Doing something to be credited for doing something strikes me as what’s driving the Obama administration’s lurch toward initiating military hostilities with Syria. Even if the administration provides hard proof that Assad ordered the use of nerve gas, that in itself is not sufficient justification for American military intervention in a domestic conflict between a murderous government and murderous Islamist insurgents. It’s hard to understand how a man ruthless enough to loose nerve gas on his own citizens would be intimidated by a few cruise missiles and GPS guided bombs.
Moreover, American military action in Syria has the potential to ignite more regional conflict in the Middle East. Iran says that it will attack Israel if we attack Syria. That’s probably bully-boy bluster, but it can’t be entirely disregarded as such.
As for me, I’m weary of wars in Islamic lands. Let’s hold our fire and let the Syrians settle their own affairs regardless of how much blood they spill. What’s happening there is reprehensible, but it’s their affair, not ours.