Running for cover
So,
what exactly is the point?
The Obama administration's preferred option for a potential strike on Syria is likely to leave Bashar al-Assad's government with significant chemical weapons and military infrastructure, according to military analysts.
Assad will remain. His military will remain. The chemical stockpiles will remain. Al Qaeda will remain one of the chief beneficiaries of any U.S. strike.
Faysal Itani, a visiting fellow at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, said strikes would "shake up" Assad's regime but not lead to any strategic rethinking or alter the balance of power on the ground. "That means the war will continue on its current trajectory," he said.
What lesson will be taught if no lesson is learned? What lesson still needs to be learned by those who would be teaching others lessons?