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Obama Reportedly Ready To Order The Start Of Syrian Military Campaign

President_Barack_Obama300px-Tomahawk_Block_IV_cruise_missile_-crop-1President Barack Obama appears poised to take the country into yet another military campaign, according to the Washington Post. With critics mocking him over his repeated references to “red lines” in warning Syria, Obama seems to feel compelled to now act even if it could result in an expansion of the war. He is reportedly considering a two-day cruise missile and bomber campaign to hit targets unrelated to the chemical weapons of the country. It will cost hundreds of millions at a minimum, but we appear now to be at perpetual war even as we cancel key environmental, educational, and scientific programs (including program cuts this week).


The campaign seems to be the result of public line drawing and face saving. Obama said early on that he would not stand for the use of chemical weapons. That was apparently ignored and now the U.S. must act to fulfill the threat. The question is why the United States must remain in a perpetual war footing to enforce such demands. China continues to avoid such military action and then in countries like Iraq, China comes in after we spend hundreds of billions to seize assets and contracts.

We clearly need to act in the wake of this chemical attack. However, given the recent disclosure our tacit approval of the use of chemical weapons by Saddam Hussein against Iran, we look hypocritical in using the weapons as the reason for a further entry into the Syrian civil war. If the world is unwilling to punish Syria through the United Nations, the question is whether we should continue to enforce our demands through military action.

Even before the U.N. report, Secretary of State John F. Kerry has already announced that the use of chemical weapons is now ā€œundeniable.ā€ Combined with Obama’s earlier “redline” ultimatum, that announcement would seem to commit the U.S. to once again launch large-scale military operations.

I previously represented members of Congress in challenging Obama’s intervention in the Libyan civil war without a declaration from Congress. In the case, President Obama insisted that he alone determines what is a war and therefore when he needs a declaration. Since the court would not recognize standing to challenge the war, it left Obama free to engage in war operations in any country of his choosing.

We all share the outrage over the use of chemical weapons and the need to seek sanctions. However, no one seriously believes that destroying facilities for a couple days is going to materially change anything in the country. It reminds some of Clinton attacking largely empty tents in Afghanistan with 70 Tomahawk missiles. These attacks will clearly have a greater impact than Clinton’s destruction of tents at the cost of over a $100 million. However, the question is what we expect to be achieved beyond sending the message that we are not to be mocked or ignored. With the long lead into the attacks, Syria has likely taking efforts to prepare for the attack and moved around assets. The danger is that we will cause an expansion of the conflict and push Russia and China to even greater support for Syria.

What do you think?

144 thoughts on “Obama Reportedly Ready To Order The Start Of Syrian Military Campaign”

  1. Civil War Surgery in Syria

    Soulless ghouls gloating:
    “We have got to hit someone!”
    So Tom Friedman says

    Michael Murry, “The Misfortune Teller”

  2. As President Eisenhower would caution: “Don’t just do something. Stand there.”

    The United States has no justification whatsoever for intervening in yet another Middle-Eastern civil war. President Obama made a stupid, unforced error when he basically ordered the regime in Syria to depart. When it didn’t obey him, he took that as a personal affront, a pattern of personalizing public policy that has lost him much credibility at home and abroad. He now finds himself at war with his own past foolishness and mendacity. He cannot win lost respect by acting even more foolishly again, although he seems obstinately to assume that he can.

    And when this “surgical” strike (think Civil War surgery) fails to accomplish anything but the expenditure of munitions and deaths among the Syrian population — with perhaps some Russian military personnel thrown in for bad measure — and what happens then? How will President Obama answer the the “too-little-too-late” chorus of criticism that will then assail him from the armchair semi-warriors who goaded him into making the error in the first place?

    This man cannot play one-dimensional checkers, let alone eleven-dimensional chess.

  3. Wouldn’t it be prudent to wait and see what the UN inspectors say about this chemical weapons attack and use that as our basis for action or inaction? Shouldn’t Congress be in on this with both feet? Man, this is deja vu all over again.

  5. Next on the list is Iran.

    Hillary will probaly do that one.

    They are saving it for her birthday present.

  6. As I wrote in 2009:

    Next stops: … Syria … In my opinion the best chance to stop these crimes is for Russia and/or China to take the other side.

    From Democracy Now:

  7. Mike A.,

    Naturally. Nothing draws attention from domestic scandals like a war.

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  9. Relax, conspiracy theorists. It’s only a military campaign. O feels obliged to help out those al Queda fighters the U.S. has been supporting.

  10. I didn’t see it coming. I am not surprised, but I didn’t see it coming. Maybe Obama is just trying to distract everybody from the NSA and other scandals. I would not be surprised to hear him, or one of his spokesmen claim that the NSA snooping is how they discovered this heinous act.

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

  11. Ron. Well said. Many Syrians seem about to die because of President Obama’s thin-skinned ego. Bad enough having Mad Dog John McCain goading him into bombing some Muslims that McCain couldn’t care less about, but having former President Bill Clinton publicly calling him a pussy — or “wus,” in Clinton-speak — only makes Obama’s adolescent testosterone boil the quicker. He’ll show them!

  14. Norm Asked:

    “My only question is: under what authority will the proposed action be taken?”
    ~+~

    115 years ago, the authority to do so was under Rule 303 (.303 Lee-Enfield Rifle), now the law has been superceded by Rule BGM-109 (Tomahawk Missile)

  16. Or maybe, Obama is just making an innocent mistake???

    Dear Mr. President:

    How are you? Fine I hope. I analyzed those samples you sent me from Syria, and I can definitely say that it was NERVE GAS!!! Plus, my analysis shows that President Assad’s fingerprints and DNA are all over the shell casings!

    I am proud to have been of service to you! Plus, is that little job thingy with the DHS still open? Because I have had few difficulties and I may need to move somewhere else pretty quickly.

    Your obedient servant,

    Annie Dookhan,
    President
    Chemistry Done YOUR Way, LLC

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

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