Anti-war Democrat searches for way to help Obama out by supporting Syria strike

Much of the anti-attack sentiment comes from a public that has been described ad nauseum as “war weary” in recent weeks. But Connolly says he is trying not to think about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan when making his decision.

“It’s easy for people to make an analogy there,” he says. “But I’ve been trying to make the case that that’s a completely false analogy, though it’s an understandable one. It’s fresh in our minds, and we feel burned, but it’s not the same thing.”

It’s important to Connolly that he figure out a way to draw that distinction, for he believes the arguments for going to war in Iraq were “completely specious. Either wishful thinking or entirely fabricated.” With regard to Syria, Connolly is confident that chemical weapons were in fact used. And perhaps biggest for him is his conviction that Obama is “truly a reluctant warrior,” when it comes to Syria.

“This isn’t a case of a president wanting to go to war,” he says. “And that’s a big difference.”