![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dougsbriefcase.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Credit-NY-Daily-News.jpg\")
<\/a>A man pre\u00adpares the bod\u00adies of those killed in last Wednes\u00adday\u2019s attack east of Dam\u00adas\u00adcus, Syr\u00adia. [Cred\u00adit: NY<\/span> Dai\u00adly News]<\/p><\/div>Sarin<\/a> vic\u00adtims often first feel its tox\u00adic effects in their eyes. They water and ache. Vision is blurred. Pupils con\u00adtract to a pin\u00adpoint. The nox\u00adious gas also affects the lungs, with chest tight\u00adness, cough and rapid breath\u00ading among the com\u00admon symp\u00adtoms. Then there are the car\u00addio\u00advas\u00adcu\u00adlar effects. The heart may race or sud\u00adden\u00adly slow down. Blood pres\u00adsure can spike or pre\u00adcip\u00adi\u00adtous\u00adly drop. Nau\u00adsea, vom\u00adit\u00ading and abdom\u00adi\u00adnal pain are among its gas\u00adtroin\u00adtesti\u00adnal con\u00adse\u00adquences. Its effects on the cen\u00adtral ner\u00advous sys\u00adtem include con\u00adfu\u00adsion, drowsi\u00adness and headache.\n All of this is what low to mod\u00ader\u00adate dos\u00ades of sarin can do, accord\u00ading to the US<\/span> Cen\u00adters for Dis\u00adease Con\u00adtrol. More exten\u00adsive expo\u00adsure \u2013 the kind that an attack by a tyrant against civil\u00adians might inflict \u2014 pro\u00adduces con\u00advul\u00adsions, paral\u00ady\u00adsis, loss of con\u00adscious\u00adness and res\u00adpi\u00adra\u00adto\u00adry failure.<\/p>\n Sarin is among the agents that may have been used in the attack on civil\u00adians that occurred in the hours after mid\u00adnight last Wednes\u00adday in rebel-held areas east of Dam\u00adas\u00adcus. The Assad gov\u00adern\u00adment denies respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty for the attack. If they did it \u2013 and the ear\u00adly evi\u00addence strong\u00adly sug\u00adgests that they did <\/a>\u2013 it would be the worst chem\u00adi\u00adcal attack since Sad\u00addam Hussein\u2019s assault on Kurds and Ira\u00adni\u00adans <\/a>in the late 1980s.<\/p>\n It occurred exact\u00adly one year after Pres\u00adi\u00addent Oba\u00adma repeat\u00aded his call for Assad to step down and warned that the use of chem\u00adi\u00adcal weapons by the Syr\u00adi\u00adan gov\u00adern\u00adment would cross a \u201cred line<\/a>.\u201d It puts renewed pres\u00adsure on the Pres\u00adi\u00addent to act, par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly since the US<\/span> mil\u00adi\u00adtary con\u00adfirmed last June<\/a> that the Syr\u00adi\u00adan gov\u00adern\u00adment had already crossed his \u201cred line\u201d in pri\u00ador, small\u00ader chem\u00adi\u00adcal attacks. In response to those inci\u00addents, the Pres\u00adi\u00addent promised to sup\u00adply rebels with arms. Months lat\u00ader, those arms have yet to arrive<\/a>.<\/p>\n While the Pres\u00adi\u00addent pub\u00adlicly says that he will wait for UN<\/span> inspec\u00adtors to deter\u00admine the nature of this past week\u2019s attacks, the inter\u00adnal debate at the White House on how to respond already has begun. The New York Times<\/a> report\u00aded in its Fri\u00adday edi\u00adtion on a lengthy meet\u00ading in which offi\u00adcials split on what, if any\u00adthing, the US<\/span> should do.