General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I bleed red. I support intervention in Syria. [View all]FloridaJudy
(9,465 posts)They weren't allowed to finish in Iraq, and we all know how well that worked out. If indeed Assad is gassing civilians as most experts suspect, then that's just about the most despicable war crime going. No nation that pretends to be civilized is going to publicly support him after that. Best case scenario, his allies convince him it's in his best interest to flee to exile. Won't get him in shackles, but he'll be gone.
The problem is Assad may be an evil SOB, but everybody else with a dog in this fight is an evil SOB as well. And poison gas is a very old technology. I could even cook up a nice toxic cloud in my kitchen using ingredients available in any supermarket, and what I learned in Chem 101. That's if I had no conscience and little regard for my personal safety - and doesn't that just about describe your average terrorist?
So give the inspectors the chance to say "Yup, that's poison gas XY, all right. And it matches the chemical signature of the crap that Assad's got a butt-ton of stored in his basement".
Let's wait and see what shakes out after that.