UN for what is considered to be its inaction with regard to the massacres in Syria. Do critics imagine that body has a magic wand? What are at play in that troubled land are the two greatest curses that afflict the human race: tribalism and religion. Do the critics believe that brute force should be applied, as with Iraq and Afghanistan? Apart from the slaughter of thousands of innocent people, what did that achieve? We Europeans travelled that road and paid a great price, but we have found the answer. Ray Murphy (Opinion Analysis, May 31st) has suggested the best chance of a reasonable outcome: “Regional powers, in conjunction with the UN, stand the best chance of influencing the outcome of events. Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia bear a heavy responsibility for how events will unfold.” – Yours, etc,
