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Jewish World Review
Sept. 3, 2013/ 28 Elul, 5773
Pursuing military action against Syria, missteps aplenty
By
Dale McFeatters
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Although it can seem as if we're always fighting somewhere, the United States is not a terribly warlike country.
During the Civil War -- our bloodiest conflict after World War II -- we fought among ourselves. WWII started when the Japanese attacked us without warning, sinking four of our battleships, damaging four others and killing more than 2,000 Americans. And Nazi Germany, in a show of Axis solidarity, declared war on us, not vice versa.
We were clearly provoked by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. But rather than clean up the remnants of al-Qaida in Afghanistan, we found ourselves in control of Iraq, for reasons that grow ever more unclear with time.
As Iraq became increasingly pointless -- we didn't even come out of that war with any oil -- we announced that we were leaving for good at the end of 2011, giving both the Iraqi government and the insurgents plenty of time to plan. And we left, allowing the handful of teenagers who threw rocks at our departing Humvees to boast that they had driven the Americans out of Iraq.
We have announced that we and the other NATO forces will be almost entirely out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. It's our way of telling the Taliban and the remnants of al-Qaida that they should head back to their caves, maybe barbecue a few sheep or get in a few rounds of buzkashi, the game played on horseback with a headless goat, because we're going to get out of there anyway.
With Syria, we have taken the business of deadlines another step. We announce when we're going to out of the war before we're even in it.
It is clear that Syrian strongman Bashar Assad did something not only evil but against international law -- as if that's ever stopped a dictator bent on mayhem -- by launching rockets loaded with poison gas into civilian neighborhoods that may have been sheltering insurgents.
Afterward, photos showing rooms of unmarked corpses of children repulsed the United States, France and the Arab Persian Gulf countries that do not want to be left to face Assad unaided. Russia and China cited lack of specific proof, on the order of photos of Assad personally lighting the fuse of a rocket loaded with sarin gas.
In a country governed by reasonable people, that might be a legitimate argument. But the Assad family, which has ruled Syria for over 40 years, has an unfortunate history of expressing its pique by murdering civilians -- whole villages of them, in the case of Bashar's father, Hafez Assad.
Something has to be done. Because the usually reliable Brits have opted out, the task has fallen to the United States plus whatever help the French can provide.
President Barack Obama, departing from type, suddenly decided to ask Congress for permission for a punitive military strike against Syria. Congress is working on approval of "a limited and tailored" mission not to exceed 60 days. Obama could ask for an extra 30 if he felt the need, but our role effectively would be capped at three months.
The attacks, as any Syrian intelligence official with access to a decent newspaper knows, will come from cruise missiles and possibly manned aircraft, launched from a safe distance offshore and aimed at targets designed to minimize civilian casualties.
We'll fight this constrained little military operation without "boots on the ground," the current clich? for the U.S. soldiers and Marines trained to do this sort of thing.
Even if we don't plan on using ground troops, why on earth would we tell the Syrian government in advance? Keep it guessing.
The old saying among the military was that you knew you had won when you were sitting with your feet up on the furniture of the other side's officers club, drinking whiskey. To find out how this military venture turns out, we'll have to wait for the press release.
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Previously:
• 09/03/13 Men and women really may be from Mars
• 09/02/13 U.S. should not abandon its friends to the Taliban
• 08/30/13 Wheat for oil redux?
• 08/27/13 AEDs: An easy but largely unknown way to save a life
• 08/22/13 The one certainty is that you won't win
• 08/15/13 You're photogenic, whether you like it or not
• 08/09/13 U.S.-Russian relations: snub for snub
• 08/08/13 Snowden in Moscow: Fun is where you find it
• 08/06/13 Senior GOP officials warn against government shutdown
• 08/05/13 Presidential helicopter plans still grounded
• 08/02/13 For back-to-school sales, retailers change target
• 08/01/13 The jihadi in the gray flannel suit
• 07/31/13 Richard III's reputation remains in the dirt
• 07/30/13 Honor Rosie the Riveter for helping win the war
• 07/29/13 Duchess breaks the 'mommy tummy' taboo
• 07/26/13 Congress deeply split over unlimited NSA eavesdropping
• 07/25/13 Please, somebody take away Anthony Weiner's cellphone
• 07/24/13 Time for the royal family to stop recycling names
• 07/23/13 Detroit's bankruptcy woes may just be a test case
• 07/22/13 Fed chief to Congress: Don't mess up recovery
• 07/19/13 Your license plate is on candid camera
• 07/18/13 A long fall from the Founding Fathers
• 07/17/13 NSA leaker's life in limbo
• 07/05/13 Statue of Liberty reopens. You go on ahead
• 07/04/13 Independence Day --- your country wants you to be happy
• 07/03/13 Snowden, a man without a country
• 07/01/13 The lonely exile of Edward Snowden
• 06/29/13 Greetings, Venusians. Take me to your ATM
• 06/28/13 In China, when in doubt, shanghai the CEO
• 06/26/13 Voting Rights Act now more symbol than law
• 06/21/13 Looking for work? Why not be a U.S. senator?
