The United States cannot be indifferent to the outcome of the Syrian conflict and the use of chemical weapons cannot go without a response, former Ambassador Eric Edelman tells Newsmax.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told lawmakers a limited military strike to deter Syria from using chemical weapons would likely cost tens of millions of dollars, but if past experience is a guide, the number could be substantially higher than that.
The potential U.S. military strike in Syria is raising moral and political quandaries for Washington. Does it raise a fiscal problem as well?
The Pentagon can absorb the cost of a limited strike on Syria, defense officials and analysts say, but a longer, more involved engagement could collide with financial constraints as the Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year approaches.
Media reports indicate the United States and its allies could begin retaliatory air strikes against Syria as early as Thursday morning.
If the US goes ahead with plans to launch an attack on Syria, all signs point toward a short series of strikes based around the Navy’s Tomahawk cruise missiles.
1667 K Street NW Suite 900
Washington DC, 20006
202-331-7990
info@csbaonline.org