<\/p>\n The meet\u00ading broke up with\u00adout any deci\u00adsion, accord\u00ading to senior offi\u00adcials, amid signs of a deep\u00aden\u00ading divi\u00adsion between those who advo\u00adcate send\u00ading Mr. Assad a harsh mes\u00adsage and those who argue that mil\u00adi\u00adtary action now would be reck\u00adless and ill timed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Cred\u00adit: Nation\u00adal Post<\/p><\/div>\n As his advis\u00aders split into rival camps, the Pres\u00adi\u00addent strug\u00adgles to make sense of it all. He thought he could over\u00adcome Islam\u00adic hatred of the US<\/span> gov\u00adern\u00adment through a cult of per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty. His Mus\u00adlim-sound\u00ading name and Third World roots would give him cred\u00adi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty with mod\u00ader\u00adate Islamists who despised Pres\u00adi\u00addent Bush. It didn\u2019t work out that way. The very fea\u00adtures that were thought to be assets became lia\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adties. They raised expec\u00adta\u00adtions to unre\u00adal\u00adis\u00adtic lev\u00adels and made him a bit\u00adter dis\u00adap\u00adpoint\u00adment. He was just anoth\u00ader Amer\u00adi\u00adcan Pres\u00adi\u00addent after all, and though his style was soft\u00ader, his meth\u00adods were no less harsh. He replaced troops with drones, cap\u00adture and inter\u00adro\u00adga\u00adtion with assas\u00adsi\u00adna\u00adtion, kept Guan\u00adtanamo open, and ordered a \u201csurge\u201d in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n The Arab Spring at first seemed a poten\u00adtial turn\u00ading point, a recrude\u00ads\u00adcence of Pres\u00adi\u00addent Bush\u2019s ide\u00adal of Islam\u00adic democ\u00adra\u00adcy. Pres\u00adi\u00addent Oba\u00adma rushed to embrace it and even to claim cred\u00adit for some\u00adthing that sur\u00adprised him as much as it sur\u00adprised every\u00adone else. But the move\u00adment proved too unpre\u00addictable, too volatile, too unin\u00adtel\u00adli\u00adgi\u00adble to pro\u00advide an ade\u00adquate frame\u00adwork for under\u00adstand\u00ading the Mus\u00adlim world. It instead pre\u00adsent\u00aded a new series of chal\u00adlenges \u2013 in Egypt, Syr\u00adia, Libya, and else\u00adwhere \u2013 that have left the Pres\u00adi\u00addent at a loss.<\/p>\n He seems over\u00adwhelmed by a suc\u00adces\u00adsion of events that are para\u00addox\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly inter\u00adcon\u00adnect\u00aded and ran\u00addom. He must feel pow\u00ader\u00adless. His warn\u00adings are ignored, his red lines crossed with impuni\u00adty. He is crit\u00adi\u00adcized for not act\u00ading and for con\u00adtem\u00adplat\u00ading action. More fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal\u00adly, he has no frame\u00adwork, no nar\u00adra\u00adtive he could use to ratio\u00adnal\u00adize inter\u00adven\u00adtion or inaction.<\/p>\n Pun\u00addits and aca\u00add\u00ade\u00admics have tried to make sense of it all. One of the most intrigu\u00ading comes from Sheri Berman<\/a>,<\/span> a polit\u00adi\u00adcal sci\u00adence pro\u00adfes\u00adsor at Barnard Col\u00adlege. Berman sees the tur\u00admoil in Egypt through the eyes of Karl Marx, who famous\u00adly lament\u00aded that his\u00adto\u00adry repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce.<\/p>\n Berman reminds us that Marx made those com\u00adments after the failed rev\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion of 1848. The tragedy to which Marx referred was the French Rev\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion of 1789, which began by over\u00adthrow\u00ading the monar\u00adchy, but ulti\u00admate\u00adly led to its rebirth. The farce occurred in 1848 when, after the over\u00adthrow of Louis Philippe, a frag\u00adile repub\u00adlic fal\u00adtered and result\u00aded in Louis Napoleon being named emper\u00ador. In both cas\u00ades, Berman notes, mid\u00addle class peo\u00adple (Marx might have called them bour\u00adgeosie) allied with more rad\u00adi\u00adcal ele\u00adments in pur\u00adsuit of eco\u00adnom\u00adic and social change. But once in charge, those rad\u00adi\u00adcal ele\u00adments went too far, dri\u00adving the lib\u00ader\u00adal bour\u00adgeosie back into the arms of the author\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan monarchists.