The Obama administration yesterday announced that it would provide military assistance to Syrian rebels, after having concluded that the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons against opposition fighters in the ongoing civil war. The move comes after months of criticism of the administration, from both left and right, for its apparent fecklessness with regard to the ongoing civil war in Syria. Washington ought to have been doing more to protect the Syrian populace from the repressions of the Baathist dictatorship, cry the liberal interventionists. The president’s "inaction" has strengthened America's foes and disheartens its allies, argue many neoconservatives.

But what if the Obama team, instead of dithering while Syria burns, has in fact been executing a cold-blooded, Machiavellian strategy, content to project the appearance of policy impotence? Consider the following points. ...