There are, to be sure, risks associated with changing course and protecting civilians — at least some of them — from mass homicide. These risks cannot be swept under the carpet. Yet neither can the risks associated with leaving 100 percent of leverage in the hands of mass murderers — Russia, Iran, and the Assad regime — be ignored. The progressive emptying of Syria caused by the symbiotic Assad-Islamic State relationship cannot be permanently contained by Turkey and other neighbors of Syria. And as long as civilians are on the bull’s-eye the prospects for diplomacy and political compromise are zero.
Fifty-one State Department officials who have loyally helped to implement a dysfunctional White House policy have finally said, “Enough.”
From: A Humanitarian Intervention in the West Wing | Foreign Policy