It is just a matter of time now. Every saber has been rattled, every threat made. All that is left is for the bombs to begin to fall somewhere in Syria.
The British P.M, David Cameron has called parliament back from a recess to discuss the situation, or rather tell them what the plan is and seek their approval. NBC reports that generals from the U.S, Europe, and the Middle East are meeting in Jordan. The U.S. Secretary of State is using terms like "undeniable" when he describes the use of chemical weapons by Bashar al-Assad's forces. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has assured the world the United States military is prepared to strike just as soon as the order is given.
In fact the only person, outside of Russia, China, Iran, and Syria who seems peeved at all this build up to war is American Speaker of the House John Boehner. He is whining that President Obama is not consulting with congress. A spokesman for the speaker claims that while the final decision is the Commander in Chief's, congress, ie the House of Representatives, should help with any decision making. Why Obama would consult, or ever trust a bunch of goofs who have voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act 40 times is a bit beyond someone like me, but then I'll admit to being one who can hold a grudge at times.
The Russians have claimed the rebels may have been the ones who set off the deadly gas. They are also saying, with some justification, that without a U.N. mandate any attack on Syria would be a violation of international law. The Chinese have said basically the same thing, and thrown in words such as "irresponsible and dangerous, for good measure. The Iranians have stated an attack would have, "perilous consequences for the region."
Of course we've never let something as idealistic as international law stop us before. Especially when it is a sure bet any U.N. Security Council resolution which approves of an attack would be vetoed by both Russia and China. As for the Iranians--well no one gives a rat's ass what they think anyway.
The toughest and most important sell for the administration right now is the American people. Every poll taken this summer shows overwhelming numbers of Americans don't want any part of this fight. The nation has been a constant state of war since 2001 and everyone is pretty well fed up with flag draped coffins and the constant turmoil in the Middle East. The prevailing sentiment is Syria isn't worth one American life and why spend even a dime there when the winning side, no matter who it is, is going to hate our guts anyway.
Indeed, there are an increasing number of reports that rebel ranks are being reinforced with Islamic extremists who want to turn Syria into another bastion of Sharia law and religious fascism. These guys don't like democracy any more than Bashar al-Assad and they are just as crazy, so why get involved at all?
Make no mistake, when Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement that said, "The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity. By any standard it is inexcusable," he wasn't trying to win over the Russians and Chinese. He was talking to you and me.
It is also why White House spokesperson Jay Carney said, "The options we are considering are not about regime change." Cameron is doing the same thing in Britain. In one breath he said, "Our forces are making contingency plans." In the next he told his public, "We'll make a proportional response to this utterly abhorrent attack."
In other words, trust us. We aren't going to put boots on the ground--we're just going to drop a few bombs and lob in a few cruise missiles to punish the asshole. Yes, and as the tobacco industry used to say, there is no proof smoking cigarettes causes heart disease or cancer. Indeed, we've heard this sort of blatant nonsense before. The only question is whether we're still gullible enough to believe it in the year of our Lord 2013.
The U.N. inspectors are in Syria as I type. Odds are no one will do anything until they leave. Their flight out is scheduled this weekend. As soon as they clear Syrian air space watch for the shit to hit the fan.
The deal is done.
We're in. It is just a matter of how deep and how long.
pax vobiscum
8-27-13
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