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Syria Isn't America's Fault
(Washington Post) Aaron David Miller - The idea that Syria was anyone's to win or lose, or that the U.S. could significantly shape the outcome there, is typical of the arrogant paternalism and flawed analysis that have gotten this country into heaps of trouble in the Middle East over the years. Since this conflict began in early 2011, all of the military options for intervention have been heavily skewed toward risk rather than reward. The Assad regime had firepower, allies (Russia and China blocking actions in the UN Security Council; Iran supplying money and weapons), determination to do whatever it took to survive, and succeeded in keeping much of the Alawite military, security and intelligence forces intact. To blame this crisis on Washington is to fail to understand the cruel nature of the Syrian tragedy and the limits of U.S. power and our national priorities. The U.S. is coming out of the two longest wars in its history, in which the standard for victory was never "can we win?" but "when can we leave?" The writer is vice president for current initiatives at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.