Ok, tkc. Here we part ways.
The thing that makes a Syrian strike worth doing is if it does something worthwhile for Syria.
This isn't about the US. Syria isn't an adjunct to the US' image of itself.
Far as I can tell, there is no value to a missile strike against Syria that helps with the Syrian crisis. Indeed, it will be seen by locals as yet another assertion of US power in a region which is clearly sick of it - witness Egypt.
But the US can win by seeming to be judicious. By seeming to care about human life. By seeming less than eager to use force.
A military strike does nothing except impress those people who define US strength as a military thing. And who don't notice that the expression of US power has actually decayed US influence for the last decade and more.
The US will gain enormously from adopting the accidental Kerry/Russian approach. Remove the chemical weapons. Then figure the proper legal action when the time comes. That is strength and leadership. Lobbing bombs from the Mediterranean while avoiding any risk to a ground force - that's not leadership. It sure isn't bravery. It's the worst sort of politics designed to save face because O made the mistake of drawing a pointless line.
It was his own mistake. He needs to swallow it. Putin has offered him a pathway.
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