The Limits of European Involvement in a Syria Intervention

The three largest economies in the European Union — Germany, France and the United Kingdom — are either buying time to decide whether to participate in a U.S.-led intervention in Syria or are looking for other ways to maintain their relationship with the United States after U.S. President Barack Obama announced that he would seek congressional support for a military response to a Syrian chemical weapons attack. The White House announcement enables French President Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to delay taking concrete measures regarding the conflict in Syria at a time when military intervention is unpopular in most European countries and EU governments are focused on economic problems at home.