Much Adieu About Nothing

The expectations on a G8 summit are always way higher than is realistic, especially as the influence of the G8 summit has waned. Expecting a single summit meeting to solve the world’s ailments isn’t going to happen, much to the chagrin of those who protest these events. The main purpose of these summits (G8, G20) is to bring together major world powers to address global issues. Look at the focal points of the last week: global trade, transparency and Syria. Unfortunately, this G8 quickly lost focus of the serious tax and transparency issues facing summit nations and instead became about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s frosty approach to President Obama and the United State’s interests.

Issues such as tax evasion by multi-national corporations, free-trade regions which promote international trade were all addressed. While dealing with the shell-corporation loophole is important to many developed nations as their economies struggle with companies shifting profits into developing countries with low tax rates by establishing shell entities which makes this type of tax evasion legal. Free trade is also important to nations which face economic competition from countries which have tightly controlled or manipulated currencies and trade. (I.E. China) Many of these developments were overshadowed by the events in Syria though and the failure of the international community to make any significant headway on the atrocities committed in the years long civil war is one of the biggest failings of the summit.

President Obama has committed to finding a way to bring peace to Syria without overstepping the bounds of international law and treaties. While it may seem convenient to send in the troops now that the “red line” has been crossed, things are rarely as simple as they seem. Putting boots on the ground is a major commitment and a dangerous step when both sides seem focused on retribution. In a scenario where our allies are unknown, the best response may not be choosing a side and having it out. Instead, commitment towards sheltering and providing for civilian refugees is more feasible as the situation continues to deteriorate. To all those who cite the “red line” and demand we take action to back the FSA, I would ask that you seriously consider that both sides of this civil war may be culpable of the atrocities that have become commonplace over the course of the conflict and whether supporting that is really worth American lives and tax dollars. The meaningless slaughter of civilians is not condonable and making sure the UN and other organizations have the supplies they need to establish protected refugee camps needs to be a number one priority.

There was no real magic bullet in this years G8 summit. A lot of talk on the issues facing many of the host nations, but in the end, mush of this will remain talk. Hopefully, we can find a way to address these issues, especially Syria, with multilateral cooperation and respect. If that fails, it’s important to remain cognizant of what committing in Syria would mean. Billions more dollars used to find a peace that may not be what serves the Syrian people and international community.

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