What should we be doing about Syria?

[Grace62]

The Pentagon is weighing options.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb...ia-killing

[Carnos Jax]

What we should be doing versus what we can do are two different things, which historically have been determined by the effort required as well as the benefits gained (and I'm speaking in very cold technical terms here). Unfortunately we will be able to do nothing here (as compared to previous military interventions).

[rjmacs]

Who's "we"?

[Grace62]

rjmacs wrote:
Who's "we"?

The United States.

[rjmacs]

Gotta love the quote from this guy:

John McCain wrote:
We should start considering … arming the opposition. The blood-letting has got to stop.

Arming people always cuts down on the blood-letting.

There is a responsibility to protect civilians from state-sponsored killing. However, unilateral action is unlikely to be effective. I'd counsel close cooperation with NATO allies and the Arab League to provide humanitarian support and look at the feasibility of stopping Assad's forces from killing innocents. From all i've read so far, that's a lot easier said than done.

[Carnos Jax]

Grace62 wrote:
[quote=rjmacs]
Who's "we"?

The United States.
The way I look at it is anyone who's interested in stopping it.

[hal]

I do not have an answer...

This could be far worse than Iraq. Sh!t has hit the fan a long time ago.

Forget about anything similar to a UN backed alliance - the UN is gonna sit this one out with both Russia and China blocking any involvement.

So if we do it, we do it alone.

Seems to me like things have to get a whole lot worse before anyone gets involved.

I have to go with 'Nothing - let it play out' since there are no other options...

[Pops]

rjmacs wrote:
There is a responsibility to protect civilians from state-sponsored killing.

Whose responsibility? Whose citizens?

[OWC Jamie]

A couple drone fly-bys over their aspirin factories will straighten them right out.

[Chakravartin]

The calls for Washington to act more decisively have also strengthened after Russia and China vetoed a UN security council resolution intended to ratchet up international pressure by calling on Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, to resign.

The next proposal should be for UN Peacekeepers.