Every point is wrong except #8 true the american people are against it - but they were against Iraq until we did and then all of a sudden they were for it out of some idiotic sense of support the troops, the american people are for letting the government spy on them and read their emails IF it keeps them safe from so called terrorists, they american people elected Bush an idiot who ignored warnings about 9/11 and used it as an EXCUSE to invade Iraq because he thought his father was a wimp. I wouldn't spend a lot time worrying about what the american people oppose it will change as soon as Faux news decides what they are going to think this week.

1) no war except WWII has been legal - there has been no formal declaration of war by congress for any of these so called interventions.
2) if done right the only way to stop the further use of chemical weapons is to target delivery systems missiles, air fields , all air capability- that will greatly weaken the Assad regime and bring an end to his ability to wage war
3) doing nothing will lead to death and destruction- have you not noticed how many died in Syria until now? So your choice either way is death and destruction though I guess you think if you do nothing that is somehow ok.
4) who cares - what a president did in the past and all our previous mistakes don't justify doing nothing now.
5) not a chance - if the amount of money we spend on the military is really worth it we have the capability to take out every important facility he has. And if we can't then we need to know that now before we rely of them to protect us from a bigger threat.
6) just more excuses to do nothing Assad is a bully who is beating up on a weakling we either stand by and watch him do it and pretend we tried to reason with him or we stop him and stand up for the little guy. Bosnia was the right thing to do and lo and behold our military interference did bring an end to the the war there.
7) we are not isolated - France supports a strike, Turkey , Saudi Arabia and a number of others - problem is you listen to the media and they don't count all of those guys. Besides leadership is standing up even when others want to cower in their boots and take the easy way and do nothing.

al qaeda is the so-called rebel force in syria..we are still at war with al qaeda there assisting al qaeda is treason...we are witnessing a bi-partisan commission of treason...constitution is meaningless

Because we do little of anything else now America now pushes other countries around to make sure oil is traded in dollars. Other countries have caught on to how this pays for their own entrapment and want out. By buying oil in dollars they pay for the military that will surround them.
Our leaders are corrupted by this and no one on the horizon of American politics seems ready to break this way of doing things, which is breaking us.

The article skilfully mixes conclusive facts with conjectures. There is no affirmative fact that the Assad government used chemical weapons. It's possible that the information is just a fabrication by the US government in support of the opposition forces within Syria since this information remains classified and not even members of the US Congress with security clearance are able to see the incriminating evidence.

Not important who did it, WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THAT THEY ARE DOING THAT! (gassing children and women)
And we have a dilemma:
1. smack "both" sides real hard
2. watch that shit happening over and over
Neville Chamberlain

You mean they should have been given a choice with respect to the chemical that killed them. White phosphorous is less deadly than Sarin gas which is what they are conjecturing killed the Syrian civilians? Hmm, the dead Syrians might have been better off surviving and developing cancers at a later stage and/or giving birth to deformed children. What a pity that the did not survive so we could look upon their slow death from the cancers that the Palestinians and Iraqi men, women and children now die from.

By '"both" sides real hard', I hope you are including the USA, Canada, NATO, Israel, & Saudi manufacturers, foreign extractive resource companies, security-forces, armies, governments & citizens in almost certain implication not just in Syria but worldwide (arming over 80 countries presently for destabilization). https://sites.google.com/si...

Engage your own community to make sure that; your national economy is not making, selling, distributing or employing chemical, biological, radioactive, munitions & arms. Get a grip on your hates & supposed moral outrage & do something positive in the world! https://sites.google.com/si...

Only 8 arguments? The author isn't very imaginative.
One of the arguments for war was Sen. McCain's view it was catastrophic if we didn't back up Bathhouse Barry's ill thought of red line and other arguments of a year ago, i. e., if we didn't back him, it would make us look weak. Why not do this? Have Congress ask for his resignation based on the stupidity of involving us in needless commitments due to blab? That message would last for 100 years. Or why not move to recall McCain from office due to the stupidity of his wanting the mistake made twice?

