Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

President Obama has decided to send the issue of authorizing force against Syria to Congress. What should Congress do? Should Congress give him the authority to act based on the guidelines he's set out? Should Congress change the guidelines? The mishandling of Syria is so complete that whether or not military intervention is warranted, it may now be the worst of the options: Congress should not authorize the use of force in Syria, if at all, until there is a clear objective in mind. https://twitter.com/BorowitzReport/status/373104742991294467 This isn't me simply mocking the President, which would be easy to do. https://twitter.com/OptimisticCon/status/373893087602278400 This is based on the President's own words and actions; some since August 21 but many before. In A Show of Farce, after noting the severity of Assad's actions, James Taranto observes that the administration's stated goals hardly fit the crime.

Indications are that the Obama administration's response will be to drop a few bombs, break some stuff, and maybe kill a few bystanders. That comes nowhere near being a just punishment for the crimes alleged. Nor does it seem likely to prove an effective deterrent. Other dictators will see that they can use chemical weapons without endangering their survival (in both senses of the word). Assad will have tested the resolve of "the world" and found it wanting: Even after using chemical weapons, he will remain in power, with no reason to expect any external response to any further atrocity that doesn't involve chemical weapons.

We will update this post throughout the day, in reverse chronological order, with most recent updates at top. If there actually is an attack, we'll start a new thread with video embeds, etc. For now there are two Twitter feeds at the bottom of this post, one I created using reliable sources, and another raw #Syria hashtag feed. BREAKING - Obama says has decided to take military action, doesn't need U.N. Security Council or Congress, BUT will seek congressional approval: Really Chuck Todd, really? https://twitter.com/LegInsurrection/status/373868206969999360 More reactions at Obama statement on Syria and also below: https://twitter.com/ByronYork/status/373890688737640448 https://twitter.com/PhillipSmyth/status/373865925629321216 https://twitter.com/Bridget_PJM/status/373866389045407744 https://twitter.com/jpodhoretz/status/373866895201427456 https://twitter.com/repjustinamash/status/373866418015858688 https://twitter.com/davidaxelrod/status/373871738032910336