Massive use of chemical weapons in Syria, 1,429 killed including 426 children

[lustindarkness]

nuke it from orbit it is the only way to be sure

[Crazy_Ivan80]

US government estimates 1,000 to 1,800 killed.

I think that when the situation gets to this point the US should lay the hammer down, even if it means the country will collapse, if only to show that this kind of savegery will not be tolerated by the civilized world.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/22/us-talks-syria-chemical-weapons-use-allegations

Washington is split over how to respond to the latest attack, which it believes may have killed between 1,000 and 1,800 people.

this is not even on the same scale as the savagery in Rwanda, where no hammers were laid down.

[derspiess]

this is not even on the same scale as the savagery in Rwanda, where no hammers were laid down.

That sure pissed Nick Nolte the hell off.

[fhdz]

We should've always supported Ba'athism back in the day.  But noooo, smelled too much like communism.

It looked good on paper. Sadly it mutated into something quite nasty.

Nastier than Sharia bullshit?

No.

[derspiess]

We should've always supported Ba'athism back in the day.  But noooo, smelled too much like communism.

It looked good on paper. Sadly it mutated into something quite nasty.

Nastier than Sharia bullshit?

No.

It got nasty before Islamism had a chance to.  See: hindsight, 20/20

[CountDeMoney]

It got nasty before Islamism had a chance to.  See: hindsight, 20/20

So it was no different than any other dictatorship.  Whoopdefuckingdo.

[Admiral Yi]

Only way we could have made kissy face with Baathists is if we had thrown our Jews under the bus.

[OttoVonBismarck]

Doing anything doesn't predictably help the United States at all. I see no play here. Any action we take is unlikely to help the United States. Doing nothing also ultimately does nothing to help the United States, but it also costs nothing.

[DGuller]

Doing anything doesn't predictably help the United States at all. I see no play here. Any action we take is unlikely to help the United States. Doing nothing also ultimately does nothing to help the United States, but it also costs nothing.

Well, doing something helps put teeth into things we say.  Setting a red line, and then going "Ugh, I didn't think you would have balls to actually do it.  Asshole." when it's crossed doesn't help our reputation.

[OttoVonBismarck]

Well we are in complete agreement there DGuller. But as an Obama-skeptic I don't really think the international community takes America that seriously now. We've had so many shifts, resets, red lines etc that no one really thinks twice when acting "what will America do?" Obama is really popular here because he talks pretty and then doesn't do much of anything, but in the field of foreign relations shockingly other world leaders actually mostly react to what you actually do and not what you say you'll do or how well you can portray something as a "teachable moment."

Ultimately though, if one draws a line in the sand unwisely is it then wise to fight someone over crossing it? Or maybe once you've recognized the folly of drawing that line in the first place your next decision when it is crossed should be made based on what is in your best interests and not the childish desire to defend a line you never should have drawn in the first place?

[The Brain]

Likely DGuller seeks the downfall of America, and argues unwise action for this purpose.

[lustindarkness]

nuke.from orbit.only way.be sure

[DGuller]

Ultimately though, if one draws a line in the sand unwisely is it then wise to fight someone over crossing it? Or maybe once you've recognized the folly of drawing that line in the first place your next decision when it is crossed should be made based on what is in your best interests and not the childish desire to defend a line you never should have drawn in the first place?

Our enemies need to know that our lines are our lines, even if when they were drawn while we were in drunken stupor.

[Razgovory]

Only way we could have made kissy face with Baathists is if we had thrown our Jews under the bus.

Nonsense.  We made kissy face with the Saudis, the Egyptians, the Jordanians, and the Shah.  No Jews needed to be thrown under buses.  Hell, Egypt and Syria were the same country for a short period of time.

[Admiral Yi]

Nonsense.  We made kissy face with the Saudis, the Egyptians, the Jordanians, and the Shah.  No Jews needed to be thrown under buses.  Hell, Egypt and Syria were the same country for a short period of time.

We made kissy face with Egypt and Jordan after they had signed peace treaties with Israel.  IINM Iran under the Shah recognized Israel early on and certainly never engaged in hostilities with her.  By the time we were making kissy face with Saudi Arabia she had ceased participation in Arab-Israeli wars.  I think SA sent a mech battalion to fight in 67 and nothing in 73, if the boys at SPI knew what they were talking about.