Senate Hearing on Syrian War Hints at Obama’s True Intentions | New Republic
▻http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114589/senate-hearing-syrian-war-hints-obamas-true-intentions
... after watching four hours of testimony, I felt that a remarkably coherent strategy had surfaced—one that is similar to, but also a little different from, what the president or the press had previously described.
Here’s what came out in the questioning:
—The administration is not just contemplating a single punitive strike against Syria’s Bashar al Assad for using chemical weapons; it is planning a repeatable military campaign that would strike again if he were to use these weapons again.
—The military campaign would also have the “collateral” or “downstream” result of weakening Assad militarily and politically. It would cause defections and significantly weaken the Assad government.
—The goal of the military campaign, combined with aid to the opposition, would not be to defeat Assad. Instead, the war would be ended by an international negotiation in which Russians would play a very important role. Such a deal would eliminate any role in Syria’s future for jihadist elements, but it might include a role for allies of Assad, if not for Assad himself.