FOR NOW
No U.S. Boots On The Ground In Syria
Drone Commander-in-Chief speaks at a press conference in Costa Rica on Friday, May 3.
As a general rule, I don't rule things out as commander in chief because circumstances change and you want to make sure that I always have the full power of the United States at our disposal to meet American national security interests.
Having said that, I do not foresee a scenario in which boots on the ground in Syria, American boots on the ground in Syria, would not only be good for America, but also would be good for Syria.
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Further Reading From Today's NY Times
Obama's Vow On Chemical Weapons Puts Him In A Tough Spot
'If Assad Drops Sarin On His Own People, What’s That Got Do Do With Us?'
Obama got ahead of himself and his advisers last year when he said that Syria using chemical weapons would cross a "red line." The origins of this dilemma can be traced in large part to a weekend last August, when alarming intelligence reports suggested the besieged Syrian government might be preparing to use chemical weapons. After months of keeping a distance from the conflict, Mr. Obama felt he had to become more directly engaged.
Now, confronted with evidence that chemical weapons have been used in Syria, President Obama finds himself in a geopolitical box, his credibility at stake with few good options.
An unnamed senior Obama official tells the Times:
How can we attack another country unless it’s in self-defense and with no Security Council resolution? If he drops sarin on his own people, what’s that got to do with us?
Photo from the official Facebook page of President Assad.
Syria’s leader, Bashar al-Assad, right, surrounded by bodyguards on Saturday in Damascus for the inauguration of a statue dedicated to university “martyrs” who were killed in the country’s civil war, in an image released on his official Facebook page.