President Obama is right to seek Congressional approval to strike Syria in retaliation for its use of poison gas, and Congress should approve.
War itself, such as what is happening in Syria, is uncivilized, but the U.S. doesn't have the capability, and the world as a whole doesn't yet have the mechanism, to stop war.
Similarly, given vetoes in the UN Security Council, the world as a whole has no (effective) mechanism for preventing the use of poison gas. But the U.S. does have the capability to take an effective stand, so that its use doesn't become normal and widespread.
Should we destroy the Syrian air force and air defenses? I would be tempted, but then we might tip the civil war into the hands of Islamic fundamentalists.
We're not in a position to determine a desirable overall outcome, a genuinely democratic Syria. But we must take a stand against the use of poison gas.
We've long been threatening violence to prevent Iran from even the possibility of acquiring WMD. Syria has actually used them.
— Rick Wicks
Anchorage