If “credibility” were purged from the debate and the focus placed squarely on advancing long-term US interests, it would become apparent that an attack on Syria might not yield even temporary geopolitical gains. Beyond the short term, it would unleash major unintended consequences, potentially including an Iraq-style “soft” partition of Syria and the creation of a haven for extremists stretching across much of Islamist-controlled northern Syria and into the Sunni areas of Iraq.
如果“信誉”因为争论和真正将推进美国长期利益作为关注焦点而得到净化，那么显然对叙利亚的打击并不能产生哪怕暂时性的地缘政治好处。从超越短期的视角看，这会产生意料之外的重大后果，有可能使叙利亚发生伊拉克式的“软”分裂以及在伊斯兰教控制的叙利亚北部和伊拉克逊尼派势力区形成大量极端主义者避风港。