Act now to bring peace to Syria

The U.S. air strike against Syria, in retaliation for the chemical weapons attack, must be followed by intense diplomacy for peace. We must be more determined than ever to peacefully end Syria’s civil war and stop the suffering of innocent civilians.

The Syrian government’s horrific use of chemical weapons has claimed nearly 100 lives and left many severely ill.

{mosads}Save the Children’s Syria director, Sonia Khush, says victims are “struggling to breathe and barely conscious, with running noses and contracted pupils – doctors say these symptoms are consistent with the use of nerve agents such as Sarin.” Three of the victims in the chemical attack are being treated by a Save the Children partner in Idlib province.

It’s not the first time Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons on his own people.

It won’t be the last if the war continues. As US ambassador Nikki Haley says, “We know that if nothing is done, these attacks will continue. Assad has no incentive to stop using chemical weapons as long as Russia continues to protect his regime from consequences.”

The chemical attacks are not the only way Syrian civilians are suffering. They are also being starved to death.

Throughout the 6-year old Syrian civil war the combatants have routinely blocked life-saving aid from reaching civilians. Malnutrition is deadly and it’s claiming innocent lives inside Syria as we speak.

A recent UN report says, “Civilians in the four towns of Fu‘ah, Kafraya, Madaya and Zabadani continued to suffer, with three months having passed since the last United Nations humanitarian convoy delivered aid to the towns. Cases of malnutrition were reported in high numbers in Fu‘ah and Kafraya, and reportedly up to 40 people may have died since the beginning of 2017.”

Dr. Rajia Sharhan of UNICEF pleads, “they have more than 500 patients affected by different medical diseases who need to be evacuated,” but cannot because of the ongoing conflict.

The United States and the international community must clearly end this barbaric civil war. All sides must settle this conflict at the peace table as Mercy Corps and humanitarian organizations are urging.

But for that to happen President Assad must go. He cannot be part of the peace process in Syria. That has to be the clear U.S. policy.

Ending the war and getting rid of Assad is also key to eliminating the terror group ISIS. The Syrian civil war is what helped create ISIS and provided the chaos for the terror group to thrive and grow.

ISIS threatens every nation, so it’s in the interest of everyone that the civil war in Syria end. Russia and Iran could start by stopping their support of Assad. Why support a brutal dictator in a war where there is no military victory possible?

The U.S. has to step up the diplomatic pressure on Russia and Iran to drop Assad.

Syria must not fall off the radar again. Time will pass and there is the danger the international community’s outrage against the atrocities will wear off. That cannot be allowed to happen.

We must remain vigilant to end the war and the suffering. Peace for Syria must remain a top priority.

UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura urges that “We need to send a constant, strong message, not to ourselves but to the Syrian people that they will not become a forgotten war.”

There is much to do. The Syrian country is in shambles. Farmland must be restored so food can be grown again. Basic health services have to be restored.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is trying to feed over 4 million Syrians inside the war-torn country. They must be allowed unrestricted access to the hungry Syrian war victims.

When they can gain access WFP and partners like UNICEF can work wonders with food aid. Nutritional products like the enriched peanut paste Plumpy’sup and Plumpy’doz rescue children from deadly malnutrition. One of the WFP programs is a school feeding project that feeds hungry children and helps them attend classes again.

WFP Syria director Jakob Kern says that at the end of 2016 WFP was feeding half a million Syrian children milk and enriched date bars at schools. They want to provide food and milk to at least 750,000 Syrian children this year.

School children in Aleppo, which has suffered immensely during this war, are receiving sandwiches and fruit as part of their school feeding.

Such aid programs are critical to restoring Syria. We want millions of children in Syria getting school meals. But we must have a peace process to get this kind of recovery.

In neighboring Middle Eastern countries Syrian refugees need continued support with humanitarian aid. All nations should support relief organizations like WFP, UNICEF, Save the Children, Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps and others with funding for relief operations.

While we mourn the tragedy in Syria, we must act quickly to prevent more from happening. 

We have to seize this moment and move Syria toward peace. U.S. leadership must be stronger than ever in ending the worst conflict since World War II. 

 William Lambers is an author who partnered with the UN World Food Programme on the book Ending World Hunger. He is the author of the Road to Peace and writes on History News Network, the Huffington Post and other news outlets.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.