• 06/19/13 G-8 summit spurs work on historic trade deal
• 06/18/13 A debt of honor to U.S. forces' translators in Afghanistan
• 06/17/13 Court's gene ruling makes sense
• 06/14/13 Bill Clinton urges Syrian intervention
• 06/12/13 White House pulls plug on lawmakers' picnic
• 06/11/13 NSA secrets just a keystroke away
• 06/10/13 If it's in your computer, the feds have it
• 06/05/13 Post-arrest DNA test scrapes away privacycy
• 05/31/13 The terrorists in the gray flannel robes
• 05/28/13 Frugality stops at the military bases' edge
• 05/27/13 Obama lays out counterterrorism policies
• 05/22/13 Lifeline could be direct line to identity theft
• 05/21/13 American teens' materialism makes sense
• 05/20/13 U.S. spy in Moscow has elements of farce
• 05/14/13 Chinese turn to White House website with petitions
• 05/13/13 Hospital pricing shows a sickening disparity
• 05/09/13 Flying car is Great Pumpkin of aviation
• 05/08/13 On immigration, the GOP's split widens
• 05/07/13 French socialists fall out of love with their guy
• 05/06/13 Jamestown settlers included cannibals
• 04/30/13 Workforce is small because it's older
• 04/29/13 American public no help in budget battle
• 04/26/13 Pot, agriculture's new hope
• 04/24/13 A new pressure group: Angry air travelers
• 04/23/13 NASA Kepler mission brings sci-fi closer to reality
• 04/22/13 It's over: The end of any expectation Americans have of privacy in a public place
• 04/19/13 Chicago sinkhole, a possible recreation site
• 04/17/13 Not too early to think about Joe v. Hillary
• 04/15/13 Maybe they should go back to flying carpets
• 04/12/13 For U.S. food aid, healthful reform proposed
• 04/11/13 Obama sends Congress a $3.77 trillion budget
• 04/10/13 A new death ray, a la Buck Rogers
• 04/09/13 China's patience may be running out
• 04/05/13 Dementia a threat to nation's health and finances
• 04/01/13 North Korea rattles the guns of war
• 03/29/13 Justifying the costs of ex-presidents
• 03/26/13 Congress OKs funding, pats itself on back
• 03/25/13 The more babies, the merrier and the more solvent
• 03/22/13 The quick red fox jumps --- oh, never mind
• 03/21/13 Living large on no dollars a day
• 03/20/13 Cyprus, chaos and the butterfly effect
• 03/19/13 What Obama's visit to Israel lacks in substance, it makes up for in symbolism
• 03/18/13 Visit the USA! It's not as much hassle anymore
• 03/15/13 Iraq War spurred medical progress, at great cost
• 03/14/13 In death, Chavez escapes a final indignity
• 03/13/13 Deficits falling -- maybe
• 03/12/13 Jobless rate dips, almost in spite of Congress
• 03/11/13 Rescuing remnants of the hated Berlin Wall
• 03/08/13 Mr. Paul Goes to Washington
• 03/05/13 Dennis Rodman puts up diplomatic air ball
• 03/04/13 Congress faces reality, passes anti-violence act
• 03/01/13 Titanic II: If at first you don't succeed ...
• 02/27/13 Telecommuters back to office!
