Obama gets tough on Syria: What are America's options?

The president appears to be on the verge of military action. It remains to be seen just how much he can accomplish.

President Obama
(Image credit: Kristoffer Tripplaar-Pool/Getty Images)

It turns out President Obama's "red line" might mean something after all.

That's the message that came through loud and clear on Monday, when Secretary of State John Kerry forcefully condemned the Syrian government for allegedly using chemical weapons to kill hundreds of people last week. In an address notable for its lack of diplomatic hedging, Kerry said it was "undeniable" that the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons against civilians, an atrocity that Kerry searingly described as a "moral obscenity."

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Ryu Spaeth

Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.