"Gas Mask: Why Is Chemical Warfare Obama's Red Line in Syria? What is your opinion?

Well, there's also a historical element here--in the background of any use of chemical weapons on people is WWI, and we, as well as Europeans (even more so for them), have a collective national memory of the horrors of gas attacks. It's one of those nightmare images that really emphasizes man's inhumanity to man, so when a leader is ready to use such weapons on his own people, he's making a powerful and dangerous statement, and I think the US is trying to issue a warning before any such action is undertaken. I agree with the writer that conventional warfare is horrific, but I think chemical warfare, because of the past, suggests that any leader using it has reached a tipping point.

You cannot afford another war. It will turn really ugly and get more complex and devious. They need to sort it out themselves or get the UN involved. Don't forget that 30,000 children die from starvation/lack of shelter every day in this world.

We have to draw a line somewhere, and it's too late to draw it at torturing and murdering his citizens. I would really like to see us take a direct and surgical line on this - remove Assad with as little collateral damage as possible, and back away to let them sort it out - as long as it does not devolve into open warfare on the more innocent parts of the population.

It does sort of give us the feel that killing people in small batches over a longer period of time is acceptable while killing large quantities of people at once crosses some 'red line'. What is Obama going to do if someone crosses the 'red line'? Write them a strongly worded letter of reprimand? Bring them to justice? Tough talk from Obama rings hollow throughout the world. NO one is scared of talk from Washington these days. My opinion? The world is an imperfect place. Sometimes people die in horrible ways and there is nothing you can do about it. It sure would suck to live in Syria right now. It is a mismatch to throw rocks at guys with guns, or to bring guns to a fight against people armed with chemical weaponry. Sometimes people's principles are worth fighting and dying for- and sometimes other people make them prove it. Sometimes the underdog wins, but most of the time the underdog gets crushed. It is better to be the big dog than the underdog.

Because President doo-Obama must do something about the mess he created by not backing Mubarak. Now that's it's about to go poor-man's-nuclear, he realizes that he could be personally blamed here (and well he should be) if zillions die there from what we all knew existed but were unwilling to discuss. BTW, ever wonder what was in those trucks scooting across the border into Syria shortly before our troops whooped the Republican Guard? Assad has puh-lenty of swag to waste on rebel scum.

Because we have been looking for a reason, and might now have been handed one.

I think it has moved beyond diplomatic channels. My guess is that Sec. Clinton is telling the Russians to look the other way. It will be interesting to see how Iran reacts.

I do not have any proof as of yet, but I would be willing to bet that operations are already underway to strike at Syria's stockpiles of chemical weapons.

You could be right but any intervention is fraught with problems.. The Middle East is a mess at the moment...