Why Russia and Iran should ditch Bashar al-Assad
The longer they keep him in power, the more they will share his guilt for war crimes
From the print edition | Leaders
Apr 8th 2017

なぜロシアとイランはアサドを見捨てなければならないのか。
彼に権力を持たせておけばおくほど戦争犯罪が増えてしまう。



THE horror in Syria is never-ending. Its civil war, now entering a seventh year, has claimed about half a million lives, pushed 5m refugees out of the country and displaced millions more within it. Yet the chemical attack that killed at least 85 people in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun (see article) stands out as an act of infamy. In a murky conflict with few angels, it casts the spotlight on the worst perpetrator: the regime of Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia and Iran.

claimed：命を奪う
infamy：破廉恥行為
murky：不明瞭な
perpetrator：悪事を行う人

The footage of choking children suggests the use of a nerve agent, probably sarin. Its manufacture, storage and use as a weapon usually requires the wherewithal of a state. No militia in Syria—not even the jihadists of Islamic State (IS), who have used chlorine and mustard gas—is credibly reported to have used nerve agents on the battlefield. Israeli newspapers cite intelligence that the chemical air strike was ordered by the “highest levels” in Syria. Russia’s claim that the gas was released when a rebel arms dump was bombed is almost certainly a lie. As Mr Assad’s protector-in-chief, Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, deserves to be singled out for opprobrium. 

choking：呼吸困難にする
wherewithal：財源・手段
credibly：確実に
singled：を一つだけ選ぶ
opprobrium：公然たる避難

Often defied, the prohibition against chemical weapons is one of the oldest global agreements to make war less ugly. Even Russia, lately contemptuous of international norms, has every interest in preserving the anathema against such weapons. Imagine the terrorist bombing on the St Petersburg subway on April 3rd if it had involved poison gas. Chemical weapons are, by their nature, indiscriminate. They are of questionable value in warfare; organised armies can protect themselves from poison gases. But they are unparalleled instruments of terror against civilians, who have nowhere to hide. 

defied：無視する
ugly：道徳的に邪悪な
contemptuous：物ともしない
anathema：嫌悪の対象
indiscriminate：無差別の
unparalleled：並ぶもののない

The taboo on poison gas should not obscure Mr Assad’s many other crimes—for which he deserves one day to face justice. And this is not the first time he has been accused of gassing his people. But the attack on Khan Sheikhoun crosses a line that Mr Assad himself has promised to respect. When it killed 1,400 people with sarin in 2013 in al-Ghouta, outside Damascus, his regime breached the “red line” set by Barack Obama. Mr Obama failed to order punitive strikes, and instead accepted a Russian deal whereby Syria would adopt the chemical weapons convention and surrender its stock of poison. 

taboo：禁止
obscure：覆い隠す
convention：協定
surrender：捨てる

At the time, that seemed a grave misjudgment—just how grave is now clear. The use of sarin in Khan Sheikhoun suggests that Syria hid some nerve agents, or produced them anew, violating its commitments. By using nerve gas again, Mr Assad is flouting a norm that the whole world accepts. 

grave：重大な
flouting：に従わない
norm：規範

With its deployment of air power to Syria in 2015, Russia saved Mr Assad, helped him to recover lost territory and scored a tactical victory over America. The West cannot now bomb Mr Assad without risking a clash with Russia. Donald Trump is right, but disingenuous, to blame the mess on Mr Obama’s weakness. Mr Trump himself opposed military action in 2013. As a candidate, he said that America should join Russia in bombing IS. As president, he says that he has now changed his mind on Syria; he should start by joining his ambassador to the UN in denouncing Russia. Right now, Mr Putin is no ally against jihadism, but a provoker of it. 

scored：勝利を収める
disingenuous：不誠実な
mess：へま
provoker ：駆り立てる

Perhaps Mr Assad is acting to demonstrate his impunity. Or perhaps he fears an imposed diplomatic deal. Either way Russia is permanently tainted by his war crimes. So is Iran, despite the fact that many Iranians still live with the effects of poison gases used on them by Iraq in the war of 1980-88. The longer Russia and Iran keep Mr Assad in power, the more they will share in his guilt. It is time for them to ditch their toxic ally. 

impunity：免責・咎めがないこと
Either way：いずれにしても
tainted：違反した

この記事はアサドが毒ガスを撒いたことに対して非難している。サリンは金が無いと出来ないガスだと言っている。果たしてそうだろうか。アサドがガスをばら撒いたのだろうか。ロシアとイランを非難しているが、もう少し、この置かれている状況を分析するべきだろう。この記者は若い人なのか単純な人なのかよくわかっていないように思う。

事件が起こってしまってから、誰がやったのかよく議論になるが、前回のUNの調査ではアサドではなかったようだ。今回も直裁的に非難する前に、きちんと調査するべきだろう。安易に批判してはいけない。この記事はアメリカ政府の行動に安易に乗りすぎている。

火曜日。今日から上海だ。４日まで。ではまた明日。