# Should We (USA) Attack Syria? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 16, 2004, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200 "2004-12-16T20:20:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/81 "2004-12-17T23:40:20Z")
> [@Myakot](#): > > Why should any action be restricted to that which benefits the US? This is a discussion of whether the US should attack Syria, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Myakot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/49beb7/32.png) [@Myakot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myakot)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/82 "2004-12-17T23:42:06Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > This is a discussion of whether the US should attack Syria, isn’t it? As far as I know, yes. Were you planning on answering my question? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/83 "2004-12-17T23:43:28Z")
> [@Myakot](#): > > As far as I know, yes. Were you planning on answering my question? I thought that did answer your question. The discussion is about the US invading Syria, so obviously people who think it’s a good idea would have to explain why it benefits the US to do so. Am I missing something here? ---
**Author:** ![Myakot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/49beb7/32.png) [@Myakot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myakot)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/84 "2004-12-17T23:45:39Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I thought that did answer your question. The discussion is about the US invading Syria, so obviously people who think it’s a good idea would have to explain why it benefits the US to do so. Am I missing something here? Yes, my question. Why does it have to benefit the US to be worthwhile to do? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/85 "2004-12-17T23:47:11Z")
> [@Myakot](#): > > Why does it have to benefit the US to be worthwhile to do? Because we’re talking about the US doing it. If the USA is supposed to make the enormous investment of people, effort and money it would take to invade yet another country, there would have to be some benefit to doing so, yes? ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/86 "2004-12-17T23:48:08Z")
> [@annaplurabelle](#): > > I’ve heard many of them used against myself. How else do you think I learned of them? > > Also, if “petal” is a greater insult than I’d realised, I apologise. I don’t have the benefit of sensibility of any one culture, since I was raised in 3 different countries. > > But to the point of the OP: I’ve provided many cites, and have laid out a clear position for my views based on facts. > > What do you have to say about the water problem? What do you have to say about Bashar Assad? What do you really know about Bashar Assad or Syria? > > Perhaps you could address those questions. Bashar Assad took over the reigns of power after his father died naturally, and seems to be pretty much the same person, except he’s in a situation where there is increased pressure to reform his regime. > [@](#): > > You fail to make a case for how a regime change in Syria would benefit the US. Or how a “beneficial” regime change might happen considering the demographics of Syria. Because it is a known sponsor of terrorism? Maybe because Syria has supported the Iraqi insurgency? Hezbollah would find it increasingly hard to support itself without a large scale ally? Israel would see no need in the long term to occupy the Golan heights and therefore could return them? I know it might not, but its a possibility. What I want to know is why the Syrians have been on the security council 6 times, and Israel isn’t allowed. ---
**Author:** ![Myakot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/49beb7/32.png) [@Myakot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myakot)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/87 "2004-12-17T23:51:12Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Because we’re talking about the US doing it. If the USA is supposed to make the enormous investment of people, effort and money it would take to invade yet another country, there would have to be some benefit to doing so, yes? Can’t the benefit be for the people living there? ---
**Author:** ![Aldebaran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Aldebaran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aldebaran)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/88 "2004-12-17T23:53:37Z")
> [@Myakot](#): > > Can’t the benefit be for the people living there? Sure. Let’s drop a few bombs on your neighbourhood and see how you benefit from it while being dead. Salaam. A ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/89 "2004-12-17T23:54:09Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > Maybe because Syria has supported the Iraqi insurgency? Would adding a second front to the war in Iraq make the insurgency any easier to deal with? > [@Myakot](#): > > Can’t the benefit be for the people living there? Do nations normally carry out invasions for that reason? (Hint: No.) Then there’s the question of how much the Syrians would benefit in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/90 "2004-12-17T23:55:58Z")
> [@Myakot](#): > > Can’t the benefit be for the people living there? So what would the benefit be to Syrians? Since an invasion would kill thousands of them, it had better be good. ---
