Annan: Military intervention in Syria won't work

U.N.-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan is seen at a June 30, 2012 press conference in Geneva. / FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images

WASHINGTON Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is warning that military intervention in Syria by the major powers won't work.

In comments to be aired Sunday on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS," Annan says the situation in Syria is more complex than in Libya, and that military intervention could make things worse.

• In Syria, Sunni rebels besiege Shiite villages

Annan was the special envoy to Syria until August, when he resigned after his peace plan failed. That led Republican Paul Ryan to say in the vice presidential debate that the U.S. shouldn't have waited for Annan to develop an agreement and that the delay had bought Syrian President Bashar Assad more time.

Annan says Ryan is, quote, "dead wrong." He says raising the hopes of the Syrian people while other countries are still reluctant to intervene complicates the situation.

[akibeel]

Is there any relevance to anything Kofi Annan has to say?

[14FREEK]

Is there anywhere else on the earth that war is as problematic as the Middle East? No. If it weren't for these wars and squabbles the world would be a pretty peaceful place. Why don't we just solve this one day. All it would take is one day and this crap would be over forever.
The last time we used a bomb was Hiroshima's "Little Boy" gravity bomb was about 12-15 kilo tons of TNT. Today's entire Operation Castle nuclear test series are from 48,200 kilo tons of TNT. Arabia, all Arabia, you might want to review the pictures of Hiroshima and then think about how much bigger these things are today. Look at the pictures and just imagine. http://www.google.com/search?q=after+pics+hiroshima&hl=en&biw=893&bih=442&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=wXFTUOy-Osex0QH0ioHgBA&ved=0CB4QsAQ

Yes what you did to our twin towers in New York city was bad, but just imagine what a power 4 thousand times stronger than these pictures will do to you.

In the Bible God often ordered the Israelites to go to war with other nations (1 Samuel 15:3; Joshua 4:13). God ordered the death penalty for numerous crimes (Exodus 21:12, 15; 22:19; Leviticus 20:11). So, God is not against killing in all circumstances, but only murder. War is never a good thing, but sometimes it is a necessary thing. In a world filled with sinful people (Romans 3:10-18), war is inevitable. Sometimes the only way to keep sinful people from doing great harm to the innocent is by going to war.

In the Old Testament, God ordered the Israelites to "take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites" (Numbers 31:2). Deuteronomy 20:16-17 declares, "However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them...as the LORD your God has commanded you." Also, 1 Samuel 15:18 says, "Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out."

THE LORD, YOUR GOD, HAS SPOKEN, PEOPLE.


Know Mohammed no peace. No Mohammed know peace.

[dehsa]

I'm glad we can all agree on one thing-the username you chose-freek

[jmerring]

Why must the US stick it's big bazoo, into what is clearly a civil war? Yes, democracy is good, but the countries in the middle east, clearly do not want us there. We should pull ALL of our troops, 'advisers.' diplomats out of there and cut of ALL AID OF ANY KIND.

[quincytodd]

I agree with Kofi Annan about Syria. The West needs to stay out of this conflict. The problem here is that the right-wing thugs in Washington aren't buying into it!