What Would It Take To Convince President Obama To Commit Massive Military Forces Into Syria?

A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer supersonic bomber flies over northern Iraq after conducting air strikes in Syria against ISIL targets September 27, 2014. REUTERS/Handout

Peter Van Buren, Reuters: Paris attacks: What would it take for U.S. boots to hit the ground in Syria?

Pressure on the White House to escalate the Syria/Iraq war has no doubt intensified post-Paris. Should Islamic State strike an American civilian target, President Barack Obama would be all but forced to “do something more.” What might that “something” look like, and what would be the consequences?

For an Obama already wary of deeper involvement in Syria/Iraq, a ramping up of the air campaign may be enough to tamp down the current post-Paris pressure. France may also find the short and sharp set of revenge attacks already underway enough for the near term, as Jordan did at the beginning of this year, after the horrific burning alive of one its pilots by Islamic State. Things could then settle back into a more routine fight.

However, if Islamic State were to strike against Americans, Obama would almost be required to escalate, and more of the same air strikes would not satisfy demands for vengeance. Such gestures would not have been sufficient a year ago if an attack had come, and certainly will not be sufficient in the midst of a presidential campaign. Any perceived lack of resolve would hand the Republicans a red, white and blue issue to take them through the next 12 months, and Hillary Clinton would be forced to break with the White House.

America’s escalation could take only one form: American boots on the ground.

WNU Editor: For a massive U.S. military intervention to occur in Syria .... it would be because of another 9/11 (or worse) .... on U.S. soil or on the soil of a very close ally of the U.S. that would force the U.S. to intervene because of treaty obligations.