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.