<\/p>\n And that his\u00adto\u00adry, Berman argues, is repeat\u00ading itself in Egypt today:<\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>with lib\u00ader\u00adals and author\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adans play\u00ading them\u00adselves, and Islamists play\u00ading the role of social\u00adists. Once again, an inex\u00adpe\u00adri\u00adenced and impa\u00adtient mass move\u00adment has over\u00adreached after gain\u00ading pow\u00ader. Once again, lib\u00ader\u00adals have been fright\u00adened by the changes their for\u00admer part\u00adners want to enact and have come crawl\u00ading back to the old regime for pro\u00adtec\u00adtion. And, as in 1848, author\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adans have been hap\u00adpy to take back the reins of power.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Egypt\u00adian lib\u00ader\u00adals, Berman argues, are repeat\u00ading the mis\u00adtakes of their nine\u00adteenth cen\u00adtu\u00adry French coun\u00adter\u00adparts by look\u00ading at the Mus\u00adlim Broth\u00ader\u00adhood as an irre\u00addeemably rad\u00adi\u00adcal and men\u00adac\u00ading force and by look\u00ading to the mil\u00adi\u00adtary for salvation.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>They see their oppo\u00adnents as zealots deter\u00admined to abol\u00adish every\u00adthing lib\u00ader\u00adals val\u00adue. But just as not all social\u00adists were pro\u00adto-Stal\u00adin\u00adists, not all Islamists want to imple\u00adment a theo\u00adcrat\u00adic regime. There are mod\u00ader\u00adate Islamists today who are will\u00ading to play by the rules of the game, and they should be encour\u00adaged to do so.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Lib\u00ader\u00adal Egyp\u00adtians should reach out to Islamists and build bridges to those \u201cwill\u00ading to play by the rules of the game.\u201d My guess is that it\u2019s not that sim\u00adple. Nine\u00adteenth cen\u00adtu\u00adry social\u00adists were noto\u00adri\u00adous\u00adly anti-cler\u00adi\u00adcal; they hat\u00aded reli\u00adgious author\u00adi\u00adty as much as they hat\u00aded the monar\u00adchy. They sought to loose the bonds of throne and priest. The Mus\u00adlim Broth\u00ader\u00adhood, by con\u00adtrast, seeks to car\u00adry out a reli\u00adgious agen\u00adda, one that is decid\u00aded\u00adly illib\u00ader\u00adal and brooks no com\u00adpro\u00admise with the sec\u00adu\u00adlar world. On which points of sharia law might they bend?<\/p>\n More impor\u00adtant\u00adly, it seems that Berman has mis\u00adin\u00adter\u00adpret\u00aded events in Egypt. The peo\u00adple didn\u2019t over\u00adthrow Mubarak; the mil\u00adi\u00adtary did. The gen\u00ader\u00adals put him in pow\u00ader, backed him when it coin\u00adcid\u00aded with their inter\u00adests, and removed him when he became an incon\u00adve\u00adnience. They per\u00admit\u00adted elec\u00adtions, but Mohammed Mor\u00adsi ruled only with their suf\u00adfer\u00adance. When they tired of him, they deposed him as well. And it is they, admit\u00adted\u00adly with the appar\u00adent sup\u00adport of the country\u2019s lib\u00ader\u00adal bourgeiousie, who are sys\u00adtem\u00adat\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly and bru\u00adtal\u00adly sup\u00adpress\u00ading the Mus\u00adlim Broth\u00ader\u00adhood. The author\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adans were nev\u00ader top\u00adpled. They have remained in con\u00adtrol through\u00adout and will con\u00adtin\u00adue to run things in Egypt for the fore\u00adsee\u00adable future.