President Obama’s plan to punish the Syrian government for an alleged chemical-weapons attack stops short, he says, of trying to effect a regime change—a strategy that has been labeled as pointless by some. For Israel, maintaining the status quo without strengthening the position of either Iran’s ally Bashar al-Assad or the rebel groups that seek his overthrow may be the best possible outcome. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the largest pro-Israel lobby in the U.S., has supported the president’s approach, saying the U.S. must “send a forceful message” against Iran and Hezbollah’s use of chemical weapons, but AIPAC says nothing of the outcome of the civil war. A prolonged conflict in Syria is considered taxing on Iran and could therefore halt its nuclear ambitions.
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