• 02/26/13 Federal agencies to make sure public feels pain, too
• 02/25/13 You've been good citizens. Now get out
• 02/21/13 The drones are coming, ready or not
• 02/20/13 Deadbeats undermine the best of intentions
• 02/19/13 Artificial retina offers eye-opening promise
• 02/14/13 State of the Union needs new purpose
• 02/13/13 Instead of black helicopters, fluffy white blimps
• 02/11/13 Congress, no vacation until its work is done
• 02/08/13 Saturday letter delivery an expensive luxury
• 02/07/13 William Howard Taft, from president to mascot
• 02/01/13 Economists unfazed by brief pause in growth
• 01/31/13 African drone base would be a first step for U.S.
• 01/28/13 Senate timidly tinkers with filibuster rule
• 01/25/13 North Korea on 'settling accounts' with U.S.
• 01/24/13 Iran will invent world domination
• 01/23/13 High-school graduation rate hits a high note
• 01/21/13 Congress will spend year resting up -- who knows for what
• 01/17/13 Inaugurations inevitably include a slip-up
• 01/16/13 Once again, an al-Qaida threat from a faraway place
• 11/30/12 Soon your car may resemble Hal --- 'I'm sorry, Dave'
• 11/27/12 Faint -- very faint -- signs of optimism on fiscal cliff
• 11/26/12 Black Friday fatigue --- or not
• 11/23/12 China plans world's tallest and fastest building
• 11/22/12 Lonely, unattached planets looking for company
• 11/19/12 Americans will be diminished by loss of Twinkies
• 11/16/12 'E' in email stands for 'everybody'
• 11/14/12 Congress has chance to end year on high note
• 11/09/12 In Washington, expect new kind ofgridlock
• 11/02/12 Paranoia tops Chinese leaders' agendas
• 11/01/12 Preparing to lead from rear in another war
• 10/31/12 Happy to forget
• 10/30/12 Hurricane Sandy clouds election outcome
• 10/29/12 New meaning to the crime 'stick up'
• 10/25/12 Riding out the apocalypse in Costco
• 10/22/12 We love our troops, but some of us love ripping them off even more
• 10/18/12 Search for our next world narrows; get used to heat
• 10/16/12 Your license plate may be an open book
• 10/12/12 Cycling anti-dopers finally get their man, Lance Armstrong
• 10/12/12 Discovery: Roadside trash on Mars?
• 10/11/12 Millennials, the cheapest generation
• 10/08/12 Gang of Eight hopes to ride to deficit rescue
• 10/04/12 Confessions of a federal bootlegger
• 10/01/12 Rover Curiosity finds potential site for base Organizing
• 09/27/12 Future of cars --- nobody at the wheel
• 09/25/12 Imelda's shoes should be preserved and displayed
• 08/23/12 Capital's Reflecting Pool reflecting again
• 08/16/12 Putin and Pussy Riot forever linked
• 08/15/12 Hypersonic flight -- N.Y. to L.A. in 36 minutes
• 08/09/12 Coming to a dealer near you: All new 2013 Curiosity
• 08/08/12 What to do about killer cats?
• 08/06/12 Congress takes needed rest from inactivity
• 08/03/12 Manhattan Project worthy of national parks
• 08/01/12 In Russia, fearing the power of punk
• 07/31/12 Why Barack Obama needs Bill Clinton
• 07/30/12 Safeguard Fed's independence
• 07/26/12 Government spying on everyone not necessarily all bad
• 07/19/12 Kim Horatio Alger Jong Un, prodigy
• 07/18/12 The Fed and Congress: Who's on first?
• 07/17/12 Farmers markets require clean hands, common sense
• 07/10/12 Candidates play hooky from party conventions
• 07/05/12 One word, 'sorry,' unplugs Pakistani roadblock
• 07/04/12 A day to pursue happiness like good Americans
• 06/25/12 Joint venture: Finally testing legal marijuana sales
• 06/20/12 Steroid era not over with Clemens case
• 06/19/12 Summer without the jobs
• 06/15/12 World not ending, but maybe it should
• 06/13/12 Make the nation's laws; no experience necessary
• 06/11/12 The highway bill to nowhere
• 06/07/12 Planet Mars slated to become reality show
• 06/06/12 Spy agency magically produces two space
• 06/05/12 Make parties pay for conventions
• 06/04/12 Revised date for end of the world
• 05/31/12 Needed: A kinder, gentler . . . TSA
• 05/30/12 Keep U.N.'s hands off the Internet
• 05/25/12 Observe Memorial Day; it will only take a minute
• 05/24/12 Taxpayers taken for ride on subsidized EAS flights
• 05/23/12 Worsening traffic is a sign of recovery
• 05/17/12 U.S. needs a good third party
• 05/16/12 Earmarks quietly looking to make a comeback
• 05/15/12 Some good in war
• 05/14/12 Mayan discovery: It's safe to make plans for 2013
• 05/10/12 Save those 'Hillary!' buttons
• 04/18/12 Government service can be fun. Really.
