Volatile Syria
Moderator Graham Allison went straight to the heart of the matter during an Institute of Politics forum on Syria at the Kennedy School (HKS) Wednesday, asking the four panelists for a yes or no vote on military force. Marisa Porges, an International Security Program Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, said a targeted strike would be neither timely nor proportionate. “If we’re really looking to do something, we need to look toward humanitarian aid to Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, to the internally and externally displaced refugees, and to aggressively push for a diplomatic solution that would make an end to the greater problem, which is not just the 1,400 people killed in this chemical attack but the 100,000 that have died more broadly in the war.” R. Nicholas Burns, a professor of international relations and a former U.S. diplomat, said the U.S. approach to Syria should include limited air strikes...