Dear President Obama,

There has been developments of recent that lead one to conclude this is an ideal time for a strike on Syria's government forces. The rebels have already managed to enter the city of Damascus and have managed to strike and kill some key Syrian officials. There has been many high profile defections in recent weeks and Assad's support is at an all time low among the Syrian populace. I fear if we fail to act a long and protracted bloody battle where many more tens of thousands will loose their life. This has been happening for 16 months and we have not done anything of real substance that has stopped or slowed down the killing. I know the term genocide has not been widely used in media accounts but those who are on the ground in Syria will indeed testify to the genocide happening over there. A genocide is a genocide rather it is 18,000 or 1.8 million. Numbers nearing 18,000 Men, women, and children have been eliminated in a state sponsored genocide. There is prisons all over Syria where horrific torture is used on those who dare stand up to the Assad regime many of the victims in these prisons have been young men and boys. Many girls and women have been victims of sexual violence by Assad's armed gangs. Families have had their doors broken in and windows shattered where Assad's armed men came in and shot them to death, even the children. Some of the bodies were said to have shown signs of being hacked to pieces and worst of all many of the bodies were women and children. The savagery of the Assad regime should be the clearest sign Assad can not be reasoned with. He will not stop ordering the hurting and killing of people until he is captured or killed. I believe you know this to be the case and if the world refuses to act we should; for how can we stand by and watch so many innocents be slaughtered and do nothing.

Now is the time, not in a month from now, not after the election, but this very moment. We have had 16 months to prepare for possible military action in Syria. It's time to put those preparations to use and bring down this heartless regime that slays children. The Syrian people are desperate for aide and military assistance and the world has largely ignored them, how about that you answer their call. How about you speak for the victims of Syria and let them know we stand with them and will help them end the killing even if the entire world stands by. Let them know that we hear their pleas and will do much more to help them in the terrible plight they are in. The Syrian people need to have some sign that the United States is serious about helping them. They need to know the United States is not just against Assad but on there side. They need to see real physical efforts of the United States bringing aide and military assistance. Talk and diplomacy has been tired and re-tried and has failed, peaceful actions have been ignored by the Assad regime and all future efforts will be ignored. The only way to solve such a crises at such a critical stage is military engagement.

No one wanted the situation to deteriorate into war; not the Syrian people, not the UN, not the people of the United States, and not your administration. This is what is rapidly happening though. War is happening in Syria rather or not we are involved. Yes the Syrian rebels will eventually be able to topple Assad on their own but the cost of lives could run into the hundreds of thousands. I ask you Mr. President is that a price your willing to pay? Is allowing so many to die a act of peace or act of incredible apathy? Is the avoidance of war a greater priority over the lives of many thousands of men, women and children? Doing nothing will most certainly destabilize the region far more then doing something. The talk of it becoming a wider regional war is real if we fail to act, not because we act. Such talk that military engagement will lead to worsening of the situation or destabilizing; I ask how and how can you destabilize that which is already destabilized. The talk of Iran getting more involved; it's too late they already are getting much further involved. Remember as far as Iran is concerned Israel can be wiped off the face of the Earth and an enemy of Israel and the United States is a friend of theirs and their friendship goes far back. The excuses on why not to fight are plentiful and hypothetical but the need to fight is very apparent and has became necessary to allow the fall of the Assad regime to happen quickly with as little of bloodshed of innocents as possible.

This is no rush to war. Sixteen months is not a rush, we gave the Assad regime nearly a year and a half to stop the killing and not only has he not stopped the killing he has greatly increased it. He is sitting and giving interviews with Western powers and laughing underneath that fake sheepish exterior that he is slaughtering thousands and the world is doing nothing to stop him. He may appear as a lamb but inward he is a ravenous wolf who orders the slaying of children, rape of women, and torture and death of men of the Sunni and Kurdish population. He would allow his whole country to burn to the ground and his whole populace to be slain before he would surrender. Men like Assad can not be reasoned with, they can not be threatened, they can only be forcefully removed from power. He is most certainly a coward but he is a stubborn coward. He thinks he can do as his father and crush brutally his enemies by the tens of thousands and then go back to ruling Syria once the rebellion has been quashed. He has lost track of reality, he is highly mentally unstable, and he is bound to order anything be done as the stress increases of a prolonged battle. The longer he is allowed to stay in power the more he will grow crueler and the crimes he orders will get much more severe. He is a desperate coward hiding behind his military and will command them that they increase the terror they inflict on the population. Everyday he stays in power will bring more mass killings. The death toll will grow exponentially over time.

In closing I ask you Mr. President to reconsider the current strategy and to consider much more direct action either with other nations participating or unilateral action. Just in the time I wrote this letter more Syrian children have likely been killed and more will be killed everyday Assad is allowed to stay in power. I say allowed because we have the ability to remove him from power but have thus far have allowed him to stay in power. Do not forget there is two sides to peace one side to prevent war and the other to prevent violence. In using war in such cases of mass violence to stop that violence is an act of peace. To stop a genocide is a peaceful and humane act. To liberate people from a ruthless tyrant is a peaceful and humane act. Doing nothing to stop the slaughter of thousands and potentially many tens of thousands is the opposite of peaceful. It is at best apathy of the highest degree at worst being a passive participant in the witnessing of a slaughter. History judges a leader not only on what they do but on what they fail to do. The Syrian people would never forget our role in saving them from absolute slaughter and neither would they forget our cruel apathy if we do nothing. We have a chance of saving tens of thousands of lives and gaining millions of new friends. History would remember your role in liberating the Libyans and Syrians and would judge you kindly. The world would then be made proud they gave you the Nobel Peace Prize and many of your supporters including myself would be proud of these great accomplishments. This would go far in moving the world and our country forward towards a more peaceful and humane world.

With My Deepest Respect and Sincerity,

Alan Curtis Montgomery