Ukraine and Syria are two fundamentally different situations

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Apr 21, 2022 at 23:32

Dear Dr Pipes, The similarities between the Syrian war a few years back and the Ukrainian war today are superficial. Undoubtedly they both are wars involving Russia and Putin but the similarities end right there. Can a Muslim country go to war without invoking Islam? When Russia attacked Syria, ISIS was active in Syria and was killing every one else including the non-Muslim Yezidis. The main opponent of ISIS in that war was the Syrian president Asad who is a known despot. In fact, human right organizations have blamed almost all involved parties in that war of human right violations. In that war, Russia chose the least of the evils and succeeded in restoring peace.

The current Ukrainian war is different. Ukraine probably had no evil plans or motives prior to this War. Nor did they kill any one for their religion. Unlike Asad, Ukraine's leader does not belong to a multi-generation dynasty. Unlike groups in Syria, Ukraine is not supporting any given religion. Putin could have achieved all Russian goals vis-a-vis Ukraine by peaceful means but rogue leaders do not possess a lot of patience.

I don't think people should try to draw parallels between these two vastly different situations.

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