Not that morality and national interests are contradictory and mutually exclusive, but morality is never prioritized over national interests in affairs of state. While it is understandable that the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) is expressing full disappointment for a lack of a firm decision even after the meeting of NATO foreign ministers on April 23, the oppositions' unwavering stand in refusing to sit at the negotiation table with the Assad regime may also be found morally questionable. The issue is not how murderous Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is. The world is well aware of what he is capable of doing to his own people. The issue is that no one with a sound mind can actually guarantee that a foreign military intervention in Syria will resolve the crisis and end the bloodshed. The gravity of the crisis is way more complicated than a black-and-white approach in appealing for a foreign military intervention. 

It is about time for the SNC to comprehend that their priorities do not correspond to the international community’s perception of where their interests lie. And for serious thinkers, it must also be a given that this is not the time to blame outsiders, but to get real in thinking how to exit from this crisis without losing more lives. When Moaz al-Khatib, leader of the SNC, addressed the Arab League members, he claimed more than 100,000 Syrians were killed. If the priority is to work for the moral upper hand and focus on saving lives, considering a diplomatic and political deal under the auspices of the United States and Russia may not be the world’s worst bet, but for the SNC that seems to be the case. 

“According to news sources at the NATO Foreign Ministers Conference [April 23] in Brussels, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov met and seemed to share similar views regarding the Syrian crisis,” the Syrian Coalition’s written statement read on April 24. “Therefore, any solutions must take into account the demands of the Syrian people, which include freedom from tyranny, and most importantly, the departure of Assad.” 

On April 24, in a separate statement, the SNC, however, also expressed full disappointment as the meeting of the NATO foreign ministers concluded without a firm decision that will hint to a military intervention in Syria. “NATO has stated that it will only monitor the activity of Scud missiles being launched from the Assad camps near Damascus to neighboring towns and villages to the north. NATO’s radars will ensure that those missiles fall within the borders of Syria. However, the fact that these missiles will fall over the heads of innocent civilians and children seems to be of no concern to NATO, even though NATO has the forces and preventive tools to stop these missiles,” the statement read. “The SNC finds it tragic that NATO has the power to stop further loss of life in Syria, but chooses not to take that course of action.”