Poem: "Peacebrokering"

This is the second freebie for the fishbowl, courtesy of new prompters tigerbright and Dreamwidth user Rainflowermoon.  It belongs to the Silk Road Allies project.

When the Syrian civil war
heated up with claims of
chemical warfare and
weapons of mass destruction,

the Arab League called for
international action and
America threatened a solitary attack.

China and Italy looked at each other
and said, "Enough is enough."

China did not want
two of its major export markets
fighting with each other.

Italy did not want
another wave of refugees
pouring out of Syria, more than
the European Union could handle.

So they set forth a combined effort
on two separate fronts:
Italy insisting on an international mandate
for any action again Syria, and
China discouraging America
from attacking Syria alone.

China used its economic weight
to encourage sanctions instead of combat,
while Italy used its diplomatic clout
to hold the moral high ground of nonviolence.
They sent intrepid mediators
to urge Syria toward peace.

Nobody was fully satisfied,
but they managed to avoid
spreading the war even further,
and the saber rattling died back down
to the dull roar typical in the Middle East.

It's always easier to play the board
when the right hands knows
what the left hand is doing
while other people forget
how well they work together.

* * *

Notes:

Read about the Syrian Civil War.

Italy wants a UN mandate and worries about refugee problems.

China exports a lot of stuff to Syria and America.  China has warned America not to attack Syria.

The Arab League wants international action against Syria, although not all of its member countries agree.

Although the American president is considering a strike on Syria, this approach is unpopular with the public.  Some people say there are no good options, while others believe nonviolent methods could work.