Will The U.S. Go To War In Syria?

Will We Go To War In Syria? -- Ali Gharib, Daily Beast

Yesterday's news that the U.S. had evidence of chemical weapons "exposure"—not necessarily "use," as Max Fisher astutely noted—means that America might be at war with Syria sooner rather than later. That's because Barack Obama previously warned the Bashar Al Assad's embattled regime "that the use of chemical weapons is a game changer." Some seventy-thousand Syrians have already reportedly perished in Syria's brutal civil war, many at the hands of the tyrant Assad. So the question becomes: why do chemical weapons change the game? Not without irony, the answer "has nothing to do with the future of Syria," points out Jeffrey Lewis at Arms Control Wonk. "We have a stake in strengthening the norm against chemical weapons use. If Assad is using chemical weapons to hold on to power, we have an interest in ensuring that his government falls and that the responsible regime figures take their turn at the Hague." That doesn't mean you rush in. "Once we go in, the gloves are off," Lewis warns. Experts from the Arms Control Association echoed that sentiment: "Such an intervention would not necessarily prevent further use of chemical weapons. In fact, it could increase the chances that Assad will follow through on his threat to use chemical weapons more broadly or cause the military conflict to spread into neighboring countries."

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My Comment: If these allegations are true .... and if the Syrian government continues to use chemical weapons in isolated cases .... I do not see the U.S. assembling tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel in Jordan and Turkey, the expenditure of tens of billions of dollars, the political push to gain allies to cooperate with us, the mobilization of the necessary naval and air force resources, and President Obama hitting the air waves to convince the American people that such a conflict is necessary. Nope .... I just do not see it.

What I do see is increase support for the rebels .... the assembling of military assets to train the Syrian rebel army in places like Jordan and Turkey .... and maybe .... if Syria continues to use chemical weapons .... the establishment of a no-fly zone.That will be the limit of U.S. intervention .... and only that.