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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOn Syria, is Obama treading in Bush's Iraq footsteps?
Olivier Knox, Yahoo! News
President Barack Obama, sure to fall short of getting explicit U.N. approval for any military strikes against Syrian strongman Bashar Assads forces and facing potential divisions inside NATO, has instead been assembling allies and partners in a coalition of the willing that recalls the Iraq War.
And where then-President George W. Bush at least got Congress to authorize him to use force against Saddam Hussein, Obama shows no sign of asking lawmakers to do so, preferring instead to engage in consultations with key players.
For a president who defined his 2008 run for the White House with his forceful denunciation of the way Bush led the country into the Iraq war, and then managed the conflict, its an unusual turn of events, to say the least.
To be sure, there are major differences: While Russia opposed both interventions, France is this time in Washingtons corner. No major allies have spoken out against the principle of a forceful response to Assad's alleged slaughter of civilians last week with chemical weapons, though NATO ally Germany has signaled that it opposes military action. Obama has pointedly ruled out putting boots on the ground and repeatedly cited the Iraq War as a cautionary tale of how interventions can spiral out of control.
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http://news.yahoo.com/on-syria--is-obama-treading-in-bush-s-iraq-footsteps--151321791.html
pscot
(21,024 posts)See? No blood on our hands.
Zorra
(27,670 posts)JoePhilly
(27,787 posts)http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99591469
First paragraph ...
Later ...
What I am opposed to is a dumb war.
Then ...
Notice in this last paragraph the factors Obama considers, threat to us, threat to neighbors, ability to contain, duration, aftermath.
Of course Obama does not appear to be contemplating an INVASION of Syria, but hey, why let a little detail like that, or the others from this actual speech on the topic, get in the way.