<\/p>\n Which explains why Pres\u00adi\u00addent Oba\u00adma per\u00adsists in his ludi\u00adcrous denial of a mil\u00adi\u00adtary coup. If he turns against the Egypt\u00adian mil\u00adi\u00adtary, he cuts ties with the rulers of one of the region\u2019s most pow\u00ader\u00adful nations.<\/p>\n Pres\u00adi\u00addent Obama\u2019s reluc\u00adtant embrace of Egypt\u00adian strong\u00admen hasn\u2019t endeared him to the Egypt\u00adian lib\u00ader\u00adals, despite their abid\u00ading con\u00adtempt for the Mus\u00adlim Broth\u00ader\u00adhood. In a pow\u00ader\u00adful essay, Stan\u00adford University\u2019s Fouad Aja\u00admi <\/a>argues that Egyp\u00adtians of all per\u00adsua\u00adsions see Pres\u00adi\u00addent Oba\u00adma and the US<\/span> as the source of their var\u00adied griev\u00adances. Hatred of Amer\u00adi\u00adca is a fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal pre\u00adcept of Islamism, so the Mus\u00adlim Brotherhood\u2019s anti-Amer\u00adi\u00adcan\u00adism is to be expect\u00aded. What is unex\u00adpect\u00aded is that more mod\u00ader\u00adate Egyp\u00adtians improb\u00ada\u00adbly blame Amer\u00adi\u00adca for the Mus\u00adlim Brotherhood\u2019s ascen\u00addan\u00adcy. Aja\u00admi writes:<\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>Young rebels who had come togeth\u00ader to top\u00adple the old Mubarak dic\u00adta\u00adtor\u00adship now con\u00adspired with the mil\u00adi\u00adtary and police to over\u00adthrow the first elect\u00aded civil\u00adian ruler in Egypt\u00adian his\u00adto\u00adry\u2026 And in their will\u00adful escape and eva\u00adsion, those who cheered the mil\u00adi\u00adtary seizure of pow\u00ader were will\u00ading to enter\u00adtain the dark\u00adest of con\u00adspir\u00ada\u00adcies. The rise of the Broth\u00ader\u00adhood was an Amer\u00adi\u00adcan plot, they main\u00adtained, part of an Amer\u00adi\u00adcan scheme to sub\u00adju\u00adgate Egypt and deny it its place among the nations. Polit\u00adi\u00adcal Islam itself was dis\u00adowned, turned into an Amer\u00adi\u00adcan cre\u00adation. Mohammed Mor\u00adsi had kept the peace with Israel, bro\u00adkered an accom\u00admo\u00adda\u00adtion between Hamas and Israel: this, too, became proof of this malig\u00adnant Amer\u00adi\u00adcan design.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Aja\u00admi argues that we brought some of this resent\u00adment on ourselves.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>In this Egypt\u00adian dra\u00adma, the Unit\u00aded States did not give the best of itself. When the Oba\u00adma admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion could not call the coup d\u2019\u00e9\u00adtat by its name, we put on dis\u00adplay our unwill\u00ading\u00adness to hon\u00ador our own demo\u00adc\u00adra\u00adt\u00adic creed. Egypt has long been in the Amer\u00adi\u00adcan strate\u00adgic orbit. When our sec\u00adre\u00adtary of state opined that the army was \u2018restor\u00ading democ\u00adra\u00adcy,\u2019 we gave away the moral and strate\u00adgic inco\u00adher\u00adence of an admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion that has long lost its way.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Ajami\u2019s crit\u00adi\u00adcism miss\u00ades the mark. It is unfair to accuse the Pres\u00adi\u00addent of moral inco\u00adher\u00adence. The Pres\u00adi\u00addent would like to do the right thing; he just doesn\u2019t know what that might be or its cost in blood and treasure.