In War Innocent People Die.

I'm struggling a bit with the sudden crescendo of rage over the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

Yes there are rules about chemical weapons, yet before chemical weapons were outlawed by the Geneva Protocol of 1925, the British government approved the use of poison gas against rebel tribesmen in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

All these rules and regulations about which weapons are allowed are simply a means to alleviating and preventing the humanitarian suffering that we've been seeing - in this instance - for seven years now. Also these rules apply to cluster munitions, incendiary weapons, and explosive weapons in populated areas, as well as chemical weapons.

According to the highly reputable organisation Airwars, the UK has declared 1,280 air-strikes in Iraq & Syria dating back to 2014. Airwars have tracked 1,700 alleged Coalition civilian deaths for this March alone! Let that sink in for minute!

I don't know why people seem to be suddenly screaming for action given the years of murder & death that have preceeded this latest horrific attack, but it certainly worries me that, in the current climate of populism, the public clamour may provoke rash action from one leader or another. Acting without proper intelligence and without having worked out a proper strategy cannot make the situation better. Surely this is crystal clear from recent history.

Justice requires soul searching on all sides about this situation and I for one am not sure that all parties are anywhere near being competent to do that.