It's being reported in some circles the Obama administration is gearing up for a limited airstrike on the Assad regime and to impose a no-fly zone to curtail the Syrian Air Force. Pressure is building on the Obama administration to take action as the mass killings continue. General Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, warned in May that Syria could face armed intervention as international outrage grows over the massacres of Syrian women and children. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said he does not see the United States taking
military action in Syria without the backing of a UN Security Council
resolution and there is doubt Russia and China would allow such a resolution to pass.
Political calculations must be considered since Obama is in heat of a re-election campaign. If the mainsteam media would have covered Obama's Libyan intervention, like they would have if a Republican President had done the same, it would be pointed out that mission was a failure. Obama can claim that he lead from behind and helped oust Dictator Muamar Gaddafi, but he would be remiss not to mention the low level civil war that now consumes Libya and their many factions. He would also be remiss not to mention the many anti-aircraft missiles and other weapons that were looted from Libyan stockpiles. The weapons in question will be used against Israel by Hamas and Hezbollah in any future hostilities. Some of the looted rockets have already been used against Israel last October by Hamas resulting in the death of at least one Israeli.
If Assad is toppled by a limited military intervention the chances are high chemical weapons, Scud missiles and other Russian weaponry will be looted by Muslim fanatics. Assad may also choose to release stores of weapons to Hezbollah during an attack on his regime, only to be used against Israel. Limited air strikes may suppress the roving murderous Syrian army, but unless we get boots on the ground and take control of their weapon stockpiles, then these dangerous weapons will end up in the hands of Israel's enemies. There is little evidence Obama or the international community has the appetite for the military intervention required to make such a mission a long term success. These likely scenarios have most certainly been debated ad nauseam in the White House, but there is no telling what a President will do to cling to power, whether that President is Obama or Assad.
Political calculations must be considered since Obama is in heat of a re-election campaign. If the mainsteam media would have covered Obama's Libyan intervention, like they would have if a Republican President had done the same, it would be pointed out that mission was a failure. Obama can claim that he lead from behind and helped oust Dictator Muamar Gaddafi, but he would be remiss not to mention the low level civil war that now consumes Libya and their many factions. He would also be remiss not to mention the many anti-aircraft missiles and other weapons that were looted from Libyan stockpiles. The weapons in question will be used against Israel by Hamas and Hezbollah in any future hostilities. Some of the looted rockets have already been used against Israel last October by Hamas resulting in the death of at least one Israeli.
If Assad is toppled by a limited military intervention the chances are high chemical weapons, Scud missiles and other Russian weaponry will be looted by Muslim fanatics. Assad may also choose to release stores of weapons to Hezbollah during an attack on his regime, only to be used against Israel. Limited air strikes may suppress the roving murderous Syrian army, but unless we get boots on the ground and take control of their weapon stockpiles, then these dangerous weapons will end up in the hands of Israel's enemies. There is little evidence Obama or the international community has the appetite for the military intervention required to make such a mission a long term success. These likely scenarios have most certainly been debated ad nauseam in the White House, but there is no telling what a President will do to cling to power, whether that President is Obama or Assad.
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