Did I just stop by DU and find people PUSHING for war against Syria?

[MADem]

67. You do realize that war planning is what they do at the Pentagon, each and every day?

The job of the different country desks is to plan for war and hope like hell for peace. We have contingency plans for every country in the world, and most of the major countries in the world do likewise. It's why we play war games, not just "table toppers" but real ones, where we practice coordinating with our allies and sometimes have a few folks play the enemy.

You can't be good at the business of war if you don't practice; even as most uniformed personnel would prefer to not put their knowledge to work.

If Obama was serious about wanting to play the regime change game, with the boots on the ground and surrounded by a bunch of asshole factions that are unknowable and unreadable, the time to have done that is BEFORE this drawdown was initiated.

And you seem to just want to gloss over the fact that no surgical strike will happen without a determination as to who did the gassing. That's why the UN needs to get in there and figure that piece out. The US may have intel in that regard, but a UN team is going to have to find a way to confirm it.

A surgical strike on a bunker full of chemical--and maybe other--weapons isn't "going to war." It is a limited response to a violation of the Geneva Conventions, and will only be undertaken with concurrence from the UN. If we act, we won't be acting as "the United States of America," we
will be acting as agents for the UN.

You don't let people use chemical weapons without a response, if you know about it contemporaneously and can prevent continued use. You just don't.