Obama Shouldn’t Be Rushed Into Bombing Syria

Like my colleague George Packer, I’m of two minds about the prospect of the United States and its allies taking military action against the Syrian government. Having seen the pictures from Syria, and having been brought up on stories of the horrors in the trenches during the First World War, when both sides used mustard gas and other toxins, I’m in favor of punishing the perpetrators of what appears to have been a large-scale gas attack on civilians. On the other hand, I have deep misgivings about the U.S. intervening on the side of the rebel forces, which appear to have turned into a ragtag army dominated by jihadists and thugs.

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