War (of Words) with Syria
Thursday, Sep 12, 2013So let me see if I understand right wing punditry.
Invading Syria is a stupid thing to do because we will be al Qaeda's airforce.
Not invading Syria is a stupid thing to do because it projects weakness.
Allowing Russia to mediate in dealing with the chemical weapons is a stupid thing to do because it also projects weakness.
Saber rattling without invading, even if we can accomplish our goals through diplomacy, is a stupid thing to do because, yes, it projects weakness.
The only reasonable course of action is to go back in time two years and attack Syria then, because attacking them two years ago makes sense while attacking them now is stupid.
We have the power to rain a thousand missles on a city in a single day, but having a man born in Mombasa in the White House makes us weak.
Did I miss anything?
Thursday, Aug 29, 2013
AP sources: In spite of Obama’s assertion, intelligence on weapons use in Syria no ‘slam dunk’
...
Over the past six months, with shifting front lines in the 2½-year-old civil war and sketchy satellite and human intelligence coming out of Syria, U.S. and allied spies have lost track of who controls some of the country’s chemical weapons supplies, according to the two intelligence officials and two other U.S. officials.
U.S. satellites have captured images of Syrian troops moving trucks into weapons storage areas and removing materials, but U.S. analysts have not been able to track what was moved or, in some cases, where it was relocated. They are also not certain that when they saw what looked like Assad’s forces moving chemical supplies, those forces were able to remove everything before rebels took over an area where weapons had been stored.
In addition, an intercept of Syrian military officials discussing the strike was among low-level staff, with no direct evidence tying the attack back to an Assad insider or even a senior Syrian commander, the officials said.
So while Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that it was “undeniable,” a chemical weapons attack had occurred, and that it was carried out by the Syrian military, U.S. intelligence officials are not so certain that the suspected chemical attack was carried out on Assad’s orders. Some have even talked about the possibility that rebels could have carried out the attack in a callous and calculated attempt to draw the West into the war. That suspicion was not included in the official intelligence report, according to the official who described the report.
...
Wednesday, Dec 07, 2005
Talks about Syria’s future show
differences between Israel, U.S.
JTA -- December 6, 2005
Insurgents plotted in Syria, U.S. says
AP via London Times
Saturday, May 29, 2004
Syria Comment
Thoughts on Syrian politics, history and religion.