I would like to do my best to lay the facts out about this issue, so we
can deal with it as it is, and not as it is spun to be by most of the
main stream media. For years, the Qataris and the Saudis have lobbied
Syria to let them build a pipeline through Syria to the eastern Mediterranean
so they can sell their oil and natural gas to Europe. This would be in
direct competition with Russia's Gazprom. Syria has been Russia's ally
for many years, and Assad has honored that alliance and for his sins, he
has been visited with a Saudi/Qatari/US/UK/Israeli sponsored "rebel
uprising".

Read more about it here:
http://www.theguardian.com/...

and here:
http://theeconomiccollapseb...

We are being asked to be dumb and distracted enough to let the corporate
and cabal interests involved use your tax dollars and troops to do their
dirty work for them and force Assad out, so they can put in a
cooperative puppet and get their pipeline built. If you don't want to be
a tool in this scenario, then make sure and tell everyone you know to
put pressure on the US Congress to stop this blatant fascist play.

If we really want to help the Syrian people, and I believe most of us do,
then we need to tell our respective governments to stop funding Al Qaeda
to fight Assad. You are paying the bills now, and if you stop, the Syrian people will be immediately better off.

On top of all this our pals John Kerry and Chuck Hagel are taking a
pre-emptory victory lap around the middle east for a 25 billion dollar
arms deal package that is in payment for their part in dragging the US
into this Syrian quagmire. Will we awaken in time to stop them?

http://www.reuters.com/arti...

http://www.bloomberg.com/ne...

http://www.defensenews.com/...

http://www.globalissues.org...

Thank you for your time and attention.

This internet thing, hey, it's working like it has for the past 20 years -- plenty of enmity and raw expression. Meanwhile Rome's burning. Anyone got a fiddle? Yeah, Israel is a key ingredient to the overall discussion but in this case mainly on a secondary basis. Granted, after a few days of missiles, and maybe it's the headliner. Until then there's other fish to fry.
The piece provides ample justification for keeping the missiles for a rainy day, but why does such a commonsensical argument have to be made in the first place? Because there's such an appetite for it? Not really. Because it's going to be influential enough to sway the chosen few who are moved by K St., political expediency, profiteering, and the ration of Kool Aid routinely distributed by Neocons? Not on your life. Nearly every legislator defending the action as well as every one attacking it are involved in the ancient art of sophistry, and could if the rewards were sufficient switch their view at the drop of a hat, or, more likely, a sizable campaign contribution. Really, is there amongst the bunch of them one Mr. Smith? Perhaps, but there certainly aren't ten, huh Mr. Capra?
So while the great unwashed call their reps and dutifully argue this matter, Wall St. has already bet on the manufacturing of new missiles, that Iran desperate for income will not shut down the Strait of Hormuz, and that when the smoke clears, the dollar will be even stronger. Let's face it, liberals, humanists, left wingers, or whatever this group is that aims for a wiser and more peaceful world, we're essentially pissing in the wind, and covered with blowback. Change we can believe in? Now merely a motto for the Museum of Lost Ideals. How far we've come; the community organizer with a glint in his eye talking about a red line like he's in a spaghetti Western, and then a few months later claiming that the world created that line. That's not intellectual dexterity; that's a lack of integrity. No wonder he turned gray in a year!
Is this jaded? Cynical? Or simply reportage? Perhaps all three. Unfortunately, we became a designated Empire, as early as '89 but no later than '91. And believing we had the might to do right progressively went out into the world, unlike the clandestine efforts during the Cold War, and implored the great magnitudes to unfasten the shackles, sign up for a plastic card or two, grab a burger, a beer, and a cell phone and join the rising democratic throngs. Give up your repressive regimes. Take to the streets and rattle the cages. Ironically, it was a bunch of Marxist sympathizers like Irving Kristol who turned to the Right, providing the world with Capitalist messiahs like his son William who now preaches the good word.
Other than half-wit partisans, who's following these drummers? Certainly not the Muslims who now are enduring a Sunni/Shia civil war sparked by the Neocons still promising to spread democracy. No, they've learned from history unlike Americans who are going back to the same well. Now, it's for the sake of a good ole dress down; we'll show him, won't we? He'll never use those weapons, invented in the West and once distributed by Uncle Sam himself. Or will he? Who knows?
The Neocons will recognize the following quote but have long forgotten its significance. "Hegel remarks somewhere that all great, historical facts and personages occur as it were, twice. He forgets to add: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce," Karl Marx. Now, it appears we're approaching a third time, and that's just downright pathetic.

