Syria - will the hawks stay on their perches?

[Mysturji]

I would suggest a surgical, precision air-strike to obliterate the Presidential Palace at a time when Assad is known to be inside (e.g. right after Kofi Annan leaves their next meeting), but considering the success rate of such missions by the USAF in recent years, they may be just as likely to hit Siberia as they are Syria.

[Audley Strange]

Alright.

The U.S. is doing the right thing. As CES points out there is a disconnect between the reality of foreign policy and the idiocy of the "Think of the babies!!" brigade. The ugly fact is that people are being killed but to intervene is to potentially exacerbate the situation where your own people might be getting killed in reprisals, not to mention get bogged down in another costly exercise and for what exactly?

If your damned if you do or don't take the path of least resistence. No one has any moral obligation to help out Syria, plus the place is a nest of vipers and deranged cultists. Who the fuck do you support?

[Ian]

Did the shit just hit the international fan?

Syrian military says it downed Turkish fighter jet
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18561219

[JimC]

Did the shit just hit the international fan?

Syrian military says it downed Turkish fighter jet
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18561219

One would assume a local commander who fired first, and thought second...

Assad needs this complication like he needs a heart attack. One thinks the commander who issued the order is not long for this world...

[Warren Dew]

Syrian military says it downed Turkish fighter jet
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18561219

Interesting. Turkish jet flying low but fast into Syrian air space and shot down before it was identified. Sounds to me like the plane lost some instruments and was trying to get home using visual landmarks, and the Syrians mistook it for an incoming cruise missile.

The Turks could use it as a pretence if they wanted to intervene, but I don't think they want to.

[Schneibster]

It remains to be seen, I think. I can't imagine Turkey actually invading, but they sure could get rough, tough, and remarkably ugly. They're right next door, and could elect to supply the rebels and open their border to them, and station their army to interdict any move by the Syrians across the border. All without invading.

The Russians could try to pressure them, but that could backfire extremely badly: Turkey is a member of NATO. And NATO is not backing down to Russia this century.

AFA whether I support intervention by the US, no, not unilaterally. If NATO or the UN asks our help and puts up some money, and some of their own blood, I think we can accommodate that. Otherwise, they don't want it bad enough and are just looking for a scapegoat.