We've lost the UK, NATO, the UN... the Pentagon...

[cthulu2016]

Yeah, yeah... it's Politico, but hardly controversial analysis. The military isn't a great fan of ineffective shows of military force. They make military options look bad.

White House peeved at Pentagon leaks

Many of the leaks about U.S. strike plans for Syria, a copious flow of surprisingly specific information on ship dispositions and possible targets, have been authorized as a way for President Obama to signal the limited scope of operations to friends and foes.

But a number of leaks have been decidedly unauthorized -- and, according to Obama administration sources, likely emanating from a Pentagon bureaucracy less enthusiastic about the prospect of an attack than, say, the State Department, National Security Council or Obama himself.

"Deeply unhelpful," was how one West Winger described the drip-drip of doubt...

...a series of disclosures that more subtly undermine Obama's claim that the Syria action will be quick and clean, punitive and tailored. Earlier this week the New York Times reported on doubts that the main weapon likely employed against Syrian President Bashar Assad, the Tomahawk cruise missile, would have a meaningful impact on the regime's chemical weapons facilities which are widely scattered and likely to be well hidden. This graf, I'm told, chafed in particular: "The weapons are not often effective against mobile targets, like missile launchers, and cannot be used to attack underground bunkers. Naval officers and attack planners concede that the elevation of the missile cannot entirely be controlled and that there is a risk of civilian casualties when they fly slightly high."...

http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/08/white-house-peeved-at-pentagon-leaks-171520.html

[TwilightGardener]

1. They didn't "lose" the Pentagon. They've got some assholes who want to

cause trouble. Dempsey and Hagel better find out who's running to WaPo and leaking this shit, and they need to be punished.

[cali]

2. Dempsey has warned about the ramifcations of strikes himself. n/t

[TwilightGardener]

3. Not strikes as being discussed now, his letter to Engel was before the big chem attack and

referred to the various options for ending the civil war that people like McCrazy and Levin wanted (no fly zones, etc). Obama did not want to get involved in the actual war beyond sending arms/training, and I think Dempsey's position is probably Obama's and Hagel's as well. The chem weapon retaliation is a different ball of wax, now. In no way would Dempsey allow Obama's plans to be sabotaged--that is coming from disgruntled (probably repub) assholes from further down the chain.