The Libya "humanitarian war" model won't work in Syria, and it hasn't really worked in Libya.

It is way too early to tell how things will turn out in Libya. The latest attack was by an extremist group with help from foreign fighters. Granted, security is not where it needs to be but that is a different argument. Plus, you fail to provide any documentation to support your "won't work" assessment. Lastly, you did not provide anything as a replacement for current policy.

or in Iran.

I hope things work out for the Libyans, but this changing regimes in one country with a bunch of native Jihadi terrorists and using them to overthrow other regimes is a humanitarian disaster about to become a major regional war. Any policy but that policy.

You are right that what happened in Libya can't be replicated in Syria. The death of over 20,000 people killed in Syria in the last year and a half, many of them a little too young or a "little too female" to be your typical Jihadi terrorist, would confirm the 'difference'.

It is indeed a "humanitarian disaster" but blaming it on the opposition to a dictator seems a little illiberal. Did Assad have no choice back in the spring of 2011 other than to respond to the massive peaceful protests with force? Dictators in Tunisia and Egypt did not respond to similar demonstrations with massive force. (They used force and demonstrators died, but not 'massive' force.)

Was Assad right to oppose those peaceful protesters with force back then? I suppose if the use of force had been successful, as it was for his father who bequeathed the dictatorship to him, we would not be having this discussion. Perhaps Assad figured that, if force didn't scare people enough to make them go home and be quiet then, he could win the eventual civil war since he has the artillery, tanks and planes to go with an organized army.

It is a shame when hereditary dictators see their right to rule threatened.

it's character changed to a religious war of extermination, and the possibility of reform and compromise ended. The minority Alawite have a well-founded fear of genocidal outcomes, and have been given no reason to believe there is any alternative other than to fight for their lives.

Threat number 2,563,436.

I guess we're all supposed to ignore the FU to the IAEA and the medieval treatment of women and gays .

of women and gays, as long as we like the people that are treating them poorly.

from the most illegal reactionary regime on earth.

They may play that hand once too often..and it may come sooner than they think.

where one of the candidates has PROMISED to put US lives on the line to assist Israel

is that what support means?

and if needs be with boots on the ground, though militarily they shouldnt need anything other than some supporting units and political cover if they decide to go after the iranian nuclear facilities.

if not military what kind of units are you talking about?

but we will give them intel as you would expect, probuably counter missile defenses if needed. Its pretty much a given that we dont want Iran to get nukes and if Israel is prepared to do the heavy lifting then we should give them the cover they will need.

... I guess its too much to hope for that they would finish each other off.

More blowback.

Obama is showing some real smarts, doing everything he can with our allies and saving war as a LAST resort. I hope he is successful.

However, I feel he has a philosophical difficulty. America is, was, should be, against all form of tyranny. Forgive our past where we supported tyrants, mostly because "those bastards were our bastards." Should we have to intervene, I hope we use the Libya/Balkans model of intervention by air only. I can see supporting a local insurgents by providing the air cover they do not have and no more unilateral actions.

One thing that does worry me. What do we do if the Iranian army does play the part of the NVA?