Intervention in Syria

"When Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) asked Ford to explain why the United States should get involved in another messy Middle Eastern conflict, Ford listed a series of strategic reasons -- not humanitarianism or democracy promotion." "If all that weren't enough, another witness, former Obama advisor Dennis Ross, added another: U.S. hesitance in Syria, he said, is sending the wrong message to the rulers of Iran, who are backing Assad's regime. "There is a relationship between what's happening in Syria and Iran," Ross said. "We want very much to convince the Iranians to change their behavior, not just on Syria but on the nuclear issue." "If Ross' argument about a "demonstration effect" takes hold, deeper U.S. involvement in Syria could come faster than anyone expects."