Obama: "I didn't set a red line"

[Ibanez]

Then the President should stop hiding behind the words I quoted...he should come out with a message as clear and concise as the senator from Florida...

Which senator from Florida?

Spoiler: show

Rep. Menendez is from Jersey, btw.

[Col Hogan]

Then the President should stop hiding behind the words I quoted...he should come out with a message as clear and concise as the senator from Florida...

Which senator from Florida?

Spoiler: show

Rep. Menendez is from Jersey, btw.

My bad on the state...

but your bad on the rank. Menendez is a Senator...

[Ibanez]

Which senator from Florida?

Spoiler: show

Rep. Menendez is from Jersey, btw.

My bad on the state...

but your bad on the rank. Menendez is a Senator...

You saw a Hispanic name and assumed Florida, didn't ya?

Yeah, I got him confused with Rep. Menendez from Texas.

[CID1990]

I see two things here.

First, there has been little publicly shared evidence that the gas attack was done by the Syrian government. Plus, it makes no sense. Assad has had the upper hand on the rebels for a few months now, Hezboallah is helping him out with Iranian backing. Why use gas now?

On the other hand, the rebels have openly admitted that they had poison gas at least in small quantities, and the profile is a lot like Sarin if not the real deal. Plus, the rebels are 1) losing and 2) Islamist animals. I'd say without any evidence to the contrary, it would not surprise me if they were the ones that used the gas. In fact I would say it is more likely than not.

The other thing that comes to mind is out strategery... the children have been brought up as usual. Dead children make great rallying points when we want to do some fightin, but if the children (who are brought up in every. single. news. report. about the gas attack) are who we are looking to protect, then why would we willingly do something that would prolong the war? Iran is not going to allow Assad to lose and be replaced with a Sunni fanatic regime or another failed state (like the one we created in Libya). So if we weaken Assad, we prolong the war and "the poor children" will continue to die.

If we do nothing, Assad will crush most of the rebellion within 6 months, and the poor little children (Jesus loves them for the Bible tells us so) will stop dying.

So I don't buy the humanitarian angle here. Anyone with half a brain knows that the best option is to let Assad finish the rebels. In the end, less people are going to die if Assad wins. Plus, tyrant or not, him being in the big chair is more in our interest than the alternative. Imagine having a failed state with ten times the weaponry of Libya right on the borders with Israel and Turkey.

Something isn't right here, and I'm not yet prepared to just write it off to monumental stupidity (though that might well be what it is).

[JohnStOnge]

I'm glad somebody posted on this. This guy is hopeless. I know I'm biased. But good GRIEF. I have NEVER seen someone in that office avoid responsibility to the extent that this guy does. What a total "fail" this guy is.

I will be SO glad when we have a grown up in the White House again. Well, maybe I won't be THAT glad if it's a Democrat. But PLEASE give us a grown up in the position.

[YoUDeeMan]

I see two things here.

First, there has been little publicly shared evidence that the gas attack was done by the Syrian government. Plus, it makes no sense. Assad has had the upper hand on the rebels for a few months now, Hezboallah is helping him out with Iranian backing. Why use gas now?

On the other hand, the rebels have openly admitted that they had poison gas at least in small quantities, and the profile is a lot like Sarin if not the real deal. Plus, the rebels are 1) losing and 2) Islamist animals. I'd say without any evidence to the contrary, it would not surprise me if they were the ones that used the gas. In fact I would say it is more likely than not.

The other thing that comes to mind is out strategery... the children have been brought up as usual. Dead children make great rallying points when we want to do some fightin, but if the children (who are brought up in every. single. news. report. about the gas attack) are who we are looking to protect, then why would we willingly do something that would prolong the war? Iran is not going to allow Assad to lose and be replaced with a Sunni fanatic regime or another failed state (like the one we created in Libya). So if we weaken Assad, we prolong the war and "the poor children" will continue to die.

If we do nothing, Assad will crush most of the rebellion within 6 months, and the poor little children (Jesus loves them for the Bible tells us so) will stop dying.

So I don't buy the humanitarian angle here. Anyone with half a brain knows that the best option is to let Assad finish the rebels. In the end, less people are going to die if Assad wins. Plus, tyrant or not, him being in the big chair is more in our interest than the alternative. Imagine having a failed state with ten times the weaponry of Libya right on the borders with Israel and Turkey.

Something isn't right here, and I'm not yet prepared to just write it off to monumental stupidity (though that might well be what it is).

Something is very wrong here...and it is a g-damned shame that most people are sheeple and probably will allow our government to continue on a path towards intervening in Syria. People should be contacting their Senators and Congressman and tell them their jobs are history if we don't stop screwing around in third world Muslin sh!tholes instead of focusing, and resolving, on our issues at home.

You might not like Assange and/or Snowden, but WE, as a people, need to know what the hell our government is up to because it doesn't matter if it is a Dem or a Rep in charge, NONE of them have our best interest in mind.

I'm not expandos, but it is increasingly clear that our government is controlled by a bunch of whack jobs that have no intention of doing the right thing.

[HI54UNI]

Rand Paul may filibuster to slow this down.

[93henfan]

and the poor little children (Jesus loves them for the Bible tells us so)

That whole post was pure gold, but that part made me laugh painfully.

[TheDancinMonarch]

... but WE, as a people, need to know what the hell our government is up to because it doesn't matter if it is a Dem or a Rep in charge, NONE of them have our best interest in mind.

Amen brother!

[ASUMountaineer]

Syrians killed by chemical weapons: ~1,500
Syrians killed by conventional weapons: ~101,000

Where exactly is this red line?

Who knows...all I know is that the logic is, "We need to kill Syrians to show Syria that killing Syrians is wrong...well, only wrong if you use chemical weapons, conventional weapons are well within the line."

Our administration and Congress are nothing more than a laughing stock. This is depressing.

[LeadBolt]

Obama wants to intervene in Syria because of the history of success the USA has in getting involved in conflicts in the Middle East and all of the friends we have made doing so...

[Ibanez]

[Pwns]

I'm not sure I'm convinced the rebels gassed those people near Damascus, but I'm still trying to figure out what we are wanting to accomplish over there.

All I'm hearing is "blah blah blah dead children blah blah blah chemical weapons blah blah blah send a message blah blah blah dead children". Make the case for prolonging that war where more children and civilians will surely die and will make it harder for Syria to fight Islamocrazies who want to take over that government.

[93henfan]

The NY Times publishing photos of rebels summarily executing 7 captured Syrian soldiers is not helping Obama's case at all.

I am writing to my three Virginia congresspeople today to tell them not to touch this with a 6,750 mile pole.

[Ivytalk]

The NY Times publishing photos of rebels summarily executing 7 captured Syrian soldiers is not helping Obama's case at all.

I am writing to my three Virginia congresspeople today to tell them not to touch this with a 6,750 mile pole.

Even a 6.93 mile pole.