Obama Looks to Escalate Military Role in Syria

Officials Mull 'Limited Strikes' on Syria

After failing to sell the American public on a full-scale invasion of Syria, President Obama let the matter drop, briefly at least. Now, officials are mulling ways to escalate their military involvement in the nation again.

Earlier in the week, the talk was of dramatic escalations of arms to rebel factions and possibly the establishment of a no-fly zone. Now, the talks are also said to include the possibility of “limited” US strikes.

The theory is that such strikes would be palatable to the American public, especially if they focused on al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). Officials are said to be exploring the “risks” of such a strike sucking the US military into deeper involvement in the war.

Which of course is likely the whole idea. The administration was so determined to invade in the past they argued that American public opposition was irrelevant, and after finally relenting in the face of such overwhelming opposition, many in the administration would like nothing more than to backdoor America into the war after all.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.