United States: Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal: From the beginning of the Syria crisis almost three years ago, the Obama administration has found reasons to remain aloof. Every option for U.S. involvement arming moderate rebels, enforcing a no-fly zone, carving out humanitarian corridors entailed risks. But every imperfect option for action must be weighed against the risks of inaction: What happens if the United States fails to help shape or contain a dangerous situation? In that framework, its instructive to look at just one days news from the region: Syrian government helicopters on Monday dropped "barrel bombs" on residential neighborhoods in the nations largest city, rebel-controlled Aleppo. The bombs "are typically packed with screws, scrap metal, old car parts, blades and explosives," an activist told the Wall Street Journal. Scores of people were killed, including at least 28 children. In Geneva, the United Nations launched an appeal for a record-setting $6.5 billion to help Syrians who have lost their homes and livelihoods and are being starved by government forces. In a nation of 22 million people, eight million are in need of humanitarian assistance, Valerie Amos, U.N. undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, said, according to Winnipeg Free Press. "This is the future threat," one expert told The Posts Joby Warrick. "These are the children of al-Qaida." In Iraq, "suicide bombers and gunmen killed scores" as that nation tipped back "into its deadliest levels of violence in five years," Reuters reported. Iraqs regression has numerous causes, including the prime ministers intransigence and President Obamas withdrawal of all U.S. troops, but no factor looms larger than the spillover from al-Qaidas growing presence in Syria. Al-Qaida-inspired violence also spread westward, the Wall Street Journal reported, as "Sunni extremists have stepped up attacks on the Lebanese army... undermining the armys attempts to assert its authority around the country." The United States has spent $1 billion trying to bolster that army since 2006, the Journal noted. As far away as Bulgaria, an influx of Syrian refugees is fueling resentment and the rise of far-right, nationalist political forces, PBS "NewsHour" reported and A Syrian opposition fighter watches over as heavy fighting sparks out in the neighbouring village of Kafr Nabuda in the Idlib province countryside, Syriaa, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday called on the U.N. General Assembly to move swiftly to approve a U.S.-Russia deal to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons, saying there is no time to argue with those who remain unconvinced that the Syrian regime carried out a chemical attack last month that killed hundreds. AP Photo CP "As we look towards the fourth year of this appalling crisis, its brutal impact on millions of Syrians is testing the capacity of the international community to respond," Ms. Amos said. The Washington Post reported that extremist factions allied with al-Qaida, which now control swaths of Syrian territory, are training children as young as 10 as combatants. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.