Mr. Obama, Don’t Draw That Line
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/05/opinion/sunday/dont-draw-that-red-line.html?ref=opinion&_r=0
THE use of chemical weapons is and would be totally unacceptable, President Obama warned Bashar al-Assads government last December. If you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons, there will be consequences and you will be held accountable.
This threat followed the presidents earlier warning that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. This red line has come to haunt Mr. Obama. Last week, the American intelligence community assessed with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrians had used the chemical agent sarin in their attacks on the opposition.
The administrations ultimatum now seems like cheap talk, and it illustrates the risks of carelessly drawing red lines and issuing highly public threats that wont be enforced.
So far, at least, the Obama administration has put off both consequences and accountability and simply pushed for further investigation. Meanwhile, Mr. Assad has not blinked, and the presidents political opponents, like Representative Mike Rogers, Republican of Michigan, argue that Iran and North Korea will draw the wrong lessons if the president lets Mr. Assad call his bluff.