The "consensus" seems to be we will do "surgical strikes" to make Assad go back to killing civilians with conventional arms.

What's to debate?  Nobody in America or Europe is going to overthrow Assad and beat down Al Qaeda in Syria.  They don't believe it's possible.  They're babbling about doing less than we did in Iraq and Afghanistan.   They have accepted the new American premise: It's okay to fail, as long as we do something.

"Well a number of people thought we could have won an atomic war in 1956, but I'm not sure that would have helped Hungary."
They would never have gone so far as to use nuclear because the country was already neutral and they knew they would loose. But in any case I wasn't judging Ike, just showing the cold war isn't over.

A real president would say to the russians.. "nuclear war or that mans head on a platter?"

The russians would try to dicker only to have the president summon his football with the russian embassador present in the oval office and would do all but the last step.

"Mark my words well a man has used strategic weapons of mass destruction, i shall either go to war with that nation in righteous fury or i will goto nuclear war with his puppeteer. you have until i finish this half smoked cigar to decide and to convince your leaders" and the president leans back and takes a big puff.

The ambassador says "surely you jest, the evidence is not solid and a nuclear war is permament for all sides"

Taking another puff "if i allow one nation to use strategic weapons then i allow all to do so, this will be the message required that no such atrocities will be allowed" and another puff with the exhale at the embassadors face.

"We shall send our forces to make peace, there will be no more proble..." as a fist slams the table.

"It is your fault this man got so bold, your pupper, you guarded him, you cannot be allowed to make this problem worse!" and with that the president takes a double long pull on the cigar, eyes glaring at the ambassador

*shaking visibly* yuri the phone please *an attendent hands him the phone* "i tried but this american would kill the world if we do not let him take syria, he means it, i can tell for sure. yes i bet my families lives on it, but the blood of the world is larger than my family. what? yes? ok i will tell him"

The president finishes the cigar... "times up, what is your answer?"

"We will allow you to do as you wish in syria"

*the president closes the football* "see now, i knew you could see reason, now get out of my office"

Thus the world would know not to ever use strategic weapons unless they wanted to be wiped out.

Our government is frivolous, our Congressmen are on TV saying we can do "something surgical" with cruise missles! Yay!

They have no plan, they have no goal, they have no guts to dictate outcomes to violent people.   The USA is acting like a stupid teenager with a shotgun, waving it out the car window to scare people. Ohh we so baaaaad!  They just want to puff up their image by "taking action" and claim credit for whatever happens.  And they'll praise themselves for being so much smarter than Bush, who tried to "win".  Not their fault we can't win anymore! All we can do is "take action" and we did it!  YOLO!!!!

And the slaughter will continue.

That's the BEST CASE scenario.

Syria and Iran want us to get a bloody nose for their own self-preservation; China wants us to get a bloody nose for their ambitions in Asia; Russia would like us to get a bloody nose for their ambitions in Europe and to make a hundred billion dollars selling anti-American weapons.  All of them are in Syria. 

America is not prepared to lose a warship.  If they strike a destroyer with a missle, we won't send destroyers within range of the missles.  China gets Taiwan, Iran gets the Persian Gulf, the Arabs and Japan will decide we're not worth the bother of hosting, and all the best and brightest will shake their head and say: "It's like sail versus oars, steam versus sail, airpower versus gunnery.  We just got beat by superior technology.  Nothing we can do.  Not our fault!  Hey, let's spend the military budget on free birth control!"

The national resolve, the responsibility to succeed in what we attempt, the commitment to seek the best outcome possible, these things are stuck in Miley Cyrus' buttcrack.

It's a very difficult discussion. Miitary intervention might stop the use of chemical weapons and save lives on the short term. On the other hand military intervention in countries where the state is not fully developed yet (constitutional state is what I am talking about) never seems to amount to good results in the long run.

25% of Spain is unemployed sucka, so, get to jogging and we'll pack rifles and tents and uniforms and canteens and radio for your Legio Extrajeno and drop you off on the beaches of sunny syria so you can defend western civilization when Amerika won't

this is just going to be a fireworks show as Russia shows off the catalog for anti-American buyers.  Our country is broken, we believe its ok to fail if we spend enough money failing, that's what we're aiming to do.  We're gonna DO Something, so we can say we did something.

We'll keep having such wars and social unrest as long as the system is set up to financially reward unethical behavior.

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_protests_in_Hungary"
lol

   I fight for me!  FOR MEEEEEEEE!!!

Language, xeno!  X(

Yes... yes, they are.