White House Says "Multiple" Sources on Syria Chemical Weapons; Colin Powell Had Multiple Sources for Iraq Claims, Too
Here we go again...
The White House has announced it is now confident the Syrian government used chemical weapons in the civil war that's engulfed that country for the last three years. A statement from the White House insists the determination is based on "multiple, independent streams of information." The Bush Administration's insistence about the case for a war in Iraq was similarly framed. Colin Powell backed his statements in his now infamous 2003 speech to the United Nations this way: "Ladies and gentlemen, these are not assertions. These are facts, corroborated by many sources, some of them sources of the intelligence services of other countries." Despite the apparent confidence, behind the scenes Powell wasn't so sure. Eventually he was upset about being fed fabricated evidence.
Now, deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes says contingencies for a no-fly zone over Syria have been drawn up, though a decision hasn't been made. A no-fly zone, Rhodes admits, would come with "great and open-ended costs".
Bill Clinton, another fan of serial intervention, earlier this week said Barack Obama would be a "total fool" not to escalate U.S. involvement in the Syrian civil war.
Get ready for more intervention by reading previous Reason on intervention in Syria:
If Syria is a Proxy War, What's the U.S. Interest?
Why is America Intervening in Syria Now?
The Situation in Syria Presents an Unwelcome Setting for Intervention
U.S. Military Intervention in Syria is a Really Bad Idea
America Needs to Stay Out of Syria
And, lest we forget: Western Intervention in Syria's Already Started