I’m getting really tired of all the pundits and cartoonists who keep saying President Obama drew a red line in Syria, and when it crossed it, he did nothing. He did do something, and it was smarter and more effective than going in with guns blazing.

Using the threat of military action, President Obama forced Assad to admit he had a chemical arsenal, which he had previously denied, and forced him to allow inspectors into his country so they could find, remove and destroy all the chemical weapons he declared or they found. There is no question that the bulk of Assad’s stockpiles were taken away and destroyed. Military action would have been more destructive and less effective in eliminating Assad’s chemical weapons.

Now everyone is applauding President Trump for his "forceful" action and his "toughness" in responding to the recent chemical attack. They are lauding him for "enforcing Obama’s red line."

This is ridiculous. Here is the score:

Obama: Destroyed 1,300 tons of Syrian chemical weapons, plus imposed ongoing monitoring of chemical weapons in Syria; no one killed; U.S. military not dragged into Syria’s civil war.

Trump: Closed a minor Syrian air base for one day and destroyed some planes; six people killed; no chemical weapons destroyed. In addition, his action can be seen as the first step toward dragging the U.S. military into Syria’s civil war, something the U.S. has been trying to avoid for six years.

It’s unfortunate that so many grownup boys in our country don’t think we’re "strong" unless we use our expensive toys to blow things up. They seem to think that getting what we want through diplomacy, without death and destruction, is for wusses and doesn’t count as "doing something."

Matty Park, Ventura

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