Very well said.
I remember his warning Assad about using chemical weapons on his own population (something like that) some time ago.
In retrospect that was not only to prime the sub-conscience of the American people - it was also a message to agents in place.
You make another good point - that he was prepping Americans by planting the thought that the evil Assad government might/would use gas against the revolutionaries.
(The same "Weapons of Mass Destruction" democrats have been claiming do not exist for the last 10 years or more)