Quote Originally Posted by Entropy View Post
JMA,

Why would Russia take such a threat seriously? What makes you think the Syrian people want the "help" of the USA? Also, what makes you think Russia has the required influence with Syria? For Syria this is a matter of regime survival and "pressure" from outside governments isn't going to have much effect.
All one needs to do is put Russia on notice that the reaction to the internal situation in Syria (from the US (maybe) and the EU (more likely)) will be more than mere verbal condemnation and ineffective sanctions. Its not a threat (the US would never have the balls to threaten Russia) it just offered them a chance to act on the side of right. Neither Russia nor China could support action against regimes that crackdown on internal dissidents and commit human rights abuse against their citizens because that would rebound on them through their own actions.

You really need to be more astute in your observations. The young Syrians who take to the streets unarmed in protest seem to willingly and without fear risk death or wounding from the regime's trigger happy military forces. Day after day they take to the streets and offer themselves as targets. There is a very powerful revolution taking place in Syria right now (and please don't you ask what momentum is building in this regard as well).

But yes the US will dither as the spin doctors try to figure out how to choose a course of action where the US will appear to be all things to all men (which is impossible as they should have learned from Libya). This hesitancy, vacillation and indecision is to be expected against the background of the recent pronouncements of Russia - Russia warns against interference in Syria

This is all academic of course since the American people won't support yet another major military intervention in yet another middle-east country.
Ah.. another who speaks with authority on behalf of all the people of the US.

Iraq and Afghanistan, it is true, have been badly managed and should have either never happened or been wrapped up long ago. You can't be talking about Libya as it is hardly "yet another major military intervention" is it. But in the case of Libya had Obama gone for a quick effective intervention that would have been all over (from the US military involvement point of view) by now and on the list of concerns. One of the costs of indecisive command and leadership is that these poorly implemented interventions will tend to stack up in the "incomplete" column and have a negative impact on current operational possibilities.

Now the potential spinoff benefit of this whole Syrian revolution is that it may spread to Iran. That would be the great prize and the US and the EU should help that process along as much as they can.