Syria thread

[regexcellent]

The Kosovo thing was pretty controversial at the time. Moreover operations are limited to 60 days in length, theoretically, without Congressional approval under the War Powers Act. I think some NATO shenanigans were used to justify the Balkans bombing.

[SlowwHand]

That's incorrect. I'd ask you to look no further than Korea and Vietnam to prove my point. It took years after the fact for those veterans to qualify for membership at the VFW.
VFW. Veterans of Foreign Wars, not Veterans of Foreign Police Actions.

[regexcellent]

Goddamnit I'm mixing up this thread and another one.

There was Congressional authorization for the use of force in both Korea and Vietnam.

[Sava]

Good thing declaring war isn't necessary for making war.

[DinoDoc]

DD: The House vote for the Kosovo strikes came a month after the bombing and was 213-213 and change.

Presidents don't need Congress to make war.

If he looses the vote and he still launches an attack, it would clearly be an impeachable offense for violating his oath of office.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-03/obama-s-constitutional-power-grab-on-syria.html

[Sava]

It's a better excuse than being a secret Muslim. I'll give you that.

[SlowwHand]

I supported going into Iraq. Take out Hussein, give the country to the people and let them figure it out.
I supported going into Afghanistan, because like most mainstream, I din't expect to find him in a big city, playing tiddly winks.
Syria is the root, but I support no one there.

[kentonio]

I'm so confused.

Rush Limbaugh says Obama is helping Al Qaeda frame the rebels.

Bill O'Reilly says anyone who opposes military strikes is a *****.

Liberals are protesting the possible war... but not the gassing of the Syrian people. Seriously. Go protest at the Syrian embassy. Idiots.

Conservatives are... well... all over the map. John McCain crazypants wants to bomb Syria. I mean, really bomb them. And Iran too, just for good measure.

Rand Paul says this is more big government war mongering.

And in a bizarre twist, they're sort of all right.

[Docfeelgood]

Damned if we do, damned if we don't.
I think we should stay out.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

The only reason it's important for us to strike is because Obama painted us into a corner. We really shouldn't be getting involved at all.

What a load of horse dung. Obama didn't create the red line. The world did. Society framed him you see. it was all just one big put up to make him look bad. The world is a bunch of racists and in league with the gaint right wing conspiracy.

And Putin is a big meanie. Look at Obama's super mad face at him.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Meanwhile 1971 calls and gives us this little gem from todays war spokesman

Well I don't think that the United States—and I think this is the biggest problem about Vietnam—can necessarily apply moral, uh, moralisms to its commitments around the world, and I think this is one of the great fallacies of our foreign policy at the present moment. Interventionism, as well as globalism, both stem from the same kind of moralism. And in a certain sense I think that moralism can be very defeating for the United States and its undertakings. It gets us into a sort of messianic enterprise, whereby we have this impression that somehow we can go out and touch these other countries and change them, and I think this is what in a sense led us into Vietnam.

[DaShi]

It's 2002 all over again. Only certain people have made an about-face.

[DaShi]

I also love the republican talking points. "This is too important to make partisan, but I'm going to make it partisan anyway."

[PLATO]

Really, I think the parallel is more like 1964 than 2002. There is this feeling of inevitable increasing incremental involvement over the whole affair. Not to mention, we have the Russians actively supplying and supporting the Syrians. Also no U.N. involvement with use of force in Vietnam and none in Syria. However weak you may believe it was, UNSC 1441 at least provided some measurement of cover for the U.S. in 2002.

This is not Iraq, this is Vietnam.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Obama's got to be pissed. He's been punked on facebook by Assaad's 10 year old kid and has Iran threatening to kick our butts. Plus that whole Putin calling his biyatch Kerry a liar thing. High school is so mean sometimes.