TickleMuch777:

The answer will always be NOOOOOOOOOOOOO 2 me! The United States need 2 stop defending other countries when they have problems. We have so many love ones messed up 4 life, and lots of dead men! 4 What! If we strike them then the War will get worst! They will take it as a threat! More innocent people will die! If the other countries don't want 2 join in then why are we? To me the other countries don't want 2 because they are helping with the problems by sending weapons and whatever they need. This is called genocide! I feel if Obama ok it.............It will be 4 the worst! So, PLEASE Mr. President DON'T! Let GOD........We must pray! GOD can make a way out of no way! GOD can make the impossibe, possible! PLEASE Put It In GOD's hands!

In President Obama, I see a good and decent man having to choose from the lesser of evils, and trying to do what's right in difficult circumstances. And we attack him in the process!
We as a country should instead realize how fortunate we are to have a moderate. principled, and reasoned man of conscience at the helm. Can you imagine THIS Congress at the "helm" of ANYTHING??
Perhaps the Congressmen who voted "no" would like to see Sarin attacks become the norm, - a part of "modern warfare" ....and used against us someday?

Good? Decent? Yeah, maybe for the insurance companies when he abadoned single-payer. Snowden has to embarrass him regarding illegal snooping. No president has ever been harder on whistle-blowers. And where's all the decent attempts to lobby Americans to lower the defense budget? Or how about the bankstas who walked away with huge rewards and free QE dough? No Glass-Steagal, not even a meaningful Dodd-Frank, not with the bunch of Goldman insiders at 1600 Penn. Decent? Yeah, if you're buying a Bentley. Good, yeah if playing the role of a bleeding heart liberal while acting like a Neoncon is good. Give him an Oscar for that kind of Good and Decent, but not accolades. And nice try with demonizing Congress; after all every tyrant needs a scapegoat. The fact is he helped elect a few of those worthless reps, and moreover is responsible for leading them. Where's the leadership? Where's the truth? Out? To lunch?

I am not attacking President Obama. I hate WAR! I will neva B4 WAR!

Now the "limited strike" terminology is morphing to "intervention". Oh boy, here we go again.

It would be an Obomba-nation
if Obama bombed another nation!

Spread the word!

One voice that seems to be largely, conspicuously absent in this whole discussion is Hillary Clinton. It kinds of makes sense, since, as that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, she is holding her cards close, in case that whole thing blows up in Obama's face.

Obama threw the liberals under the bus, prior to the 2010 elections, and lost the House to the Republicans because the liberals stayed home. He is poised to do the same thing with the Senate, pushing the War for Empire into Syria, and likely alienating even more liberals.

Although I have to think Hillary is a strong supporter of military action in Syria, being silent on the issue gives her some deniability, should things go wrong, as they likely will.

Astute observation, and one heavy with implications. We call these people leaders, but really, Webster's rolling in his grave. The core problem with contemorary politics is siding with binary choices at the exclusion of fairness. If, in fact, she's against going, she wouldn't make the strategic blunder of admitting it openly. If she's for it, and it goes kaplooey, she risks yet another mark against her. You know she's relieved she doesn't have to do a Kerry run around end, right? That's kismet. Hillary's problem all along has been she's a cunning tactician but a lousy strategist. She's well aware of von Nuemann's Game Theory but doesn't have the vision to see how it impacts the future.
If it's a Lose/Lose -- for the bombing or against the bombing -- she retreats, forgetting she'll have the answer for her omission one day. Like most modern politicians she's hoping people have short memories, or worse, has one herself.

I have a strong feeling things will get worst if the President do the strike! What PpL not realizing is they can bring WAR ova here! Then Wat!

Callimestrol
garbanzo beans
don't fly airways
you mamma!
aspirin doesn't swim the cow
Great!
<<dickerlarge>>?
Oh my god!
4871yh5654

The only reason to bomb Syria would be to stop the civilian mayhem, assuming that it could be done in a clean way and punishing manner against the barbarians. Other than that I can care less and if the decision is to leave Syria to destroy itself, so be it.

