... or Get Off the Pot

I suppose that, deep down, the President is waiting for a miracle in Syria. 

Maybe the Syrian rebels - our guys, not al Qaeda's guys - will win a smashing victory,  oust Bashar al-Assad, and establish a stable, pro-American government.

Maybe the proposed peace conference will actually meet, overcome the unanimous desire of its participants to slaughter each other, and hammer out a coalition government fairly representing all of Syria's races, religions and interest groups.

Or maybe the American people will, without guidance from their political leaders, arrive at a consensus which permits Mr. Obama to act boldly - if action contingent upon polling data can ever be said to be bold.

Personally, I think he's just dithering - something this President has elevated to a Zen-like practice.

As for miracles, I'm guessing the Middle East used up its allocation several millennia ago. 

And if anyone wants what Sir Winston would have called my appreciation of the situation, it's this:  Syria is descending from one circle of Hell to the next while the world's only superpower wrings its hands and hopes for the best.

It's time for America either to act - or to declare that Syria is none of our business and turn our attention to other things.

Please understand.  I'm not at all sure we should concern ourselves with Syria.  To be honest,  I'm more interested in issues such as global climate change; the widening gulf between America's 1% and the rest of us; corporate domination of politics in the Western democracies; and the Cardinals' latest winning streak.

Besides, a war which boils down to enraged Middle Eastern tribes butchering each other over obscure ethnic and sectarian differences seems to me - while regrettable - pretty much a case of "dog bites man".

It's an over-populated planet.  Every little bit helps.

Still, it's impossible to pretend that America has no stake in the matter.  Syria isn't a big country, but it's strategically located.  Like much of the Arabic-speaking Near East - Syria is a society fractured into so many groups that it may well be unable to function without an imperial overlord or a murderous strongman.

America's most significant interests would include these:

Syria has chemical weapons, and a demonstrated willingness to use them.

Syria borders Israel.

Syria has its tentacles in Lebanon - a state which, left alone, might actually be capable of returning to a condition of advanced civilization.

Perhaps most importantly, Syria is a client of our local nemesis, Iran, and of our re-emerging would-be nemesis, Russia.

Given the limits of present-day technology, relocating Syria so that it no longer abuts Israel seems a non-starter.

On the other hand, a reasonably good outcome in the current civil war might well address the remaining issues.  Certainly, a more tractable government in Damascus might conceivably cool Syria's relations with Iran and Hezbollah, the most dangerous Islamist group in the region.

A new government installed with active military assistance from the United States might even allow us to draw Syria's chemical teeth. 

Moreover, America's stakes continue to rise.  Russia has pledged to provide anti-aircraft missiles to the Assad regime, and that's not something we should stand for.  Russia is a country we should be cultivating as a potential long-term partner - but its evolution toward democracy and the rule of law have been interrupted by the perpetual presidency of Vladimir Putin.

As long as Putin can ignore his country's urgent needs - by rallying nationalist nostalgia for the good old days when the Soviet Union was a super-power - Russia will remain stuck in the mud.

So there's a strong case to be made for resisting any attempt by Putin to make a big show in foreign affairs.  Syria represents a chance to take him down a peg, and such a chance shouldn't be missed.

Likewise, Hezbollah has committed to sending fighters into the Syrian conflict - which gives us a legitimate opportunity to kill them wholesale.

Hezbollah is a tough bunch, and sending in our troops against them would result in significant American casualties.  But in armed conflict, I'd bet on elite US Army and Marine units - with good air cover - against Hezbollah.  And taking a crack at exterminating Hezbollah - a finite force in a small, well-defined area - seems a lot more realistic than chasing the Taliban around the trackless mountains and valleys of Waziristan.

There's another issue - to my mind, the largest issue - and that's the demographic impact of civil war on Syria's future.  But that issue is so unfamiliar - because so often ignored - that it deserves its own post. 

For now, my message to the Obama administration would be this:  Dithering is not prudence, or patience, or doing your homework.  Dithering is dithering - and it's the diametric opposite of leadership.

It's time for Mr. Obama to do something ...or get off the pot.