Of course, even the most ardent pacifist can't deny that the credible threat of US force is what made the Syrian regime at all receptive to a Russian proposal that it relinquish control of its stockpiles of nerve agents. If the deal falls apart or proves to be a stalling tactic, military strikes, or at least the threat of them, will again be needed. Already, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's denials have been troubling. His suggestion that the rebels turned nerve gas on themselves to garner the world's sympathy reminds me of the Serb authorities who said the people of Sarajevo were mortaring themselves; it was just as unconvincing then as it is now.

A common objection to strikes is that the US is not the world's policeman; Americans have poured their blood into two long wars over the past decade, and it's time for someone else to take care of those duties. That is a very tempting position, but it does not hold water. The reality is that Americans have staked their military and economic security on making sure that no other country - including long-time allies - has the military capabilities that they do.

And Americans enjoy extraordinary wealth as their foreign trade and oil imports are protected by the world's most powerful navy. I find it almost offensive that anyone could imagine they are truly pacifist while accepting the protection and benefit of all that armament. If you have a bumper sticker that says ''No Blood For Oil,'' it had better be on your bike.

The US is in a special position in the world, and that leads many people to espouse American exceptionalism in foreign affairs. Even if they're correct, those extra rights come with obligations. Precisely because we claim such a privileged position, it falls to us to uphold the international laws that benefit humanity in general and our nation in particular.

Iraq hangs heavy over the American psyche and contributes to the war-weariness, but the 2003 invasion was not an intervention to stop an ongoing conflict. It was an unpopular intrusion into the affairs of a country that was troubled but very much at peace. In that sense, it was fundamentally different from other Western military interventions.