With so much focus being on Ukraine, Russia, and Crimea, the Syrian crisis has been pushed to the side. Does anyone realize there is still fighting going on over there? Not only that, but the rebels are saying that Assad is once again using chemical weapons, and there seems to be at least some secondary proof of it. On top of that Assad is dragging his feet in regards to removing his chemical weapon stockpiles.
This begs the question of what should be done. Should we just sit by and hope that Assad slowly gives up his stockpiles? Should we send missiles to blow up those stockpiles? Should we do what we did to Saddam Hussein?
Since the US administration made its Russian brokered deal with Assad, the US has had to deal with its apparent weakness in the eyes of most of the world. By backing down at the last moment, the US showed that it no longer had the will to truly enforce international law; it would do anything to avoid war. This, of course, played into Putin’s hands, which gave him peace of mind when taking Crimea. Look at the weak sanctions imposed on some people in Russia for further proof.
Given this, if intelligence shows that Assad has actually been using chemical weapons again, and there is no significant sign that he is removing his stockpiles, then the US should attack those stockpiles, and show that noncompliance is not an option. By doing so, it will do two things for the US, it will remove at least some, if not most of Assad’s chemical weapons, which will weaken Assad’s military capability, and secondly it will show the world that the US still has the cojones to back up its rhetoric, which should strengthen it stance in regards to Russia’s and China’s expanding sphere of influence.