President Obama meets with his
advisers on this most serious of issues
As far as I can tell, roughly 95% of both the MSM and the blogosphere still believe wholeheartedly that Assad gassed his own people. There are just three eensy little problems with this:
1. He gave the UN inspectors complete run of the place in their investigation. Compare that to Iran giving the UN nuke inspectors extremely limited access.
2. He was already handily beating the rebels back and thus had no reason to throw himself into the spotlight and incur international wrath.
3. al-Qaeda has long expressed its strong desire to use chemical weapons against the West and the Syrian branch has been caught red-handed with Sarin gas in their possession.
You know how those crime shows are always focusing on motive?
And there's a secondary meme that's evolved in recent days that I believe is off the mark. This blurb from the Washington Times incorporates both:
While saying he sympathizes with current public distaste for more war, President Obama on Friday made the case that the U.S. must live up to its global responsibilities, and for the first time raised the possibility that additional military action — beyond what’s on the table now — may be necessary if Syrian President Bashar Assad uses chemical weapons again.
In my opinion, it has nothing to with a 'distaste for more war' and everything to do with the following. Even site favorite James Taranto is on board the 'Assad Did It' bandwagon, and, as sharp and focused as he is, he seems to have completely overlooked the one key word in his column here. Let's see if you can spot it:
There are reasons to suspect that the effort may be losing rather than gaining momentum. Congressmen respond to their constituents, and the Washington Post reports (with a Fox Butterfield twist): "Americans widely oppose launching missile strikes against the Syrian government for its alleged use of chemical weapons, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll that finds little appetite for military action across the country despite a growing drumbeat in Washington."
Alleged. And, James, if something is only alleged, then only a total moron would take such devastating and possibly far-reaching action on it. Far-reaching, that is, if you count Iran closing down the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation.
The bottom line is that Americans don't like going to war over an alleged anything.
Another media-driven misconception that's been there from the start is that the rebels are 'moderates' and thus are the good guys. Kerry's used the word "moderates" in every speech he's given on the subject. But such is hardly the case.
Kerry portrait of Syria rebels at odds with intelligence reports
Secretary of State John Kerry's public assertions that moderate Syrian opposition groups are growing in influence appear to be at odds with estimates by U.S. and European intelligence sources and nongovernmental experts, who say Islamic extremists remain by far the fiercest and best-organized rebel elements.
And here's yet one more meme the protectionist media is pushing, the 'reluctant' president:
Obama: ‘I was elected to end wars, not start them’
So I guess Libya doesn't count.
I included this link in my last Syria update:
Everything the Media is Missing on Syria
And two fresher ones:
Does anyone really believe Assad used chemical weapons in Syria?
Direct link between Assad and gas attack elusive for U.S.
And, to his credit, Ed Morrissey over at Hot Air, who's been 100% certain it was Assad from day one, might be changing his tune:
Was it the Syrian rebels that used chemical weapons?
The most amusing part of the entire drama, of course, is watching the squishy liberal media dance around the issue. Saddam Hussein gasses 250,000 Iraqi Kurds, Bush wants to stop him, and that's a bad thing. Assad gasses his people, Obama wants to stop him, and that's a good thing. Gosh, I wonder what the difference in those two wildly-opposed attitudes could be?
Then you throw in the doubt of who really gassed the citizenry and, if it actually was al-Qaeda, now you're saying we should fight on the side of al-Qaeda?
As to why all of this is taking place, let's just ask science:
2013 Conflict in Syria Blamed on Drought Caused by Global Warming
So it's good to know who the real culprit is.
And then we have the most jaw-dropping and unexpected headline in the history of the world:
Democrats Scrap Global Warming in Favor of Global War
It's a brand new day, folks.
