As RPI Executive Director, Daniel McAdams, has pointed out, Syria is starting to look like “Iraq: The Sequel”.
Neocon Senators McCain and Graham know the playbook quite well and have issued a very predictable joint statement on Syria:
Now is the time for decisive actions. The United States must rally our friends and allies to take limited military actions in Syria that can change the balance of power on the ground and create conditions for a negotiated end to the conflict and an end to Assad’s rule.
The key phrase here is “take limited military actions”. This is a classic wedge-opening statement. The neocons know full well that the goal is to get their foot in the door. Once that is accomplished, it becomes virtually impossible for public opposition to turn the war machine back. You would have to be “against the troops” not to continue your support once the battle has begun.
The warmongering Senators also use feel-good words like “change the balance of power” and “negotiated end to the conflict” to help get the camel’s nose under the tent. Like Iraq, this’ll just be another 1-2-3 surgical procedure. We’ll be in-and-out with our “limited military actions”. What’s the big deal?
That Iraq has been transformed into a total basket-case that has cost the U.S. thousands of lives and over $800,000,000,000 is old news. Only pessimists will focus on the past.
The Senators have no time to talk about past failures or to debate military action against Syria. Just like Iraq, there is no time to waste:
We cannot afford to delay any longer. Assad is on the offensive with every weapon in his arsenal and with the complete support of his foreign allies. We must take more decisive actions now to turn the tide of the conflict in Syria.
The war drums inside the beltway are getting louder by the day. McCain and Graham want to get the U.S. military’s foot in the door as quickly as possible. If they succeed, there will be no turning back.
