Syria

Over the last few days, we've been thinking about 9/11 which naturally brought us to a question that may be the most important to discuss in a democratic society: When and for what reasons should a country respond militarily to an action taken by a foreign nation?
On Tuesday of this week, President Obama made a televised address to the nation in order to attempt to convince the public that military strikes against Syria were necessary and warranted.  On that same day however, Russia advocated a plan that would put Syria's chemical weapons under U.N. control.  President Obama and his advisers indicated that they would be willing to look into that option as well.
Today, it is your task to gather some information about the Syrian crisis and then do a blog post that:

1. Reflects on changes in the United States' since 9/11 both domestically and in its international relations.
2. Engages in the question in italics above as it relates to Syria-should the United States take military action?

Before responding, please explore the resources below.  Start by watching the embedded video.  Then read the transcript of the President's speech (or watch the video).  You may also explore news links like CNN (Be sure to look at the articles in the sidebar) or the NY Times.  Of course, also feel free to look at additional sources.  If the sources you look at influence your opinion you should at least mention them in your blog post (if not cite them). After your response,  comment on the two blogs that come after yours on the list to the right.  When someone comments on yours, you must also respond to the comment.