Obama Ready to ‘Go It Alone’ on Syria War as Allies Back Out

Britain's Out, France Also Wavering on Attack Plan

President Obama’s plans to launch a nominally “internationally backed” war on Syria are in a shambles tonight, as the handful of partners they’d managed to cobble together to pass off as “international” are less and less eager to start the war without any proof of Syrian government wrongdoing.

Britain, which historically has joined the US in any war on any flimsy pretext, is officially out today, after the British parliament voted against authorizing the war. The Cameron government has now said it won’t attempt a fresh vote without evidence from UN inspectors, and won’t join in the war unless parliament signs off.

Even France, which has been calling for a war longer than anyone, seems to be wavering on the idea of a quick war, saying that they now want to delay the attack until the UN inspectors finish their investigation and provide proof to justify it.

President Obama has been fighting against the idea of waiting for the UN to finish its inspections, and officials today reiterated that he is prepared to “go it alone” on the Syrian War.

Saying he’s willing to and actually doing it are two different things, however, and with the administration desperately trying to avoid Congressional authorization on the war, failing to get UN, NATO or even Arab League support, not having good evidence, and now not even getting backing from Britain and France, arguably the architects of the entire war scheme, there’s not an awful lot left for the administration to base its war on.

Still, there could be a “window of opportunity” for Obama between the United Nations coming out with its conclusions early next week and Congress returning to session on September 9, though that risks the evidence from the UN not backing the war narrative, and is clearly something Obama has been loathe to risk.

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.