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Right, but any military engagement against the Syrian regime must first be authorized by the UN Security Council. There has been a debate in this thread over which types of military action can...

The Obama Administration was playing with semantics when describing the Libyan intervention not as a war but as "kinetic military action". This is just one of many ways for presidents to avoid...

The president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.

I...

These turn of events are based largely off of Obama's red line statement in August 2012. If he had never made that statement, there would be little pressure to act. The administration has found...

Thanks for contributing to the thread. It's always great to hear the diversity of opinions on this matter.



Few countries have declared war since World War II (thanks largely to the UN Charter,...

*UPDATE

Obama insists that although he has the authority to order a unilateral military strike on Syrian military targets, he will first seek Congressional approval.

A few thoughts:


...

With the initial 'red line' blunder and the impending military strike as a alleged means to enforce some kind of "accountability" or "international law", we see Obama's idealist side. This is...

I think Talthas hit the nail on the head. Obama committing to something he really didn't want and he appears weak on the issue. Now, his worst nightmare has come true.

Several observers of the...

Thanks for the welcome, eye4magic.

I am not aware of any U.S. intelligence report about any transfer of chemical weapons from Saddam's Iraq to Syria. There is apparently a more improved process...

Hi folks,

Great to be back on ODN. Hope everyone is doing fine.

The purpose of this thread is to spur a thoughtful debate on the imminent U.S. military strike planned against military assets of...

We should focus on the action at hand and not whether Christian and Muslim death cults exist or not, or which group is worse.

What transpired was a complete act of savagery. If the supposed...

Ah, so for you it's a personal vendetta?

The fact that you would only respond to that part of my post shows how disinterested you are in honest, thought provoking debate. I do not recall ever...

If such a government is inclined to threaten, and actually carry out, genocide then wouldn't it also be inclined to prevent the loss of its power (whether that loss is derived from the democratic...

First, no need for the smug attitude and the hostile tone. If you want to continue that form of debate and continue hurling unprovoked insults, then I have absolutely no desire to continue debating...

Let's be fair: when Obama encouraged Mubarak to step down, there was no real expectation that the Muslim Brotherhood would rise to power the way it did. The MB, for the most part, stayed out of the...

They do occupy it. That's why the West Bank and Gaza are frequently referred to as the "occupied territories."

Throughout history, there have been varying degrees of polarity in the international system -- that is, the distribution of power among empires and nation-states has determined how the international...

Hypothetically speaking, it could be forced if the entire international community came to a collective agreement over a common resolution to the problem (though that is a big assumption to think the...

If you're referring to a legal right of intervention then there is no general "right to intervene". International law (as per Chapter 1, Article 2 of the UN Charter) prevents the United Nations from...

For one thing, the United States would no longer support Israel if it threatened nuclear genocide. But American diplomatic and financial support for Israel is crucial for the Jewish state to thrive,...

Many of you are assuming that a world government would be as centralized and authoritative (not in terms of political system but in terms of power structure) as modern states. Granted, one problem is...

Fair enough, and I've already agreed that Iran (as with other states) has not always acted rationally.



Can we agree that, in the circumstance that the regime's adherence to Shia religious...

It was just a thought. Most of the people that used it seemed to like it and it was nice as a feature that could be accessible to those who wanted to debate in real time. Then again, you won't have a...

Allo, the underlying assumption you're making is that religion does more harm than good, therefore it should be controlled because of the potential fall-out from religious fanatics who act on a set...

Speaking of a scoring system, I suggested something similar to that a while back where formal debates would involve a formal points system in which judges score opening post, counter-argument,...

What happened to the chat room? It wasn't heavily used, but when it was, it made for an entertaining discussion when certain folks were in the room. I would bring it back.

Escaping defeat one time may be luck. For the regime to be surrounded by enemies and still escape from an internal revolt or foreign invasion for more than three decades without some formulated...

First, let's remember that the regime has managed to survive for three decades, despite being surrounded by enemies. This alone should cause you to question how it could have achieved this if it did...

The government should not be in the business of compelling citizens to enter into market transactions. It should be the discretion of the citizen whether or not he/she decides to purchase insurance...

I have returned to ODN after some time off. Nonetheless, my interest in this issue is ongoing, but please do not feel compelled to respond. It would, however, be interesting if this debate continued...