Syrian People - Desperate Victims of Iraq and Afghanastan

People in Syria are engulfed in a tragic civil war while their horrible circumstances are the collateral damage of America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If American had never entered these two wars, we'd be in a much better position to help the suffering Syrian people. Now, the use of chemical weapons is reported in the Syrian conflagrations, creating more support for nations to respond to a growing humanitarian crises.  Americans could have helped the desperate Syrian people, if our government weren't embroiled in failed wars on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Unfortunately, the war in Iraq was predicated on a false premise, because the threat of Saddam Hussein harboring Weapons of Mass Destruction didn't exist. Nevertheless, the cost to Americans was staggering.   Casualties in Iraq http://antiwar.com/casualties/ The Human Cost of Occupation Edited by Margaret Griffis :: Contact
American Military Casualties in Iraq
Date	Total	In Combat
American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03):	4488	3532
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03) (the list)	4347	3424
Since Handover (6/29/04):	3627	2899
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09):	256	128
Since Operation New Dawn:	66	39
American Wounded	Official	Estimated
Total Wounded:	32021	Over 100000
Page last updated 03/5/13 11:08 am EDT
List of U.S. Servicemembers killed since 5/1/03 Afghanistan has, likewise, cost American lives lost and trillions in money wasted.  This war was waged in a desolate nation for the purpose of destroying the militant Al Qaeda Islamists, but it's turning out to be as big a failure as the War in Iraq.  Of course, the Afghan war had a somewhat national security purpose; but the reasoning for continuing to keep American troops in harms has become more elusive as Afghanistan appears completely infiltrated by enemies of the US and the national government.  It's just a matter of time before President Karazi and his Afghan government are toppled as tensions are mounting in this regard. When this coup inevitably happens, we'll see all the time, money, lives and resources poured by Americans into this wild mountainous country will be as wasted as soot in a fire place.   But Syrians are suffering because Americans simply can't afford the political or fiscal capital to help them to defend themselves. Syrian victims are, tragically, the extended collateral damage of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.   Obviously, we can't turn the clock backwards to re-create the decisions that put America into two expensive and failed wars.  Iraq could well fall apart into ethnic factions something like the European Balkans.  Afghanistan might become an anarchist government and an Al Qaeda haven.  Syria, on the other hand, could conceivably be an American ally in the Middle East. Unfortunately, the potential for this alliance is dwindling by the hour, especially as chemical weapons may infect the people's hearts and minds. America's invasion of Iraq in March of 2003, has been a failure that's now impacting millions of victims who cannot help themselves. These victims include Iraq civilians, American families who lost loved ones in the wars and, now, helpless Syrians who can't help themselves in the face of chemical weapons. Americans can't ignore the wrong mindedness of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. We could have killed Osama Bin Laden without invading Iraq, because, as it turned out, the terrorist hid in Pakistan - not in Iraq or Afghanistan. Nevertheless, we may be politically paralyzed to help the Syrians, even if we, somehow, can right our past wrongs.