• 04/17/12 Scandal, yes, but Cartagena had summit, too
• 04/16/12 When your car is smarter than you are
• 04/13/12 Lenders tiptoe back into world of credit risks
• 04/12/12 What do you mean you don't want a driver's license?
• 04/11/12 Smartphone anti-theft plan seems, um, smart
• 04/10/12 Bizarre process to choose a veep
• 04/09/12 From remote exurbs, cities don't look so bad anymore
• 04/06/12 We do want the fake Romney, not the 'real' one
• 04/05/12 Heaping even more indignities on air travelers
• 03/29/12 Blown away in Washington, D.C.
• 03/28/12 At the nuke summit an inadvertent moment of candor
• 03/27/12 A worse unemployment problem
• 03/23/12 The federal budget: A game of make-believe
• 03/21/12 In Iraq, blame the U.S., but drive American
• 03/20/12 Too late, bin Laden realized killing Muslims was a mistake
• 03/16/12 Hu and Wen leaving. China asks: What next?
• 03/14/12 Tide, favored by housewives and drug dealers alike
• 03/09/12 'Spring forward' obsessives and seasonal purists
• 03/08/12 Really, no place is safe when you think about it
• 03/06/12 Putin 'carousel voting' victory
• 02/28/12 Fighter of future still glued to tarmac
• 02/27/12 Every candidate has to have a tax-reform plan
• 02/23/12 Au revoir, mademoiselle: It's been bonne
• 02/21/12 A new way of attacking food-stamp fraud
• 02/20/12 Feds don't want you driven to distraction
• 02/15/12 Putin has found can't lose campaign issue: Promoting a randier Russia
• 02/14/12 Obama's budget lays down battle lines for the fall
• 02/10/12 Filming in D.C. creates hassle for Hollywood
• 02/08/12 At Lake Vostok, Russia taps into new realm
• 02/07/12 'Granny dumping' in prisons
• 01/30/12 National Defense Authorization Act indefensible
• 01/23/12 Barbie sparks fear among Iran's mullahs
• 01/19/12 From overseas, U.S. industry is looking good
• 01/18/12 American posterior a growing problem for mass transit
• 01/16/12 Planets and roaches
• 01/13/12 Not exactly a biblical plague, but certainly an annoyance
• 01/12/12 Fewer young Americans interested in driving
• 01/05/12 Majoring in unemployment
• 01/04/12 Cutting the military by blunt force
• 01/02/12 Pragmatic look at top words
• 12/22/11 Basketball the way to Kim's heart and nuclear weapons
• 12/21/12 Speculation and wishful thinking can get scary
• 12/20/11 A third Kim has North Korea by the throat
• 12/19/11 Congress pats itself on back for budget bill
• 12/15/11 The U.S. government is cashing in its chips, literally
• 12/14/11 TSA might try trusting its own people
• 12/12/11 That $1.2 billion? It's around here some place
• 12/09/11 State Department Creates ‘Virtual Embassy’ For Iran
• 12/08/11 If you've ever tweeted, you're in the Library of Congress
• 12/07/11 Discoveries go to the core of what makes us humans
• 12/06/11 Stealing elections badly in Russia
• 12/05/11 Sometimes paranoia is common sense by another name
• 12/02/11 When the U.S. truly became one nation
• 12/01/11 Last chance to snap up a Maybach
• 11/30/11 Iran wants respect without earning it
• 11/29/11 Surprise! ‘Spider-Man’ may weave a profitable web
• 11/28/11 Italians entertain novel proposition: Paying their taxes
• 11/25/11 No time to let up on al-Qaida
• 11/24/11 Congress Quietly Abolishing Friday
• 11/23/11 Cleaning up after supercommittee implosion
• 11/22/11 Jailing minors with adults adds to problems
• 11/21/11 Brilliant strategy? Action by inaction
• 11/18/11They're going to eat horses, aren't they?
