President Barack Obama’s recent decision to seek congressional authorization before taking military action against the Bashar al-Assad regime lies at the intersection of “the need to do something” about Syria and Obama's personal reluctance to use force, especially at a time when the American people have no appetite for another war.
With regard to the first, the need for the United States to enforce — and reinforce — the international ban on the use of chemical weapons is imperative. US inaction on this score would otherwise send the message to Assad that he may continue killing his own rebellious people with impunity. Over and above that, US inaction would also signal to Iran and North Korea that Washington is not all that serious about confronting their nuclear proliferation efforts.
