I know quite a few criticize PB here but he generally makes points worthy of consideration that have some context, logic, and reason. I’d rate this historical recounting of how we got here among his better efforts. It seems we, the US, have again bumped into Winston Churchill’s legacy, just as we did in Iraq. There can be no doubt that WC cast a long shadow across the 20th Century affairs of the world but it is interesting how his influence persists into the 21st Century. For both good and ill, a rare man.
I’m certainly not allying myself with Obama but rather with common sense when I say we just allow Syria to devolve as it will, perhaps as H.G. Wells described. The previous poster was spot on about “tar baby”. At most, we should ensure Israel’s continued security (a point of my departure with PB) but not with American blood.
"Rebels" is such a romantic word. Robert E. Lee, George Washington, Garibaldi ... none of whom massacred IIRC the Christians or anyone else when they captured a town or won a battle. These filthy bastards are not "rebels," they are jihadists. I stand with Team Putin on this one. No matter how bad Assad is, he is better than what That Mombasa MF is trying to put in their place.
By the way, I and a whole bunch of McCain's contemporaries can testify to this man's idiocy, ineptitude, lack of character, and unfitness for public office. When the North Vietnamese captured this incredibly inept pilot and all-around hell-raiser, a sigh of relief went through the Naval Air Service.