• 11/17/11 A pretend stick shift for pretend drivers
• 11/16/11 Clinton's ‘vast experiences’: Did NBC pick the wrong Chelsea?
• 11/15/11 Occupy protesters, you've made your point. Now, scat
• 11/10/11 Our vets are a national problem?
• 11/09/11 Requiem for a once-great sport
• 11/08/11 A toilet as smart as its occupant
• 11/07/11 Prerevolutionary gems in need of TLC
• 11/04/11 Feds must stop scam of stealing from dead children
• 11/03/11 Bank listens ‘very closely’ to customer lynch mob
• 11/01/11 TV that's leading the people away from ‘core socialist values’
• 10/31/11 NATO should not be a victim of its success
• 10/28/11 Iran mulls getting rid of president and presidency
• 10/27/11 Bienvenidos a Dayton and bring your businesses with you
• 10/26/11 Archivists long for Obama's teleprompter
• 10/25/11 United Nations to run the Internet?
• 10/24/11 Attention, world: You've got the cash. We've got the houses
• 10/19/11 Oil pipeline must be in America's future
• 10/18/11 U.S. plans ‘limited’ mission in an Africa with no limits
• 10/17/11 Social Security's grave mistakes
• 10/12/11 NASA's help-wanted sign for astronauts
• 10/10/11 Saving Thomas Jefferson''s chimneys
• 10/06/11 Uncle Sam's answer to deadbeats --- robo-calls
• 10/04/11 Christie should ignore jibes on his weight
• 10/03/11 Iran says its warships will head for Jersey shore
• 09/29/11 Europeans bristle at Obama's lectures
• 09/28/11 Jessica Rabbit for the defense
• 09/27/11 Russia learns outcome of next March's presidential election
• 09/26/11 Another try at leaving no child behind
• 09/23/11 This generation needs a job more than a name
• 09/22/11 In the lane next to you: A driverless car
• 09/20/11 Cloudy, cool, chance of falling satellite
• 09/14/11 Humanitarian extortion
• 09/13/11 Paging Dr. Watson; he's there in 3 seconds
• 09/09/11 Forecasting 100 percent chance of heavy metal
• 09/08/11 A jobs program at Obama's doorstep
• 09/07/11 Iran's government afraid of the water
• 09/06/11 Congress returns, tanned, rested and testy
• 09/05/11 Space nations must clean up after themselves
• 09/02/11 Osama bin Laden died a failure and he knew it
• 09/01/11 Time to retire political pie in the face
• 08/31/11 Labor Day celebrates what, exactly?
• 08/30/11 These arrestees really are framed
• 08/25/11 When in an earthquake, block traffic
• 08/23/11 A case for discretion in deportation arrests
• 08/22/11 Tough times or not, parents shell out for school
• 08/18/11 Being unpleasant for fun, profit, promotion
• 08/17/11 Time to prepare for the end game in Libya
• 08/16/11: ‘Super Committee’ starts facing reality
• 08/15/11: World's fastest plane disappears even faster
• 08/12/11: British cops track rioters through security cameras
• 08/11/11: Relax. There is no Death Star
• 08/10/11: House pages run final errands
• 08/09/11: U.S. treading water on job creation
• 08/08/11: Uncle Sam, the world's permanent guest
• 08/05/11: Most 9/11 victims not on federal death records
• 08/04/11: Russian PM calls U.S. a ‘parasite.’ He should be so lucky
• 08/03/11: Congress goes from one bind to another
• 08/02/11: D.B. Cooper may no longer be a mystery
• 08/01/11: Libya's latest weapon against NATO --- lawsuits
• 07/29/11: He'll always be known as Hot Wheels Handler
• 07/25/11: Recruiting children to save a dying town
• 07/22/11: Bachmann's admirable medical candor
• 07/12/11: Social Security's grave mistakes
• 07/08/11: Debt crisis need not be constitutional crisis
• 07/07/11: Startups entice new talent with kickball, treehouses
• 07/05/11: Stranded tourists get rare treat
• 06/30/11: The dollar Americans refuse to spend
• 06/27/11: The hangman doesn't cometh
© 2011, SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
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