Through his latest action, calling for a vote of Congress on a strike against the Assad regime – but not trying to make it happen quickly – Obama has crystallized the Syria dilemma to the fullest extent.
It is no longer necessary to predict that failure to make good on his promise about a “red line” will be fatal to American credibility. The die is cast. We have reached the limit of fate’s tolerance for indecision, and the verdict is in: Obama, and the West, couldn’t handle this one.
But hold that thought for a moment – call it the rock in this scenario – and let us consider the hard place, which has its own argument to make. Those who have continued to press for a military response in Syria seem not to understand that the situation of the U.S. military is severely compromised, due to the very real effects of not spending on readiness. We literally do not have the forces available to expand on any limited strikes we might undertake. Continue reading “Rock, hard place, Syria”