Don’t bomb Syria, Mr. President! That was the message on many signs carried by Delaware’s Pacem in Terris on Thursday afternoon. A passerby said, "Weren’t you guys here a couple of years ago? What war is this? I’ve lost track." Judging by the frequent approving honks from down-towners driving home from work, many Wilmingtonians are likewise opposed to bombing Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons.
When President George W. Bush ordered our troops to invade Iraq, on the grounds that Saddam Hussein was theatening the U.S. with weapons of mass destruction, I had my doubts about the supporting intelligence, as I do in this case too. But even if the evidence is sound that Assad gassed his own people, how does that fact justify bombing Syria? How specifically is his possession of chemical weapons a threat to the U.S.? President Obama needs to fill in the details of that argument. Otherwise, a populace growing weary of foreign interventions begins to suspect that fear mongering is a means to hide the real reasons for sticking our noses into other peoples’ business.