Portside

Obama's plan to bomb Syria with cruise missiles will do nothing to hasten the end of the conflict. Instead, it will likely prolong it. The US couldn't end the Iraqi civil war despite having over 100,000 boots on the ground. It is highly unlikely that Washington can end this one from 30,000 feet. The "limited" Tomahawk Cruise missile strikes with "no boots on the ground" are quickly expanding to "a broader strategy" to arm and strengthen opposition rebels.

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Empire enjoys watching the two sides battle like caged mice, weakening each other to its advantage.

The question Congress and Mr. Obama must ask now is whether employing force to punish Mr. Assad’s use of chemical weapons is worth endangering the fragile international order that is World War II’s most significant legacy.

A careful examination of the Obama administration's summary of the intelligence on which it is basing the case for military action to punish the Assad regime for alleged use of chemical weapons reveals misleading language evocative of the infamous 2002 Iraq WMD intelligence estimate.