Sir, – While I agree wholeheartedly with Barry Andrews that the Government must respond to the Syrian refugee crisis immediately and not after we have resolved all social problems at home (ie never), his analysis of the Syrian war and how it might be brought to an end is questionable ("Refugee problem cannot wait until our house is in order", Opinion & Analysis, January 7th).
Mr Andrews expresses surprise that “some voices are even calling for Assad to be part of the solution” and that “to even contemplate a future Syria with the house of Assad still in charge is Pollyannaism in the extreme”.
This analysis ignores the evidence about how civil wars end. Civil wars end in one of two ways – total victory by one side over the other or a negotiated settlement between the leaders of groups that have spent years fighting and killing one another. Who, and with what army, is going to intervene to ensure a total victory of the anti-Assad forces in Syria over Assad and his forces?
While it is sensible and hopefully not yet unrealistic to aim for a total defeat of Islamic State by other forces in Syria, it is unrealistic and, in fact, Pollyannaism, to imagine a stable end to the Syrian war without a negotiated settlement involving Assad or Assad’s supporters. – Yours, etc,
Dr CATHERINE LYNCH,
Marino, Dublin 3.