I certainly hope you are right, Squink, but my hope is in short supply at this time. AIPAC has been investigated before. The shake-ups at Justice and State don’t bode well for any of your claims. Hear anything about the Plame case, for example?
And what about Ghadry’s claims? The recent purges prove him right. I now take these people at face value. Scoffing at them hasn’t worked out as I’d hoped.
This isn’t a done deal, by any means. But nothing bodes well for the forces of truth at this time.
No, they are aiding their allies. We are the enemy this time, remember?
So easy to forget.
In any event, WE shouldn’t attack anyone. The UN should be utilized in a far more aggressive manner.
And this benefits the USA how, dear?
Read up on the water problem in the Middle East. Keep an eye out for the Litani River, which runs through Lebanon.
Why is Lebanon so coveted, by both Syria and Israel?
Think.
When I think of all that lovely Lebanese water flowing into Hetch Hetchy, filling the valley, and providing clean, fresh agua to millions of thirsty San Franciscans, it gives me pause. Maybe it is in America’s interest to conquer Syria. 
Cuisine? Not for me, of course. I can’t eat Lebanese food, it makes me feel awful.
But Anna has put her finger to it, water, indeed, is the coming issue. Israel is often praised for making the deserts bloom, but we forget that deserts don’t bloom because…well, they’re deserts. They’re not *supposed * to bloom, and any effort to make them do so requires an extravagant squandering of water. Witness our own negotiations with Mexico over how much of the Colorado river they can have once we’re done peeing in it.
Well the fact that Lebanese have an elected Parliament and wanted to get rid of the pro Syrian PM, and Syrians allowing a militia, you may of heard of them, Hezbollah? To strike into Israeli territory, maybe something of a good thing to get rid of.
I agree. We should launch into action in Sudan, too, right? Maybe swing by Ethiopia on the way home… Hell, those Saudis are still a monarchy! Oh, wait, they’re our friends…
Ryan, I wish to present you with a potentially unsettling thought. Brace yourself. That which is good for Israel is not necessarily good for the US. We are their best friend, and they are their best friend as well.
I asked you to think, petal.
Pity you can’t humour an old woman. Reminds me of why the Brits have at least 17 words for idiot.
Careful, Gaudere has an itchy trigger finger.
That’s unfair, Elucidator. Every nation is its own best friend - that’s as it should be. We also like to think of Israel as very close as and very loyal to the U.S., and we have nothing but respect for our “big brother.” You may not see it from where you’re standing but the amount of influence America has on Israel is immense, far more than the other way around. Generally speaking, Jerusalem does what Washington wants it to do. You’re the leader in these parts.
We didn’t ask you to invade Iraq, although we didn’t really object, either - Iraq had been at war with us for 55 years, and nobody minds watching their enemy get their asses handed to them. And we’re not asking you to invade Syria either, at least not for our sake. You’re forces are stretched too thin as it is, and you’re having enough problems with your (in out opinion) hopeless dream of installing democracy in an Arab nation. Besides, Syria isn’t much of a threat to us, not nowadays, and Hizballa have been mostly quiet lately, so there’s no real need to waste lives rooting them out. If anyone has to take Syria out, it’s us, not you; we’ve done it before, we’ll do it again.
Despite what you may believe, we don’t like seeing U.S. troops die. Up until now, not a single American soldier has ever died to protect Israel, and we’d like it to stay that way.
Yes, I did think precious special angel, and I came up with that reason. 
Freedom is on the march. 
Just like the UK I guess, we’re the Greece to your Rome. Think about that. I don’t see a problem in being supportive of a democractic government in the Middle East, isn’t that our mandate now anyway? To foster up representative govs in that region.
Oh and for the woman who called me Petal, why wouldn’t the US not want to see Syria out of Lebanon? Or is the reason Syria is there is because they know if they were to pull out, Lebanon would immediately become an ally of the West and in general the US? Maybe that thought should cross your mind.
Yes 17 words for idiot, choose one to use against yourself.
Well and fairly said, Allessan, and point well taken by a sympathetic ear. But you simplify, (for the sake of brevity, I am sure, and not to obfuscate.) As your countryman Amos Oz put it, approximately, true tragedy occurs when both antagonists have legitimate greivances. Much needs be done, to be sure, and you and I will not settle the matter here, however many threads we hi-jack. Suffice to say that I have many criticisms, but my essential sympathy remains undiminished.
Well, if I must, I’d probably go with “wanker”, it has a pleasant ring to it. Don’t know the others. Thank you for your generous suggestion.
When was this mandate given, and who has the authority to make a mandate like that?
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?
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.
Perhaps you could address those questions.
How fortunate we are, then, to have allies such as Pakistan’s Musharaff, who stands in the very front rank of military dictators, in terms of his staunch committment to democracy and egalitarianism.
Why should any action be restricted to that which benefits the US?