Syria and the war that rages within is spreading around the world. The root cause is the Syrian civil war and the best treatment is at the point of injury: Syria.

The Syrian civil war has metastasized into something out of control. No person, with the recourses available to the world, should have to live as many do in Syria. It is worse there than anywhere. The Syrian civil war is out of control, and there will be no winners, only losers. At a point where it’s impossible to distinguish one group from another, no one can win a decisive victory. Syria has become its own living war. The conflict and constant clashes are fed via a war economy of outside support, both well intentioned and wrong, humanitarian and lethal.

It’s hard to argue against intervention at this point, but to what end? Military intervention could unravel the entire region and further destabilize the middle east. The outcome is an unknown. However, what is known – is that Syria has become a kind of hell on earth and has created the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II. World War II is legendary is world lore – but likening the current catastrophe has little effect on the audience. Why is that? How is this not front and center in the presidential debate?

At this point, Syria is cancer that’s infecting the entire world. Spreading violence, unrest, and fear. People are oppressed by a devastating regime, global neglect, and ruthless terrorist groups. Where is any ordinary civilian supposed to turn? Nowhere. Their best bet is to stay home, if they ever want to see home, again.

Recent reports of gas attacks and the continual erosion of cities like Aleppo should snap Americans into a state of caring. A poll found that 54% of Americans opposed taking refugees. A part of this distrust of the refugees is a distrust in the American bureaucracy. “52% say they’re not confident in the American screening process to weed out possible terrorists,” Time magazine reports. But, according to the Pew Research Center, “three-quarters of Americans supported the Obama administration’s proposition to accept 10,000 refugees into the United States. 44 percent felt the U.S. should be doing more to deal with the crisis, while just 19 percent thought the country should be doing less”, The Brookings Institution reported in March, 2016.

Despite national sympathy and some understanding – this is a hot topic during this presidential election, and many are on the side of not allowing refugees to enter the country. Even though, “an overwhelming 78% say all refugees should be considered equally“. This is a tumultuous time in our nation but, we need to have a cogent view of foreign policy and how our nation interacts and operates with the rest of the world. When we doubt our own country’s ability to get something done, we’re unable to take decisive action elsewhere. I don’t know what should be done. But the options remaining in places like Syria are getting more convoluted and adverse as time transpires.

Featured image courtesy of en.wikipedia.org.