Editorial Board
Responding to the Massacre in Syria
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It may take awhile to determine whether, as the opposition claims, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons to slaughter more than 1,000 of his citizens. If he has, this brazen atrocity not only changes the U.S. calculus in the region but also requires a clear response from the civilized world.
Words and resolutions would not do for a massacre of this scale. Ideally the United Nations Security Council would sanction limited international military action to punish and deter Assad. If not, the U.S. should assemble the broadest possible international coalition to deliver a message, with force if necessary, to the regime.