THREE STRIKES AND YOUR'E OUT

Baseball season has begun so let’s look at baseball and how it might equate to what’s going on in the world. Everybody knows it’s three strikes and you are out.  While it’s no game, Syria certainly seems to be in the batter’s box.

A year ago Bashar al-Assad and the criminal government of Syria used chemical weapons on her own people. They killed or injured many. Women and children were suffocated in that horrendous attack. President Trump, along with his advisors, decided to punish Syria for this illegal and immoral act. Under the “Chemical Weapons Convention of 1997”, chemical weapons are illegal internationally. No country can manufacture, stockpile, or use them for any reason. Syria is a signatory along with 197 other countries. So, we elected to deliver a measured response. We fired missiles at the air base from which the attack originated. Twenty percent of Syria’s air force was eliminated by the attack. We didn’t wipe out Syria’s complete air force, although we could have, we just took out a portion. This was a warning. In baseball, if a batter gets too aggressive and stands too close to the plate, the pitcher might throw a pitch inside and tight. It’s called a “brush back” pitch. Most batters get the message and back up. A year ago we threw a “brush back” pitch at Assad. Apparently he didn’t get the message though. For the sake of this essay, we’ll call that strike one.

Well, he did it again. He attacked his own country and his own people with illegal and immoral weapons. He gassed women and children. Who knows how many were killed or will have lifelong side effects from the attack. The pictures were sickening.

What’s wrong with this sorry excuse for a human being? Bashar al-Assad is a college educated medical doctor. His specialty is ophthalmology. He took his residency in London. He’s not a complete idiot. Or is he?

When his older brother was killed in a car accident, his father, Hafez al-Assad, a butcher and a tyrant, decided that Bashar was to succeed him as President of Syria. He was recalled from London and rushed into job training for dictatorship. All indications are that he learned quickly. When his father died, he quickly took over the country. Some thought that this medically trained individual would be a modern leader with compassion for his people. How wrong we all were.

Fast forward to a week ago. Assad strikes again and kills his own people gassing them with chlorine and sarin gas. Our response to this latest attack was again somewhat measured. We fired about one hundred missiles or so and took out his ability to manufacture chemical weapons. Our efforts were limited so as not to create too much collateral damage. All indications are that our attack was a success.

For Syria and Assad, this was strike two. We brushed them back after their first attack, and for strike two we bombed a few factories. Will there be a strike three? That’s pretty much up to Assad. He should understand there is another pitch in some pitchers’ repertoire.  It is called the “bean” pitch. Sometimes it just makes more sense to throw the ball at the head of the batter. Sure, you might injure him. You might even kill him. But hey, that’s baseball.

Assad and his thug buddies, Russia and Iran, should get this message loud and clear. The world is tired of chemical attacks and we are not going to put up with them anymore. In fact all of the little tin horn dictators around the world should take notice. Are you listening North Korea? The game has changed. It is now reasonable to assume some countries might not even get three strikes. You could look up and see the dreaded beanball headed straight for your head.

Ron Scarbro