Points Arising

[poliphilo]

The French have gone from being cheese-eating surrender monkeys to "our oldest ally". Cela m'amuse.

Cameron is planning to sack ministers in revenge for a defeat he engineered himself. He made promises he couldn't back up, he misread the mood of the country and the House and he went into the debate without having properly prepared his case. He's the one who should be out of a job.

How many civilians have the Western Allies- meaning America mainly- killed in Iraq and Afghanistan? Are those killings less heinous for being brought about, not by chemical weapons, but by shells, bombs and bullets?

In order to punish Assad for killing Syrians we're going to kill some Syrians. Now where's the sense in that?

Comments

[ingenious76.livejournal.com]

I hope France and America are very happy together. Although, considering American GIs (including my great-uncle) got shot up rescuing France when she was under the Nazi boot, this all made me chuckle as well...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The politicians like to dress up their alliances in the language of feeling but in the end it all comes down to a hard-nosed calculation of advantage.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

Cameron knows damn well that he cannot sack any ministers- that's coalition, baby! :o)

General election, anyone?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I think he could probably sack the two Tories who "didn't hear the division bell".

But, yes, putting aside the moral issues, he has displayed an extraordinary lack of political competence. A resignation would be in order. And an election? Possibly.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The commentators all seem to assume he'll stagger on- which- since no-one is asking for his head- he probably will.

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

The Onion, as rather awkwardly reliably, rather nailed it in their op/ed by Assad. there really isn't any good option, as far as I can see. Even if the recent supposed attack was nerve gas, the options we have available are limited, expensive, and highly destructive against everyone, absent a Bad Guys Only bomb.

My inclination is to withhold for now, given the high risk of not ultimately making things any better, and getting entrenched in yet another military quagmire. If we could simply go after Assad himself, that I'd have few problems with, on the understanding that he would not be summarily executed to give a US voter approval boost, but rather, a genuine trial, where all parties would be able to offer all the evidence available.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Sometimes doing nothing may be the best possible option...