The Iraq invasion was never "all about oil" or any other genuine national interest. The objective was regime change, relieving an oppressed people of the chains of a tyrant, and bringing the gift of democracy. Similar moral purposes explain why Western troops remain in Afghanistan.
The same misguided logic drives the discussion about what is to be done in Syria: extinguish al Assad, they say, and human rights or some other morally elevated objective will flourish. This is wrong, not least of all because a major reason Syria is in play at the moment is a result of the unrealistic moralism that sent Western troops into Mesopotamia.
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