Who are we to interfere when "the same people" decides to kill each other? It seems that some UN grouping should be up for such a task.

Obama promises to avoid the chemical weapons and just degrade the Syrian army's normal weapons. With their classical weapons degraded and their chemical weapons spared what weapons will a desperate Asad use?

Excellent question Hugh, excellent!
- The Arab league calls for Assad's punishment
- Putin is pushing reverse and saying (damn, I am laughing so hard, hold a min....damn!) that if the evidence shows that Assad did it, he will consider bombing the bastard. (not that the rebels are any better, no sir!)
- Obi n Putin (sounds like a song, right?) are meeting tomorrow, hmmmm Putin must be Jewish!
- I am fucking tired of the prevailing ignorance

For sure that Assad will use chem weapons again. There's no way to stop an animal like that, and I am not saying this because of the fart, I mean the gas attack of the other day. This MONSTER has cost the lives of more than 120,000 people and the displacement of 5 million (together with the rebels, of course).

It is a bad place and you have no clue how bad that is. Google taqqiya and kitman then let's talk.

Hugh, listen: the mistake everybody makes is to judge Muslims with a western mentality. Until you become immersed into their way of thinking, study their history and negotiate with them over a considerable period of time, you will know nothing.

Been there. Done that.

LATEST NEWS!....LATEST NEWS!
http://www.aljazeera.com/ne...
Arab League urges UN-backed action in Syria

"Arab League foreign ministers have urged the international community and the United Nations to take "deterrent" action against the Syrian regime over its alleged use of chemical weapons.

"The United Nations and the international community are called upon to assume their responsibilities in line with the UN Charter and international law by taking the necessary deterrent measures", the ministers said in a statement on Sunday following a meeting in Cairo.

It said that the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad was "responsible" for the August 21 attack....."

hmmmmmmmm......
(now MF-SHs make a comment....or two)

Yeah!!!!!!

Agree about "brutal religious dictators"!....getting there, slowly getting thereeeee!!!!!.

Now, tell me something Joe (can I call you Joe?):
Assad is what? and his dad was what? what about Maher Assad?

Would you do me a favor? just for me, buddy.... please! (keep it for yourself, no need for anybody to know what you discover, OK?)
Please Google "Maher Assad". There you will find what a democratic and civilized jewel is that guy, the behind-the-scenes executor right hand of his bro. Shhhhhhhh...... OK? Between us.....OK?

PS: Hey you, the rest of the audience: wanna bet that Joe in the Hill will never come back, will not let us know about Maher Assad?
It will be too embarrassing....
Or, I KNOW!!!! Joe will come back and say that Maher Assad is .... a Jew!
That's it! I'm good!

Stephen Zunes, While you are contributing important research, you have a basic underlying disconnected attitude of 'hates' towards Assad perhaps fired by our corporate media sources. You need to connect with people from Syria in order to contrast & compare your condemning world-view. Mimi Al Laham, Syrian Girl is a good objective source giving perspective from both sides. http://www.youtube.com/user...

Your Institutional isolation is mirrored by Obama, Boehner, Cantor & recently Rand Paul (is against intervention but anti-Assad) with such statements as, "No one disputes that Assad is a vile dictator" show incredible immaturity for people who don't look at both-sides of issues before joining their 'gang' & executing war against innocent peoples. Our media won't research pro-Bath or pro-Assad perspectives. Here's a compilation of sources for those who believe in looking at both-sides & truly want peace. https://sites.google.com/si...

There are Dialectic ('both-sided') equal-time, recorded & published dialogue approaches which must become de rigeur in human relations as all humanity understood during our 100s of 1000s of years of 'indigenous' (Latin 'self-generating') peace & prosperity. https://sites.google.com/si...

fakintired Your name implies lying or somehow celebrates lying. In your fake moral outrage do you celebrate US, Canada, NATO, Israel, Saudi war manufacturers & False-Flag war creators. Would you like to consider the evidence of 300 years & 1000 False-Flag events? Do you love your country? COME TO ATTENTION SIR !!!!!!!!

