So This Happened

[Content Note: War.]

While we were on hiatus, President Barack Obama became the fourth US president in a row to announce a bombing campaign in Iraq:

Video clip of former President George H.W. Bush saying: "As I report to you, air attacks are underway against military targets in Iraq."

Video clip of former President Bill Clinton saying: "...to strike military and security targets in Iraq..."

Video clip of former President George W. Bush saying: "At this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people, and to defend the world from grave danger."

Video clip of President Barack Obama saying: "We will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists. Moreover, I've made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country wherever they are. That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria as well as Iraq."

Welp.

There is already proposed legislation in the House which would grant President Obama his "request for authority to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels but with several congressional checks on his power. ...The White House feels good about the chances for getting authorization for the package through Congress, a senior administration official said. Obama spoke with lawmakers from both parties on Monday and, according to the official, is personally gratified that he has received support from Republican and Democratic leaders for the proposal."

At least we've shed all pretense of nation-building and are being frank about engaging in military-building now.

There is bipartisan support for the president's plan, although "Republicans and Democrats differ in their concerns for U.S. military action: Most Republicans worry it will not go far enough (66%); by contrast, 54% of Democrats say their bigger concern is that it will go too far."

Further: "The survey finds that relatively few Americans believe that the military campaign against Islamic militants will make the United States safer from a terrorist attack. Just 18% think it will decrease the chances of a terrorist attack in this country, while nearly twice as many (34%) say it will increase the chances of an attack; 41% say it won't make much difference."

So, to what end is this intervention? Well, something needs to be done, so we're doing something.

And on and on we go.