In one of the familiar dialogues from the "Seinfeld" comedy series, George Costanza returns from a visit to the doctor, worried and complaining. "When I asked him if it was cancer, he didn't give me a 'get out of here.' That's what I wanted to hear. 'Cancer? Get out of here!'"

This is an answer that a responsible physician does not rush to dispense, but one that the Obama administration has been disseminating very generously for several years already (at least its implied message, if not expressly). Syrian President Bashar al-Assad threatens, and the American government responds by saying, "Chemical weapons? He won’t dare use them. Against civilians, against children? Get out of here." Because if he dares, that will be a red line. After all, America sent him "messages," and for some reason America also thought that Assad "understood" those messages.

Only the horrifying sight of children’s cadavers laid out in a long line testify to the fact that he didn’t understand. It indicates that in the Middle East, "Get out of here!" is not a good answer. When you get out, it does not end with nothing. It ends with massacre.

At the end of 2010, President Barack Obama took advantage of the Senate’s recess to appoint an ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford. Obama was forced to employ this roundabout method because several senators had informed then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that they opposed such an appointment, which they felt would constitute a "prize" to Assad for bad behavior. But the Obama administration was not convinced. Administration officials said this appointment was not a concession, but a tool through which the United States would forward messages to the highest Syrian echelons with greater effectiveness.