I don't care about the plight of the Syrian people. Frankly, I think we should let them suffer. But Obama and Power do care.
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If we insist on intervening in Syria to save people, that presents a valuable opportunity to do other things. Like degrade IRGC leadership.
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Obama will probably not seek authorization from Congress. If that happens, I can only hope the mandate is as expansive as possible.
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@AbeSilberstein decision to resort to prompt global strike vs precision strike w drones is classic Obama. -
@robertcaruso why are you in favor of Syrian people suffering? -
@AbeSilberstein Obama doesn't have a whole lot of choices here. His base is infatuated with drones, but they're less than useless in SY. -
@AbeSilberstein this was always my problem with Drone Fever, like we just saw in Yemen: it's not enough. Real enemies, like Iran, have EW. -
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@AbeSilberstein you could never prosecute a campaign against IRGC with drones. No matter what anyone says, that may be necessary in Syria. -
@AbeSilberstein a picture for you: US dismantles Assad's C2. Does regime still have a advantage? Can they strike Turkey, Jordan? Yes & yes. -
@AbeSilberstein precisely, Obama is making a political decision but neither Iran and Assad care about limits we impose on ourselves. -
@AbeSilberstein@robertcaruso Cred is the worst reason I have ever seen for increase in Syrian involvement. -
@AbeSilberstein my point, which I know you see already, is our feelings about fighting Iran are irrelevant. That's a decision Iran will make -
@AbeSilberstein Assad depends on Iran for support. We don't get to make idealistic choices. -
@AbeSilberstein Intervention doesn't mean 'what Obama and Power want'. It means whatever Syria & Iran want to make it. That's reality. -
@AbeSilberstein I'm not a warmonger or anything of the sort, there's just idealism and reality. Like most things, it's clear cut. -
@AbeSilberstein we elected Obama--twice. Clearly the citizenry believes he will make good decisions. But with SY, that remains to be seen. -
@AbeSilberstein let's say the US has decided a few missiles & a NFZ are the extent of our involvement. Okay. We don't get to choose. -
@AbeSilberstein there are a lot of nightmare scenarios, among them personnel recovery of a pilot or pilots, plural, and retaliatory attacks. -
@AbeSilberstein well of course. For all of his real or perceived faults, he's a career military officer with his own considerations. -
@AbeSilberstein the New York Times was kind enough to show that is exactly what the administration intends to do: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/world/air-war-in-kosovo-seen-as-precedent-in-possible-response-to-syria-chemical-attack.html?hp&_r=0 …