Some quick thoughts on Syria with the assumption you already know the background. Syria, the debate on Syria, and any attack on Syria is just a classic damned if you do and damned if you don't situation. I say classic because really both sides are right and both sides are wrong. The Middle East is now a tragedy even by standards of the Middle East with the hopes and dreams of a year ago turned to dust and blown away.
Any comparisons between Syria and the lead up to Iraq are overblown as the excuse of Iraq's WMD was a lie from the beginning. Syria has, and always had, those weapons and now has used them. Still the same arguments are being used today as were used than and they all sound so hollow. Also I don't trust any of the talking heads who ten years ago pushed for total war and now are totally against even a limited attack as if it somehow wipes their war slate clean.
After two arguably failed Middle Eastern wars an attack, even a limited attack, on Syria is the last thing this country needs to debate. At the same time Assad's using the world's deadliest weapons against his most defenseless citizens is a horror on a scale all it's own. Is it more of a horror than a war that has killed 100,000 and created 2 million refugees created in two years? I have no idea.
I also have no idea what the correct answer is. As I alluded to at the start, in all likelihood there isn't one.
Any comparisons between Syria and the lead up to Iraq are overblown as the excuse of Iraq's WMD was a lie from the beginning. Syria has, and always had, those weapons and now has used them. Still the same arguments are being used today as were used than and they all sound so hollow. Also I don't trust any of the talking heads who ten years ago pushed for total war and now are totally against even a limited attack as if it somehow wipes their war slate clean.
After two arguably failed Middle Eastern wars an attack, even a limited attack, on Syria is the last thing this country needs to debate. At the same time Assad's using the world's deadliest weapons against his most defenseless citizens is a horror on a scale all it's own. Is it more of a horror than a war that has killed 100,000 and created 2 million refugees created in two years? I have no idea.
I also have no idea what the correct answer is. As I alluded to at the start, in all likelihood there isn't one.
