Another thought. If we go into Syria piecemeal, the conservatives will chew him up.
If he just blasts away from afar, he can't control the outcome very well unless the CIA is on the ground buying a lot of people.
And if he goes in all the way, we'll wind up "owning" Syria. Just more headaches without a good outcome. US troops will simply be chewed up as in Iraq.
What I wonder is if this is somehow a US - Russia proxy matter, with minor Chinese interest. There is clearly no value for the US in "owning" Syria unless it is to simply show Russia that we will not tolerate a power vacuum in that area into which the Bear can move.
There is just so much we know, and just so much we don't know.