<\/p>\n His strate\u00adgic inco\u00adher\u00adence is unde\u00adni\u00adable. It explains why, more than 2\u20131\/2 years after protests against Assad began, White House advis\u00aders still can\u00adnot for\u00admu\u00adlate a response to this past week\u2019s crimes against human\u00adi\u00adty. Assad\u2019s repres\u00adsion is not news, nor would this be the first time that he has employed chem\u00adi\u00adcal weapons in its ser\u00advice. There are reports that the US<\/span> may be prepar\u00ading to launch cruise mis\u00adsiles against Syr\u00adi\u00adan gov\u00adern\u00adment forces<\/a>,<\/span> some\u00adthing that would make a state\u00adment, but not a dif\u00adfer\u00adence in the attempt to over\u00adthrow Assad, serv\u00ading the same sym\u00adbol\u00adic pur\u00adpose as delay\u00ading the deliv\u00adery of F\u201116s <\/a>to Egypt while refus\u00ading to sus\u00adpend oth\u00ader forms of aid.<\/p>\n That strate\u00adgic inco\u00adher\u00adence is the fruit of intel\u00adlec\u00adtu\u00adal inco\u00adher\u00adence: the Pres\u00adi\u00addent doesn\u2019t know how to respond to these events because he doesn\u2019t know what to make of them. Nor is he cer\u00adtain that inter\u00adven\u00adtion would be worth the price. Is it real\u00adly a bad thing for the Egypt\u00adian mil\u00adi\u00adtary to go after the Mus\u00adlim Broth\u00ader\u00adhood? Are we sure that if Syr\u00adi\u00adan rebels were to oust Assad, the new regime would be friend\u00adly to the US<\/span>?<\/p>\n The Pres\u00adi\u00addent would be more than jus\u00adti\u00adfied in announc\u00ading that the US<\/span> has no inter\u00adest in what occurs in Syr\u00adia and that it would con\u00adfine its expres\u00adsion of moral dis\u00adap\u00adproval to vot\u00ading for UN<\/span> res\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtions. Sim\u00adi\u00adlar\u00adly, he could say that US<\/span> inter\u00adests demand that we main\u00adtain strong ties to the Egypt\u00adian mil\u00adi\u00adtary, regard\u00adless of its deci\u00adsion to depose an elect\u00aded leader and crush his polit\u00adi\u00adcal sup\u00adport\u00aders. Such an announce\u00adment would draw crit\u00adi\u00adcism, of course, but every Pres\u00adi\u00adden\u00adtial action does. It would at least have the virtue of accu\u00adrate\u00adly describ\u00ading what we\u2019ve been doing. There is some\u00adthing to be said for align\u00ading our rhetoric, which has been high-mind\u00aded and ide\u00adal\u00adis\u00adtic, with our actions, which have been thor\u00adough\u00adly pragmatic.<\/p>\n For now, the Pres\u00adi\u00adden\u00adt\u2019s Mid\u00addle East pol\u00adi\u00adcy remains caught in that ten\u00adsion between pris\u00adtine ideals and realpoli\u00adtik. <\/em>He preach\u00ades democ\u00adra\u00adcy and human rights and threat\u00adens to take ret\u00adri\u00adbu\u00adtion against those who cross his \u201cred lines.\u201d But he shrinks from fol\u00adlow\u00ading through on those threats in any mean\u00ading\u00adful way. Which may not be a bad thing.<\/p>\n The Pres\u00adi\u00addent wants to be on the side of the good guys. He just isn\u2019t sure who the good guys are and whether stand\u00ading up to the bad guys is real\u00adly such a good idea. He is not alone. We all strug\u00adgle to make sense of Syr\u00adia, Egypt and the Arab Spring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sarin vic\u00adtims often first feel its tox\u00adic effects in their eyes. They water and ache. Vision is blurred. Pupils con\u00adtract to a pin\u00adpoint. The nox\u00adious gas also affects the lungs, with chest tight\u00adness, cough and rapid breath\u00ading among the com\u00admon \u2026 Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading <\/a>