Why the U.S. Should Play Nice with Syria

"Iran has used Syria as a staging ground to train and support militants who have crossed into Iraq to hurt our troops and to train for other terrorist activities." - Robert Zarate, a geopolitical strategist with Capitol Hill

Syria: A small country outside of Asia and the Middle East that has it's own share of problems. (and could potentially create a major problem for us) Many of us have heard the recent news involving Syria's clash between government and protesters, and plans to get the president out of office. Violence has spread for the past few months and has gone as far as suggesting to slaughter children and families.

Many of us know about the humanitarian crisis under fire that this country faces; but many of us also don't know why this country should matter to us. We already thrust ourselves into Iraq and Afghanistan. Do we really need/want to care about a country that doesn't exactly have strong connections to us? The answer is yes.

Here's why you should care about Syria:

1) Syria borders Iraq, where our troops are still involved in the "War on Terror." If Syria weakens its power, this can trickle down to Iraq and have negative effects on our men and women.

2) Lebanon, another bordering country of Iraq and Turkey (a U.S. Ally) can also lead into a civil war if problems go down with Syria, leading to a war that we will most likely get involved in because we have to be the helpers of the world (as noted in African Security and the African Command).

3) Al Queda, U.S. enemy #1 would love another reason to go to war with the Americans if we co-op with any of these countries to "fix" the problems in Syria.

4) Oh, and, did I mention that if we have to go into the Middle East, again to fix another country's problems (again), then our oil prices will go up and our economy will suffer (again)? Don't forget, gas rose well over $5.00 last year in all parts of the U.S., and the war cost us $1 trillion.

Yes, yes...as it turns out, this small country could potentially create big problems for the U.S. We may get involved in another war where we will not leave for another 10 years. Syria is alleys with Iran, as well, who haven't yet friended us on Facebook quite yet. We'll have to watch out for them, too

Ugh..must we always get involved in other country's affairs? As you can see, the plot thickens; and the conclusion may be anticipated.

More information on this article may be found on CNN's site.