Guests: Colonel David Hunt & Lt. Col. Ralph Peters
"Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is a war criminal, a mass murderer, and a baby killer. By using poison gas on Syrian civilians, he is responsible for thousands of injuries and hundreds of deaths. If you believe in American exceptionalism, you know the USA must act against Assad, as it did against Saddam Hussein. However, we can not make the same mistakes we made in Iraq. President Obama is now seen throughout the world as indecisive when it comes to righting international wrongs. Russia, China, and Iran do not fear him and do pretty much what they want to do, which in this case means supporting the mass killer Assad. So Mr. Obama has a unique opportunity to show the world that we are the good guys and those helping Assad are the bad guys. To do that, he must be methodical. First, he must convince other countries to support military strikes against Syria. Then he should go to Congress and ask for a vote of affirmation on using military power. Finally, in conjunction with NATO, the USA should devise a bombing campaign that will degrade Assad's forces without the mass killing of civilians. If the President does all those things he will gain a measure of respect throughout the world and perhaps bring down Assad. We can't allow a tyrant to violate international law by using chemical weapons. If Assad gets away with that, the world will devolve into a free-fire zone where anything goes."

The Factor was joined by FNC's Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, who opposes any military action in Syria. "I don't think American exceptionalism should extend to helping Al Qaeda," he declared. "In Syria you have Assad on one side, but the other side is dominated by Al Qaeda and other Islamist extremists. Where in our Constitution does it say we should stop our enemies from killing each other? I want somebody to tell me what strategic or security benefit we get from intervening. Obama wants to launch cruise missiles to redeem his personal image." Col. David Hunt also advised caution. "The USA, the British, and the French have not confirmed the use of chemical weapons. If it's confirmed, we're still not going to be sure who used the chemical weapons. A terrible thing has happened, but who did it is seriously in question."

Guest: Bob Woodson
While many black leaders avoid talking about family breakdown and crime, Robert Woodson of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise is an exception. He entered the No Spin Zone with a frank analysis of today's civil rights industry. "The civil rights movement," he observed, "has declined and morphed into a race grievance industry. Booker T. Washington once said there are groups of blacks who thrive off the grievance of their fellow blacks. Unfortunately, that's what we have today. The interest of the so-called 'leadership' has often been at odds with the rank-and-file. For instance, most low income blacks support vouchers for education but the civil rights leadership opposes it." The Factor accused self-proclaimed black leaders of having financial interests that are at odds with black advancement: "Last Saturday's march in Washington was heavily funded by teacher unions and the money went into organizations like Al Sharpton's National Action Network. There's big money involved."

Guest: John Stossel
Researchers at the University of Rochester claim that religious Americans are just not as bright as atheists. The Factor asked Fox Business host John Stossel to evaluate the claim. "I assume that they are not religious," Stossel began, "because in academia being religious is the exception. They looked at 63 studies and concluded that there is some scientific basis for saying that intelligent people are less likely to be religious. I couldn't find any real holes in it, but it's soft science. Lots of very smart people have been very religious." The Factor cast doubt on the study and its conclusions, saying, "This is a bunch of goo that they took from a whole bunch of other studies and then extrapolated what they wanted to extrapolate."

Guest: Jonathan Morris
The Catholic Church is urging congregants to support the immigration bill passed by the Senate. The Factor asked Father Jonathan Morris to rationalize his church's position. "This is an unjust system," he said, "and we as a country have some responsibility. It does not mean it was right or ethical for people to have broken the law, and the bishops have been clear about that, but we have responsibility to the people who are here right now. This is about the dignity of every single human." The Factor reminded Father Morris that skeptics are questioning the church's motives: "Cynics say this is because the majority of Hispanic immigrants are Catholic and you're trying to beef up your congregation."

Guests: Kimberly Guilfoyle & Lis Wiehl
Legal analysts Lis Wiehl and Kimberly Guilfoyle examined the demands of convicted spy Bradley Manning, who now wants the military to fund his sex change therapy. "The military has never done this," Wiehl said, "but Manning is going to argue that he/she is entitled to adequate medical treatment, which includes sex change." Guilfoyle predicted that Manning's gender switch will go unfunded. "A spokesman at Fort Leavenworth says military prisons will not pay for sex reassignment or hormone therapy, and they shouldn't! He can use his own money." The duo looked west to Montana, where a high school teacher was sentenced to just 31 days in jail for raping a 14-year-old girl who later committed suicide. Guilfoyle accused Judge G. Todd Baugh of being soft on sex criminals. "If you go through the ruling, you will see that he was definitely more sympathetic to the defendant. He essentially said the victim was precocious and knew what she was doing." The Factor urged Montanans to take action against Baugh, saying, "The people in Yellowstone County have to throw him out or he has to be impeached."

Guest: Charles Krauthammer
The Factor wrapped up Tuesday's show by asking Charles Krauthammer to assess President Obama's options in Syria. "It all depends on whether this is about Obama or about the strategic interests of the United States," Dr. K said. "I'm concerned about the deliberate leaks from the White House that say there will be a very limited two- or three-day campaign. We'll drop a couple of bombs, we will make a point, and then we will retire from the field. The reports I have read explicitly say this is not intended to alter the strategic balance in Syria, and if that is the case we should do nothing! We should have a sustained air campaign that tilts the balance and alters the course of the war."

Timothy Sheehan, Bellingham, WA: "Is it nothing to you, O'Reilly, that the United States may start World War III in Syria? Only God can deal with evil. Conflict with Russia and Iran is not the answer."

Damon Waring, Sydney, Australia: "After the debacle in Iraq under President Bush, I don't think Karl Rove is in any position to offer advice on Syria."

Jake Moyer, Tiffin, OH: "Bill, spot on about Dr. King. He would be very disappointed with the partisan and selfish attitudes towards the problems we face. No other commentator has the courage to state the truth as you do."

When you're flummoxed by a question or comment, being honest about your confusion is far better than trying to pull off a verbal con job, which rarely works.