Barack Obama and Syria

Last night,  President Barack Obama addressed the nation regarding Syria and its stash of chemical weapons. After going back and forth between a military strike and letting diplomacy win the day, the President said he was willing to try diplomacy but left the option of military action open in case peaceful attempts failed.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel referred to the "Diplomacy First" course of action, telling a Congressional Committee, "For this diplomatic option to have a chance at succeeding, the threat of a U.S. military action, the credible, real threat of U.S. military action, must continue."

Americans have been quick to attack the President's course of action and, in some cases, inaction. They have been quick to call the President weak and indecisive. Some in Obama's own party are having a difficult time supporting him. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) has said, "The effects of a strike are too unpredictable... I believe we must give diplomatic measures that could avoid military action a chance to work."  Representative James Langevin (D-RI) has also expressed concern, primarily with retaliation from Iran and Russia.

The President has plenty to think about. He doesn't want to allow a dictator to murder innocent people but he also doesn't want to turn the situation into another fiasco like Iraq when President George W. Bush told the world Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and the world needed to act. The result was a power vacuum in Iraq, threats of Al Qaeda infiltration, and no such weapons found.

These disasters were undoubtedly on the minds of British Parliament members when they voted to oppose Prime Minister David Cameron's measure to assist the United States if the situation in Syria led to a military strike. Parliament did not want a repeat of events that started more than eight years ago.

President Obama is walking a fine line and, no matter what he does, he will be attacked by opponents. If he chooses to enter Syria, he will be a "Warmonger" and the United States will be the World's Police again. If he sits back and waits for events to unfold, he will be weak and indecisive.
The truth is this: The United States and the world learned hard lessons from going into Iraq years ago and those lessons are playing themselves out now.