The Sovereignty of Bashar al-Assad

          Is sovereignty endowed because of government, or because a leader rules over a people or a territory?   I opine that no ruler who maintains their control by force should be respected as a "sovereign." If a population is fleeing the "sovereign's" rule, we, as an international community, should have a mechanism that "de-certifies" the sovereignty of such leaders as Bashar al-Assad, and restore sovereignty to the refugees. Then, we should conduct an extra-territorial election among the refugees and enforce those results through NATO and the UN.

Loren M. Lambert © August 3, 2016