Free Republic

Speak softly and carry a big stick, and you will go far. -- Teddy Roosevelt Barack Obama knows that America's military is a big stick, but unfortunately Roosevelt's advice about speaking softly doesn't seem to have stuck. Because Barack Obama recklessly shot off his mouth about a "red line" in Syria, he's demanding that our nation insert itself into a civil war between terrorist groups, both of which have chemical weapons, to protect his ego. Happily, the American people recognize what a foolish move this would be. A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that only 9% of Americans currently support bombing Syria....

"Humane killer" appears to be an oxymoron that startles with contradiction. Yet talking of war is a way of drawing a fine distinction, not a contradiction. The civilized world clarifies an understanding of how a civilized man can kill an enemy while separating human from inhumane. When Syrian President Bashar al-Assad turned poison gas against the rebels and their families, everyone could agree that even in a civil war -- where passions burn hottest -- that's inhumane, and it's not forgivable. The harsh and mechanical reporting of war rarely invites poetry to make a correspondent's points, but a reader with...