As a result of a suspected chemical weapons attack in a Damascus suburb on August 21, 2013, Syria faces potential military consequences from the United States of America, and possibly some of its allies, including France, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. However, the main force to bring punitive measures to the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad in any such event would of course be the US and its armed forces. The bald eagle in this drawing represents the military of the United States, which by tradition uses the power of its air force to soften-up the enemy's defenses, before it takes any further risks to its own assets in combat. The possibility of seeing American military personnel in Syria is minimal to non-existent, according to US President Obama. However, war is risky, and where there is risk, the unknown and other unpredictable variables can quickly change the reality on the ground. This op-ed caricature of an American bald eagle flying towards Syria first took flight and earned its wings online in the binary investor update of September 5, 2013, when analysts, consumers and traders were waiting for any update that Washington might engage yet another Muslim country in active combat of some kind. Were it to happen, it would officially be the fourth such country which the US has attacked since 9/11/2001. So far, those countries include: Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. There have of course been American military operations ongoing in Yemen and other countries in the Middle East and the Arab and Muslim world in that time. However, as far as large-scale operations are concerned, Syria would be the 4th. And Syria, with allies that include the Hezbullah terror group of Lebanon, Iran, Russia and China, may well be a keystone that unlocks a broader regional conflict, or possibly even a third world war. However, it seems unlikely that a limited series of actions against Assad's forces would cause such an escalation, as long as the response is also limited. All the same, America and its allies are not taking any chances, and are preparing for a long, drawn-out conflict that could last longer than the estimated 1 - 8 weeks which pundits had earlier predicted. What do you think will happen in the next week or two? Will pinpoint strikes be the entire action President Obama chooses to take against Assad? Or will any use of force erupt into a wider-scale war? Even though Russia and China are openly denying any interest in being an active actor in any such battles, do you think that Vladimir Putin would keep his cool and let the U.S. bombard one of Russia's main military industry clients? And what will this mean for the price of defense industry stocks? Or gas and oil prices? Investors who are tuned in to the news know that any such action will likely cause an effect on the price of these commodities, as has been seen many times before.

Politika »  International  Military & Security  Third World  Terrorism  Conflicts & War

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