With the first of Western attacks against Syria just days away, US and other officials from nations involved in the planned attack say the strike is entirely about “punishing” Syria for being alleged to have used chemical weapons.
“The options that we are considering are not about regime change,” noted White House spokesman Jay Carney, suggesting the administration views lobbing missiles at Syria as an end unto itself.
Officials say that the strikes will be centered on the idea of showing “that there is a price,” and to “show the world that we did something” after repeated US threats to intervene militarily.
It is bizarre that the US is insisting suddenly, on the eve of war, that it is not about regime change, after two solid years of demanding Assad’s unconditional ouster. At the same time, it is ridiculous to insist that the US suddenly launching a war against Syria’s government won’t have any effect on the ongoing civil war, though officials are at this point desperately trying to keep the two ideas separate, likely because the current war is already such a complicated mess.
