Stan www.weeklystandard.com August 27, 2013 Experts to Obama: Here Is What to Do in Syria By Daniel Ha!per A big group of foreign policy experts, from across the ideological spectrum, is calling on President Obama to impose "meaningful consequences on the Assad regime" for their use of chemical weapons. "At a minimum, the United States, along with willing allies and partners, should use standoff weapons ecent large- L { opposition with the military support required to identify and strike regime units armed with chemical weapons," the experts write. "Moreover, the United States and other willing nations should consider direct military strikes against the c no longer threaten America, our allies in the region or the Syrian people, but also to deter or destroy the non-combatants. At the same time, the United States should accelerate efforts to vet, train, and arm mo both the Assad regime and the growing presence of Al Qaeda-affiliated and other extremist rebel factions in the country." The signatories on the letter addressed to President Obama inlcude Senator Joe Lieberman, Bernard- Henri Levy, Karl Rove, Bill Kristol, Elliott Abrams, Leon Wieseltier, and many others. Right now, 66 experts have signed the letter. Here's the full letter and list of signatories: Dear Mr. President: Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has once again violated your red line, using chemical weapons to kill as many as 1,400 people in the suburbs of Damascus. You have said that large-scale use of chemical weapons in Syria would implicate "core national interests," including "making sure that weapons of mass destruction are not proliferating, as well as needing to protect our allies [and) our bases in the region." The world—including Iran. North Korea, and other potential aggressors who seek or possess weapons of mass of destruction—is now watching to see how you respond. Pagel 1 of 4 EFTA00610115