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

[Maximus]

Saudi Arabia and Iran have been running a regional cold war at least since the end of the big Cold War, probably earlier.

[DGuller]

I'm not sure which one is worse of the two.  I know which one pissed us off big time, but from the standpoint of an alien dispassionately observing things from afar, I'd struggle to figure out who to root for.

[mongers]

The line in the sand was stupid. The only logic I can find to support action in Syria is if we can do so in a way that undermines Russia's efforts. So that might mean supporting the Saudis, who have been trying to support the portion of the rebels who aren't Iran/Hezbollah/Russian backed nor al-Qaeda affiliated.

15 of 19.

[mongers]

I'm not sure which one is worse of the two.  I know which one pissed us off big time, but from the standpoint of an alien dispassionately observing things from afar, I'd struggle to figure out who to root for.

Which one has killed the least Americans ?

[crazy canuck]

I'm not sure which one is worse of the two.  I know which one pissed us off big time, but from the standpoint of an alien dispassionately observing things from afar, I'd struggle to figure out who to root for.

I am pretty sure I would root for the one not actively sponsoring sending bombs into crowded markets in Israel.

[Ed Anger]

I am at war boner DEFCON 2.

[DGuller]

I'm not sure which one is worse of the two.  I know which one pissed us off big time, but from the standpoint of an alien dispassionately observing things from afar, I'd struggle to figure out who to root for.

I am pretty sure I would root for the one not actively sponsoring sending bombs into crowded markets in Israel.

On the flip side, how many crowded markets elsewhere got bombed because of Saudi-sponsored Wahhabists?

[Jacob]

You guys are all war like, but the rest of the net seems pretty quiet. I'd expect more of a PR effort if real troop commitments were to take place.

Or are nearby carrier groups en route and about to unleash hell and surprise everybody except languish?

[Ed Anger]

You guys are all war like, but the rest of the net seems pretty quiet. I'd expect more of a PR effort if real troop commitments were to take place.

Or are nearby carrier groups en route and about to unleash hell and surprise everybody except languish?

As a seasoned armchair general, the shift in tone in Washington gives the game away. Cruise missile strikes are coming..

[Kleves]

You know, if we had elected John McCain, we wouldn't be in this mess now!*





*We would have, instead, been in this mess years ago.

[OttoVonBismarck]

You guys are all war like, but the rest of the net seems pretty quiet. I'd expect more of a PR effort if real troop commitments were to take place.

Or are nearby carrier groups en route and about to unleash hell and surprise everybody except languish?

I don't really know about the rest of the net but based on the reporting at the Wall Street Journal and the actual comments coming out of the mouth of the Secretary of State President Obama has already committed to taking some action. If not, he's committed to use losing all credibility in the international sphere. The red line comment was dumb, but never explicitly stated by Obama himself (the administration did use the term, but then backed off on it), and we could have probably not acted. But you can't use the rhetoric we've used today and not act, to do so removes power from any words you use in the future, which creates a bad situation that degrades your ability to use such forms of diplomacy to prevent future uses of force.

I'm not sure how informed you are about the naval situation, but we have forces in the Mediterranean sufficient to launch cruise missile strikes against Syria and that is almost certainly what we will do. We don't want to risk downed pilots in Syria and well directed cruise missiles get the job done--which will most likely be a limited strike against chemical weapons facilities and potentially command and control facilities of the regime as a "punitive" measure.

[crazy canuck]

You guys are all war like, but the rest of the net seems pretty quiet. I'd expect more of a PR effort if real troop commitments were to take place.

The rest of the net is distracted by Hanna Montana becoming an exotic dancer.

[OttoVonBismarck]

Specifically last reported the 6th Fleet has four destroyers capable of launching cruise missiles at Syria in the Mediterranean right now, additionally there are submarine launched cruise missiles that could come into play as well and I'm not readily aware of what sort of sub assets we have in the Med.

[jimmy olsen]

You guys are all war like, but the rest of the net seems pretty quiet. I'd expect more of a PR effort if real troop commitments were to take place.

Or are nearby carrier groups en route and about to unleash hell and surprise everybody except languish?

A lot of the News sites seem to have realized it. Just look at the front page of NBC, CNN international and Slate.

[crazy canuck]

I'm not readily aware of what sort of sub assets we have in the Med.

If you cant tell us the top secret locations of sub assets what good are you?