The gut-wrenching news was all too familiar: a dictator unleashing a deadly chemical attack on his own people. The Butcher of Baghdad, Saddam Hussein, used chemical weapons in the 1980s. Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2013, and then again just a few days ago. In perhaps what might be the biggest test of President Trump’s presidency, the question remains: will Syria be Trump’s Iraq War?

From 2007-2010, I traveled to Baghdad 14 times as a civilian member of a special Department of Defense task force in charge of economic development and rebuilding as part of General David Petraeus’ counterinsurgency strategy. The strategy, or “COIN” as we referred to it, focused on winning the hearts and minds of the people. Political victories, rather than military victories, were the key to achieving success. Military strength has its limitations, and COIN understood that