Experts Fear U.S. Plan to Strike Syria Overlooks Risks
By ANNE BARNARD and ALISSA J. RUBIN
Published: August 30, 2013
BEIRUT, Lebanon President Obama says he is considering a limited, narrow military strike against Syria an aim that many Middle East experts fear overlooks the potential to worsen the violence in Syria and intensify a fight for regional influence between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Supporters of the presidents proposal contend that a limited punitive strike can be carried out without inflaming an already volatile situation. But a number of diplomats and other experts say it fails to adequately plan for a range of unintended consequences, from a surge in anti-Americanism that could bolster Syrias president, Bashar al-Assad, to a wider regional conflict that could drag in other countries, including Israel and Turkey.
Our biggest problem is ignorance; were pretty ignorant about Syria, said Ryan C. Crocker, a former ambassador to Syria and Lebanon, who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan and is dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University.
The American strike could hit President Assads military without fundamentally changing the dynamic in a stalemated civil war that has already left more than 100,000 people dead. At the same time, few expect that a barrage of cruise missiles would prompt either side to work in earnest for a political settlement. Given that, the skeptics say it may not be worth the risks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/31/world/middleeast/experts-fear-us-plan-to-strike-syria-overlooks-risks.html?_r=0