( CNN ) -- The situation in Syria would break the heart of anyone who has one . That is why progressives desperately want peace in Syria , an end to the chemical weapons attacks and aid for the millions of refugees . Additionally , most of us support President Barack Obama and want him to have a successful presidency . But we must be consistent . We have a worldview that requires the right thing to be done -- in the right way . That is why those of us who opposed President George W. Bush 's war in Iraq have no choice but to oppose Obama 's proposed attack on the Syrian regime . There are three reasons , at least . 1 . In 2003 , we condemned Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell for relying on dodgy evidence of weapons of mass destruction while making the case for war before the United Nations . But at least Bush took his case to the United Nations . Obama has not formally presented any evidence to the United Nations -- at all . 2 . We attacked Bush for conjuring up his own , personal `` coalition of the willing '' to launch a war . Bush 's alliance was cobbled together largely out of a bunch of countries that many people in the United States had never heard of -- some of which were sending only a handful of troops . And yet Obama has virtually no coalition at all . Even the United Kingdom wo n't strike with us on this one . So Obama would be attacking with a smaller coalition than Bush had . 3 . We condemned Bush 's team because , even though our forces won the war , Bush had no plan to win the peace . Unfortunately , Obama seems to have no plan to win the war -- or the peace . He is just proposing `` limited , proportional strikes '' -- without explaining what happens next after Syria inevitably strikes back somehow . It is hard to get into a `` limited , proportional '' fistfight . There is no way to keep this war limited . The region is a powder keg with Lebanon 's Hezbollah and Iran poised to retaliate for any strike against their ally Bashar al-Assad . Assad could drag Israel into the conflict if he struck that nation . Furthermore , the Assad regime has had weeks to fortify or hide prime targets , including his chemical weapons from attack by air . All of these may well mean , that despite Secretary of State John Kerry 's protestations , we may have to engage in a land war and put `` boots on the grounds '' to achieve our military objectives . Mission creep and chaos are normal parts of war . Instead of jumping feet first into a war , we need to get creative . Two options short of war leap to mind . 1 . Disrupt and deter without violence . Cyberwarfare has proven extremely effective containing Iran and disrupting its nuclear program through the Stuxnet virus U.S. intelligence agencies developed . A similar cyber campaign aimed at disabling the communications and weapons delivery systems of the Assad regime could `` degrade '' al-Assad 's ability to attack innocent civilians just the same . 2 . Give peace a chance . Obama has slowly built up a coalition of the reluctant . From Jordan to Germany , our allies are strongly opposed to al-Assad 's acts but hesitate to endorse , let alone join , a U.S. military coalition to hit the Syrian leader . We all want an end to the civil war . Let 's engage Russia , Iran and the Arab League and renew efforts for a conference to end the conflict . If the backers of the rebels and al-Assad 's regime are shamed into a summit , the civil war may find a peaceful resolution . It may not work , but it 's worth a try . The ongoing situation in Syria is a tragedy . The suspected use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians by the Assad regime is despicable and deserves our condemnation . But military strikes by the United States under these conditions wo n't make the situation better -- and could potentially make it much worse . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Van Jones .
Bush : Yes , we want peace in Syria and an end to chemical attacks . But he says supporting a military strike on Obama would be to repeat mistakes from the civil war . Jones : Bush took his case to the Obama ; Obama has not presented evidence there . He says Van Jones had broader coalition , no plan to win peace ; Obama has no plan for war .