The President is in St. Petersburg at the G20. He is having his version of fraternity rush by trying to gather together anyone to support some action on Syria. This is in order to shore up his pronouncements of red lines in regards to chemical weapons usage in 2012. The President is in over his head. Once again, we face a serious crisis in the Arab / Islamic world. As with the atrocities in the Balkans during Clinton’s administration, we are implored to take some action. The problem is that the current administration has fiddled while Damascus burned under the application of sarin gas to its citizens. Assad is an animal, a worse shadow of his psychotic father.
So now what? Any action in Syria must be decisive and regime ending. There is no “punishment” for Assad save his presentation before the Hague as a war criminal. The rebels are no prize, either. A hodge podge of differing sects, foreign fighters, jihadists and others, their behavior is bad – but on a smaller scale. The President needs to take a cue from his predecessor and take charge. There is NO doubt that the American people and its military are weary of another conflict. The fact of the matter is that we live in a new, more volatile world where our intervention is possibly needed now more than ever. American forces should be employed only with the full cognizance of their power.
