I Don't Support Military Action in Syria

This whole build-up to war in Syria is getting out of hand.  More after the jump.

Why do I not support military action in Syria?

1. I don’t trust a man who has absolutely no military experience to act as commander-in-chief. I think it should be a prerequisite to be president to have served.
2. I have seen no evidence to suggest that Syria poses an imminent national security threat to either the United States or Israel. 
3. The party responsible for the use of chemical weapons is still inconclusive.  Even if it was Assad that used them (as opposed to the sources that say it was the al Qaeda-backed rebels using it as a way to provoke a U.S. military action), it pales in comparison to the thousands who have already died in that civil war.  Why is it just now that we take notice?
4. Where is the UN?  I thought this is exactly what that organization was designed for.  This is further proof that that body is completely useless.
5. Democrats live and die by polls.  The polls show that Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of military action in Syria.  This is why I think there is something much more sinister afoot. 
6. Where are the anti-war protestors?   Allegedly there are a few out there, but there is a media blackout on them, unlike the buildup to the Iraq invasion.
7. John McCain played poker on his iPhone during a Senate hearing on military action.  If such a hearing wasn’t worth his undivided attention (after throwing his support behind the president’s plan), it’s not worth mine.  (Though, listening to John Kerry bloviate would drive me to find something more interesting to do also.)
8. Every time we try to stabilize the Middle East, we falter.  Deposing a dictator hasn’t worked in Libya, Egypt, or Iran.  What makes us think that Syria would be any different?  And if Al Qaeda is behind the rebels, who would rise to take Assad’s place if they are successful (with our assistance)?
9. Assad may be being set up.  Democrats praised him in the Bush years.  Why are they turning on him now?
10. Every service member I’ve talked to opposes going to war alongside Al Qaeda.  They are the enemy.  This isn’t a circumstance where the enemy of my enemy is my ally.  The Assad regime is (allegedly) an enemy too.  Going to war there would likely make us face a two-fold enemy.  We’ve found out that in Iraq and Afghanistan, those who we think are our allies are too often the enemy.  Military action in Syria, I fear, would be much worse.   

I don’t pretend to know everything about the region, its leaders, the sectarian war there, or how devastating the alleged attack with chemical weapons was.  But there are far more questions than answers at this point.

We pretty much had to go to war in Afghanistan after 9/11.  Bush did everything right with the lead-up to Iraq.  It was only after we tried to mount a human rights-centered war that things went to pot.  There are mistakes in war, and hindsight sucks.  But haven’t we learned from our mistakes yet?  Oh, and could it possibly be that the chemical weapons in Syria were once in Iraq?  You know, what Bush said was probably happening?  Just saying…

Were it not for Israel and the threat of one of these deranged Muslims getting ahold of a nuclear weapon, I’d say let these people kill each other off and stay out of it.  Unfortunately that’s not the world we live in.  But until I see a credible threat to our homeland or that of Israel, I won’t support military action in Syria.  This is what the UN is for, and they should be taking the lead here, instead of letting Russia and China bully to get their way.  Unfortunately, both of those countries now see the United States as weak on foreign policy – a position I unfortunately hold as well.  When will people wake up and see that this administration is steering us, without clarification, into another unwinnable situation? 

Democrats will always vie for political gain, but the Republicans that are on board with this operation are all but dead to me.  Guys like Ted Cruz and Rand Paul need to hold the line on this one, and not let John McCain, Lindsay Graham, John Boehner, or Eric Cantor strong-arm them into this. I don’t always like taking the Libertarian stance on foreign policy, but this time, it’s the right one.