Douglas Jack (ex Douglas Plain), Did you check on the activities of Maher?

Somebody asked below in a cynical way what Israel has contributed to humanity:

http://www.newjewishcongreg...

Too many to list so click the link and shut up.

Sometime check out the list of things that were invented and/or developed in Germany during the Third Reich. A truly amazing list. Despite its many technological developments the Third Reich was an immoral and barbarian state. The same can be said about Israel. Yes, it has developed many technological wonders, but it continues to commit ethnicide against the indigenous Palestinians. What is has done and continues to do speaks so loudly that it is hard to listen to an Israeli supporter's boasts about the accomplishments of the apartheid state.

Man, you are getting me nervous. I insist: buy a ticket, visit Israel then talk. It is insulting even under your own standards to compare Israel to Nazi Germany. I bet that Dub would get mad at your comment. Acknowledge that you were out of whack, common....
There's no way anybody can take that seriously. Of course, normal people.

And, consider this: let's assume that you made a mistake. It happens to everybody. I have an uncle that joined the communist party around 1935. He is still alive. The stubborn old fart stayed put and quit his membership after the wall fell, pissed and angry realizing that he wasted most of his life. Today he is a sour pickle. He is an engineer that had his own electrical company with hundreds of workers, very successful as a professional. What makes people do that?
Hitler thought that he can invade Russia and what happened that he made a mistake? Same as those did and do, you "may" be making an error.
You are not completely wrong, Israel does things that are not wishy-washy only that is like everybody else and not at your emphasis. Think about it...and go visit.

Hamas has finally admitted that it is the Egyptians, and not Israel, who have turned the Gaza Strip into a "big prison."

Ghazi Hamad, a senior official with the Hamas-controlled foreign ministry, was quoted this week as saying that the Gaza Strip has been turned into a "big prison as a result of the continued closure of the Rafah border crossing by the Egyptian authorities since June 30."

Hamad said that since then, the number of Palestinian travelers at the Rafah terminal has dropped from 1,200 to 200 per day.

But this is a story that has not found its way to the pages of mainstream newspapers in the West because it does not in any way "implicate" Israel.

To make matters worse, the Egyptian authorities announced that the Rafah terminal would be completely closed during the four-day Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr, which began on August 8.

Until recently, the charge that the Gaza Strip has been turned into a "big prison" had been made only against Israel, capturing the attention of the mainstream media and human rights organizations around the world.

But now that the charge is being made against Egypt, most international journalists, human rights organizations and even "pro-Palestine" groups, especially at university campuses in the US, Canada and Australia, have chosen to look the other way.

Residents of the Gaza Strip are asking these days: Where are all the foreign solidarity missions that used to visit the Gaza Strip to show support for Hamas and the Palestinian population? Where are all the press, human rights groups, activists?

In July, only two foreign delegations visited the Gaza Strip. By contrast, between January and June this year, about 180 delegations entered the Gaza Strip .

The "pro-Palestine" activists say they are unable to enter the Gaza Strip because of the strict security measures and travel restrictions imposed by the Egyptian authorities.

But why haven't these activists tried to organize another flotilla aid convoy to the Gaza Strip to break the Egyptian blockade?

Why haven't the "pro-Palestine" activists been sent to the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing to voice solidarity with the residents of the "big prison"?

The answer is obvious: First, the activists' main goal is to condemn Israel and hold it solely responsible for the miseries of Palestinians.

The activists do not care about the Palestinians' suffering as much as they are interested in advancing their anti-Israel agenda. They devote most of their energies and efforts to inciting against Israel and rarely have anything good to offer the Palestinians.

Second, the "pro-Palestine" activists know that it would be foolish of them to mess around with the Egyptian army and security forces. The last time foreign nationals tried to stage a peaceful protest on the Egyptian side of the Rafah terminal, the Egyptian authorities did not hesitate to assault and deport many of them from the country.

Similarly, there is a problem with the way the international media is handling the current crisis in the Gaza Strip.

While the Egyptian authorities are tightening the blockade on the Gaza Strip, dozens of trucks loaded with goods and construction material continue to enter the area through the Erez Terminal from Israel.

