Is The Top Pentagon Officer Now 'On Board' On What To Do With Syria?

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, holds up a card with handwritten notes for a closed meeting with the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier in the day, as he appears to testify at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Syria on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 4. Jason Reed/Reuters

Has Pentagon Chief Reversed His Position On Striking Syria? -- Anna Mulrine, Christian Science Monitor

Gen. Martin Dempsey, the top Pentagon officer, repeatedly warned against the costs and potential entanglements of military involvement in Syria. Now he's testifying on behalf of the White House.

The nation’s top military officer warned repeatedly in recent months that getting US military involved with Syria is a dangerous proposition that runs the risk of quick escalation.

In congressional testimony this week, however, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, has been put in the tricky position of defending the White House desire to launch a strike there.

Did he change his mind, or is he just doing the White House’s bidding?

In the past, he has made it clear that US military intervention could tip the balance of power in favor of Islamist rebels who don’t necessarily have the interests of the United States at heart.

What’s more, he has warned, any Pentagon foray directed by the president could have the unintended consequences of miring US troops more deeply in the Syrian conflict.

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More News On Gen. Martin Dempsey Testimony On Syria

Dempsey says he has been asked to degrade Assad's military capabilities, not change the momentum of the Syria conflict -- Jerusalem Post/Reuters
Dempsey outlines possible targets for strike on Syria -- Washington Times
Dempsey Outlines Strike Goals, Potential Retaliation -- Washington Free Beacon
Joint Chiefs Chairman Criticizes Leak of Syria Military Plans, Delay in Syria Strikes as Forces Moved -- Washington Free Ceacon
Dempsey: Obama’s Delay Impacts Syria Strike -- Daily Beast
General Dempsey's warnings could go unheeded if Obama opts to strike -- The Guardian
Has Obama Forgotten General Dempsey’s Warnings? -- John Cassidy, New Yorker