Will The US Invade Syria?

Now That the Election Is Over, Will the US Invade Syria? -- Walter Russell Mead, American Interest

During the campaign, Mitt Romney vowed that as president he would do more than the Obama administration to support the Syrian rebels. Rebels who “share our values” would “obtain the arms they need to defeat Assad’s tanks helicopters and fighter jets,” Romney said during a speech on October 8. Even though the rebels will never get the chance to hold President Romney to his word, the question remains: Will the U.S. escalate its involvement in the Syrian civil war?

Several recent developments in the almost two-year-old civil war suggest that Washington could shift course. First, the rebels are getting bolder and better at fighting. One brigade took over an oil field in eastern Iraq. Several brigades in the north have been collaborating on a spectacular series of attacks, including Monday’s suicide car bombing of a government outpost that killed 50 soldiers. In Damascus today, rebels fired mortars at Assad’s palace (they missed, but it was a bold attempt), and they assassinated a judge who supported the regime.

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My Comment: I do not see any change in U.S. policy for the next few months .... but I do see the Arab states becoming more actively involved in supplying and training the Syrian rebels. But if the bloodshed and suffering continues to escalate during the winter months, it would not surprise me at all to see the U.S. take a more active role in supporting the rebellion. And if Syria's WMDs are at risk .... that intervention may be even sooner.

Update: Why Obama will keep ignoring Syria in his second term -- Daniel Larison, The Week