A second senior official, who has seen the most recent planning, offered this metaphor to describe such a strike: If Assad is eating Cheerios, we're going to take away his spoon and give him a fork. Will that degrade his ability to eat Cheerios? Yes. Will it deter him? Maybe. But he'll still be able to eat Cheerios.

Or cry #Syria RT: @McCormackJohn If you'd like a laugh this morning, read the Cheerios paragraph out loud http://t.co/DQBx1YB6ZB …

— Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) September 9, 2013

◼ Strike to degrade Syrian forces would still be limited - USA Today

Future headline: ASSAD GASSES MORE CIVILIANS; EATS CHEERIOS WITH A FORK

— jimgeraghty (@jimgeraghty) September 9, 2013

BREAKING: UNNAMED OBAMA ADVISOR HAD CHEERIOS FOR BREAKFAST THIS MORNING AND ALL HIS SPOONS WERE IN THE DISHWASHER

— jimgeraghty (@jimgeraghty) September 9, 2013

"And thus future historians would come to call it, 'The Cheerio War.'…"

— jimgeraghty (@jimgeraghty) September 9, 2013

◼ John Kerry on proposed Syria attack: It’ll be ‘unbelievably small’ - Doug Powers/Michelle Malkin