Two faced.
I remember that guy. I voted for him once. Then he went away.
If he makes an appearance again, I’d vote for him twice.
If he gets us into Syria, he’ll break every other promise he made.
I miss that guy.
Look, I understand that it’s different now that Trump is in office. He has a soft spot for kids. My thing is, there were reasons to be skeptical it was Assad. I just wanted an investigation. If the investigation proved it was Assad, you then have to decide what to do:
1. You could tell Russia to get him under control and ensure that all chemical weapons are removed w/ consequence to Russia like heavy sanctions if not done.
2. You strike the base.
Then what, though? Do we go to war and proceed to take out Assad and risk nuclear war with Russia? Do we risk the possibility that what we put in there will be worse than Assad and enable the spread of ISIS/Al Queada/Al Nusra?
If we aren’t going to war, then that leaves us with the reality that it’s the rebels (infiltrated with terrorist groups) or Assad. Candidate Trump and Trump of 2013 said that we should only use military force when our own country is at risk, and made the astute point that you can’t fight both Assad and ISIS at once. This means that by attacking Assad’s base, you only weaken his ability to fight ISIS.
I know that Assad is not a good guy. He does allow for Christians to practice which is more than Saudi Arabia does, though. If he did this, as Trump believes that he did and was told that he did, than he is a monster, and I understand Trump’s anger and disgust - especially after easing off him (Trump/Tillerson backing off days prior is a reason for my skepticism) and his desire to make a statement especially in light of Obama’s failed red line. As (if I’m recalling correctly) a former CIA head once said, “The world looks different from the situation room than it does from a hotel room in Iowa.” That said, I also am not sure this will achieve our objective if we are going to allow Assad in power to fight ISIS. It sounds like Haley and Tillerson are saying that Assad has to go, but how will we do that without a full fledged war like in Iraq (with the nuclear Russia component added in)?
Let’s hope he still thinks that way, because this clamor for more US involvement in Syria is ridiculous. It is the definition of a quagmire.