Selective Outrage.

Editor,

Mr. Obama's selective outrage bothers me, and it makes me feel there is an ulterior motive in his determination to bomb Syria.

1. Not only did Saddam Hussein use chemical weapons against Iranian soldiers, but the USA provided targeting data to help Mr. Hussein aim his chemical weapons. Mr. Obama claims that using chemical weapons even on the battlefield is a heinous crime, which it is, but when he lists breaches of the ban against their use, he omits mention of American help for Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons use against Iran.

2. Torture is universally condemned and outlawed by numerous international treaties to which the USA is a signatory. Former U.S. government officials Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Yoo, Bybee, Cambone, Sanchez, Miller, and others have bragged publicly on many occasions about having implemented a torture apparatus that was -- and probably continues to be -- used against thousands of innocent individuals, yet Mr. Obama continues to refuse to prosecute these Bush administration officials for torture.

3. Israel bombed Lebanon and Gaza mercilessly on several occasions, killing scores of civilians including many children. Mr. Obama, particularly through his ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, has been excoriating Vladimir Putin for not signing on to condemnation of the Syrian government for killing children with poison gas, but the USA refuses to condemn Israel, and in fact makes twisted-logic excuses for it, every time Israel engages in wanton military excess.

Re: "Can Mr. Obama Avoid Mission Creep?" (9/7/2013)