re: #54 b.d.

Not just yet. I’m really thinking that the President is going to wait and see if he can get UN support.

It’s not surprising France is again taking the lead here given their historical ties to the region (they were the colonial power in the Levant - Lebanon and Syria). With Turkey now lining up against Assad, the rest of the regional powers are going to show their hands too.

Assad will have to be held accountable (and should be held accountable) for his use of chemical weapons, and that the British parliament ruled against action shows that the CWC and other international law against the use of chemical weapons and targeting civilians, it shows that countries simply couldn’t care less about massive violations of international law or human rights unless their own interests are involved. The UN is powerless to act so long as the Russians or Chinese backstop Assad. The other Middle Eastern countries aren’t in a position to act (Egypt and Iraq are racked by its own issues, Jordan lacks sufficient military force, Saudis and Iran are more than content to let proxies do their bidding, and Turkey isn’t ready to act, though they’ve been directly affected by all the refugees streaming their way).

Failing to act now will give Assad the license to engage in still more use of the chemical weapons having seen that he can act with impunity. How many more people will have to die at the hands of this despot using chemical weapons?

Action shouldn’t come from the US (or US and France alone). The UN should suit up and indicate an intention to deal with those regimes that have no problem gassing their own citizens into submission.