Buck invited on writer David French, Senior Fellow at the National Review Institute and a veteran of Operation: Iraqi Freedom, to discuss the Syria situation, and found that he and French shared an attitude of caution to the conflict rooted in Syria’s unique, and desperate, condition.

“This is not like the decision of whether or not to drop some bombs on an Al Qaeda compound. This is about attacking a country with Russian boots on the ground, Russian defense systems, and Russia has declared that the preservation of that regime is within its core national interest,” French said. “We need to think really long and hard if this is the right time to get into a great power confrontation.”

“Who benefits? Not necessarily our allies.”

French tied Syria’s present condition to “years of weakness, years of bad decisions….there’s no good options left. We inherited a colossal mess.”

Buck pointed out how even for a limited engagement, or a “punitive action,” as discussed by Thursday’s other guest, Jim Carafano, “Murphy’s Law gets in the way.”

“That’s the thing that’s so concerning to me,” said French. “The Assad regime has been a rolling warcrime for six years now. Suddenly it looks like we’re off to the races.”

“We’re getting an emotional reaction when what we need is a strategic discussion,” Buck added.

French emphasized that military options were not the only measures available to the administration.

“We still have the ability to use economic weapons against Russia, Iran and other supporters of Assad’s regime.”

“Americans don’t know what great power conflict is like,” French added. “We need to take real care. That doesn’t mean that we’re weak. It means that we’re wise and prudent.”

Click on the media above to hear this excellent interview in full.