However, the use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians, which all credible parties seem to be pointing towards, is a humanitarian issue that I think warrants a response.
Russians/Syrians have control of the area in question and I understand they're open to inspections.
I don't believe the case is being made that chemicals of some kind were not used, but whether it was a false flag.
It seems like we're not supposed to think about motive:
Add to that this is hardly a civil war but rather a proxy war being fought by Russia, Iran, and the Gulf States. I still have trouble abdicating our role (or perhaps our role within a UN force) in preventing a bunch of regimes who've shown little to no regard for human life using Syria (and their innocent citizens) as a a pinball.
Every nation involved in worsening the situation there should be hit with severe / crippling sanctions by the UN, have foreign assets/property frozen, etc... some would argue (and probably be right) that we'd be party to that as well.
I don't think the 'nations' involved should be sanctioned, that's just punishing the innocents further.
Why can't we 'sanction' the individuals who pushed to make this situation even worse?
I'd like to think our goal was to deescalate and we could avoid it, but Putin would like say the equivalent "I know you are but what am I."
The goal of American involvement was laid out in a 2012
DIA document that became public years ago.
From the text:
“THE WEST, GULF COUNTRIES, AND TURKEY [WHO] SUPPORT THE [SYRIAN] OPPOSITION… THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING A DECLARED OR UNDECLARED SALAFIST PRINCIPALITY IN EASTERN SYRIA (HASAKA AND DER ZOR), AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE SUPPORTING POWERS TO THE OPPOSITION WANT, IN ORDER TO ISOLATE THE SYRIAN REGIME…”
The former head of DIA confirmed it in 2015:
"
Hasan: You are basically saying that even in government at the time you knew these groups were around, you saw this analysis, and you were arguing against it, but who wasn’t listening?
Flynn: I think the administration.
Hasan: So the administration turned a blind eye to your analysis?
Flynn: I don’t know that they turned a blind eye, I think it was a decision. I think it was a willful decision.
Hasan: A willful decision to support an insurgency that had Salafists, Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood?
Flynn: It was a willful decision to do what they’re doing."
