The west's threat to attack Syria is an idiotic gesture | Simon Jenkins

A sceptical public recognises the futility of launching a missile strike that will not topple Bashar al-Assad

The reason a missile attack on Syria is proving so unpopular on both sides of the Atlantic has nothing to do with neoimperial hubris. The reason is that it is a bad idea. "Punishing" a dictator for killing his own people by simply killing more of his own people seems beyond cruel. It seems stupid. It leads nowhere.

Public opinion may be a poor guide to the minutiae of state policy. But...