**Author:** ![Myakot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/49beb7/32.png) [@Myakot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myakot)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/91 "2004-12-17T23:56:35Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Do nations normally carry out invasions for that reason? (Hint: No.) Right, mostly because they are self-invested morons. > [@](#): > > Then there’s the question of how much the Syrians would benefit in the first place. I’m not speaking so much as for Syria in itself. My question was “why should any action be restricted to that which benefits the US?”, which has nothing to do with Syria. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/92 "2004-12-17T23:58:10Z")
> [@Myakot](#): > > Can’t the benefit be for the people living there? I didn’t know that “violent warfare” was the only sort of international charity available today. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/93 "2004-12-17T23:58:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Would adding a second front to the war in Iraq make the insurgency any easier to deal with? It would help in destroying terrorist safehavens, but not much with a second front opening. I think in regards to the safe havens there, infiltration and ‘black ops’ with plausable deniability. Its the only way to go. ---
**Author:** ![annaplurabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@annaplurabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annaplurabelle)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/94 "2004-12-17T23:59:44Z")
> [@Myakot](#): > > Why should any action be restricted to that which benefits the US? As has been said already, it is the question asked in the OP. But as a general question, it should perhaps be changed to : _Who_ would benefit from an invasion/a regime change in Syria? Is that it? IMO, only extremist Muslim fundamentalists would benefit, by virtue of gaining more recruits (in this case, Muslim Brotherhood and Hezbollah). Israel might _seem_ to benefit in the short term, to some, but not in the long haul. An inadequate water supply is a recipe for more terrorism. A civilised society cannot exist or be created without an adequate water supply. If you think this analysis is wrong, I wish you’d address it directly. What is more important than water? ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/95 "2004-12-18T00:01:02Z")
> [@](#): > > But as a general question, it should perhaps be changed to : Who would benefit from an invasion/a regime change in Syria? Well maybe the Syrian people, but I guess thats a long shot :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/96 "2004-12-18T00:04:17Z")
> [@Myakot](#): > > Right, mostly because they are self-invested morons. If you want to read that into what I said, you’re free to do so. If you’re actually interested in what I actually and (I thought) pretty clearly stated in the next sentence, it’s that war is a massive undertaking and governments do not typically do it unless it is in their interests to do so. > [@](#): > > I’m not speaking so much as for Syria in itself. My question was “why should any action be restricted to that which benefits the US?”, which has nothing to do with Syria. As I said, we’re talking about the US doing it, and we’re not running a charity here. 😉 > [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > Well maybe the Syrian people, but I guess thats a long shot :rolleyes: Given the way Iraq is going right now, I agree: it’s a long shot. ---
**Author:** ![annaplurabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@annaplurabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annaplurabelle)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/97 "2004-12-18T00:06:20Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > Well maybe the Syrian people, but I guess thats a long shot :rolleyes: Which Syrian people do you speak of? Syria is not a homogenous country. Read up on the demographics of Syria, or go back and read my post on it. There is no debate here if you refuse to address facts. ---
**Author:** ![Myakot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/49beb7/32.png) [@Myakot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myakot)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/98 "2004-12-18T00:06:31Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > If you want to read that into what I said, you’re free to do so. If you’re actually interested in what I actually and (I thought) pretty clearly stated in the next sentence, it’s that war is a massive undertaking and governments do not typically do it unless it is in their interests to do so. > > As I said, we’re talking about the US doing it, and we’re not running a charity here. 😉 Why not? ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/99 "2004-12-18T00:08:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Given the way Iraq is going right now, I agree: it’s a long shot. Rubbish, only the security situation is bad, due to dumbass American planning, in Syria we’d of learned from the mistakes. It would be probably better as we would know not to completely dismantle the structures put in place to make an artificial state survive. ---
**Author:** ![Myakot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/49beb7/32.png) [@Myakot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myakot)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200/100 "2004-12-18T00:11:10Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > Rubbish, only the security situation is bad, due to dumbass American planning, in Syria we’d of learned from the mistakes. It would be probably better as we would know not to completely dismantle the structures put in place to make an artificial state survive. I wouldn’t trust them further than I could throw them. Not realizing that in the first place was stupid enough. In any case, the US should not unilaterally (for our purposes, the Coalition of the Willing can be considered unilateral) start attacking and overthrowing ANY regimes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-usa-attack-syria/280200.md?page=6)