Just this week, more than 500 truckloads containing a variety of goods and 86 tons of cooking gas were delivered from to the residents of the Gaza Strip through the Erez Terminal.

In the last week of July, 1,378 trucks carrying 37,306 tons of goods entered the Gaza Strip from Israel and a total of 2,203 people crossed through the Erez Terminal.

Since the beginning of the year, nearly 34,000 trucks carrying more than 950,000 tons of goods entered the Gaza Strip through Israel.

The Egyptians, like most Arabs, do not care about the Palestinians. They want the Palestinians to be Israel's problem and to continue relying on handouts from Western countries.

The Arabs do not care if the residents of the Gaza Strip starve to death as long as Israel will be blamed.

So why should any Arab country care at all if the international community and media continue to adopt an ostrich-like attitude toward Egypt's responsibility for the aggravating humanitarian and economic crisis in the Gaza Strip

Goldemburg, This is a wonderful list of achievements. As you may be aware there is deep debate & even divisions within the Jewish community over assessment of these 'achievements' as to 'costs' to the biosphere & to humanity. Considering humans live on a finite planet & biosphere it is particularly important that each step of 'achievement' have deep biosphere & human relation integrity. I hope your support of Israel also includes the support of all peoples worldwide & that you will join in the international discussions taking place.

As you are aware 'colonial' appropriation of resources from 'indigenous' (Latin 'self-generating') peoples is done with a sense of self-righteous superiority & ignorance for the fragmentation from natural science which these acts represent. Ever since Babylonian western expulsion from the Garden of Eden, we've gone in with our 'exogenous' (L 'other-generated') colonial army boots on & destroyed indigenous Polyculture Orchards through ignorance. Biosphere food production is the basis of economy, ecology & stewardship for all species.
https://sites.google.com/si...

You may be aware that the 1900s & subsequent illegal appropriation of lands which Palestinian families had occupied for 1000s of years from others who did not live on these lands was financed by Rothschild money's. The Bank of International Settlement based in colonial beliefs, led by Rothschild bank owning families throughout the world carried out not only the illegal appropriation but as well violent expulsions of people from their homes, which continues to this day at the rate of destruction of 13 Palestinian homes per day. Watch ‘Money Trail’ Rothschild Conspiracy International Banking Cartel &
The Federal Reserve, http://www.youtube.com/watc...

As all humanity is in the process of assessing colonial aggressions not only to humanity's peaceful & productive indigenous peoples but as well to ourselves presently as colonists, then I hope we can forge a successful human collaboration, where all are welcome in community & all voices join our truths together. https://sites.google.com/si...

Ahman, amein, amen!

Sho Ur rite!

Like what evidence?

Webcelt, Here's a compilation of sources for those who believe in looking
at both-sides & truly want peace. https://sites.google.com/si...

There are Dialectic ('both-sided') equal-time, recorded & published
dialogue approaches which must become de rigeur in human relations as all
humanity understood during our 100s of 1000s of years of 'indigenous'
(Latin 'self-generating') peace & prosperity. https://sites.google.com/si...

NO MORE WARS! Continuing Mideast violence enables Israel's pursuit of invulnerability, territorial conquest and racist empire in addition to ever increasing Israeli/Jewish control of America's government, finances and military-industrial complex. The Jewish state has occupied not just Palestine, but America too. Our government is being overthrown from within and our country transformed into a world dominating racist ultra-power, the JEWISH STATE OF AMERICA.

Increasing influence? Hardly an increase from Revolutionary times. The Revolution was, after all, financed by a Mr. Salomon

We have indeed failed to produce economic justice here and globally says Pope Francis. Economic justice delayed is economic justice denied so let's get on with it: HR 129, S 985 and S 1282 to throw those who have taken the constitutionally mandated power of the purse away from the government of the people/ for the people.

Speaking of JFK I saw footage of him describing NAWAPA a project to manage continental water resources. It's not too late!

Honey, don't U know when U Judge others.....U will be Judged 2 the same degree U Judges! All U are doing is Hate talking! U are a HATER of a people! The Jews are GOD's people! So, I assume Satan is your GOD! All hate comes from Satan! U are just like your Daddy, satan!

John Kerry just doesn't get it. Didn't Vietnam teach him anything?