Just this one question I have for my left leaning friends who support the missile strike. Let us assume that all circumstances are exactly the same. Every word spoken, every action taken to date, all the same. 90%+ of the American people not supporting it. A tepid support from a few people in the international community, with the strongest support coming from our "friends", the Saudis. A seriously divided congress on the issue. Grave threat of escalation with Russia and Iran. And IF it's successful AND there is no escalation, the best case scenario is Al-qaeda is the likely successor to Assad. Just one little difference. George Bush is president. How do you like the idea of a missile strike now? That's what I thought.
I personally don't support a missile strike (I argue to refute the contradictory, self-serving anti-Obama-on-everything-no-matter-what idiots). But, in your scenario, if that's how it turned out, and based on US history, it's likely that the faction of al qaeda that has come to power in Syria is friendly to US business, so therefore we're going to support them, so we would support the missile strike.
Dem Congresswoman: Only Reason Iâd Vote for Syria Attack Is Loyalty to Obama Democratic Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton said Tuesday that at the current time, the only reason she would vote in favor of an attack on Syria was out of loyalty to Barack Obama. Appearing on radio's Bill Press Show, the non-voting delegate from the District of Columbia also said if the President actually gets the votes he needs, "itâll be because of loyalty of Democrats. They just donât want to see him shamed and humiliated on the national stage". Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-s...-d-vote-syrian-attack-loyalty-o#ixzz2e7fS4aHi
She fails to understand that it's not a humiliation, it's a disappointment. (That's if Obama actually cares about the principle of the issue.) Obama could have started shooting anytime he wanted to, he has that power. But he was asked to take the matter to the people, to present evidence, and to make a case. He's done that and the people are basically saying, "we believe the evidence but don't want to fight over this". Sometimes those in charge get pushback, happens somewhere every day.