Lynch on Syria

Amid the growing debate about what to do about Syria, Marc Lynch offers a nuanced assessment, recognizing the dangers and limitations.

Today seems to be a sort of breathing space. France, which has generally been ahead of the US on Syrian issues, is calling for a delay until the UN investigation is complete, and both the British Parliament's Labour opposition and the US Congress are asking questions. The evidence still needs to be laid out; that I think is critical because of cynicism over the failure to find WMD in Iraq in 2003. But barring some totally unforeseen revelation, action seems inevitable. If so, it should be effective, not symbolic: aimed at genuinely degrading the regime's ability to use prohibited weapons.