There is always a possibility that the same stars and planets that aligned for Barack Obama during his near mythical campaign and ascent to the presidency will realign once again as he considers a course of action in Syria. What is more likely is that President Obama and this country will learn  once again that if one does not learn from history one is doomed to repeat it.

The carnage and killing in Syria has turned a once repressive state into a charnel house. The body count climbs almost hourly and there is no lack of horrific scenes for the nightly news – every night. It is understandable and human for men and women of good will to want to “do something”.

But when “something” goes beyond humanitarian aid the gears of war begin to grind and the outcome can never be predicted. As you are reading these words President Obama is considering “limited military action”, and we already know that however “limited” the intent might be the Law of Unintended Consequences rules supreme in theaters of war and conflict.

And, as you are reading these words members of Congress seemed to have roused themselves from obstructionist stupor to demand that President Obama “do something” about the ongoing tragedy in Syria. And it is the source of no little irony that many of these same members of Congress have already gone on record as being willing to shut down the American government so as to deny a national healthcare system for Americans. And yet, these same members of Congress will certainly have no problem allocating what will amount to billions of dollars to finance yet another foreign killing exercise by the American government.

But the chicken hawks and fairweatherhawks and the occasional hawks all seem to think that the United States wields some kind of magic wand that freezes the rest of the planet while the American military displays its technological whiz bang wizardry while blowing up military installations and the occasional unintended civilian. They must think that allies and supporters of Syria like Russia, Hezbollah and Iran will simply stand by, frozen in amber, while the United States and its allies of convenience go about their business of “doing something”.

And what good is history if no one ever learns from it? The war in Vietnam, which resulted in over 50,000 American deaths and perhaps as many as a million Vietnamese dead, began with advisors in a “limited” military action.

The American people were promised that the invasion of Afghanistan was a “limited” military engagement and that was twelve years and thousands of American deaths ago.

The Bush-Cheney cabal, lying through its teeth, claimed the overthrown of Saddam Hussein and the destruction of non-existent weapons of mass destruction would be “quick” and would only take a few months, and that was ten years and thousands of American deaths ago.

The kettle of American pseudohawks that would have this country winging towards yet another war also seem to forget the consequences of any kind of military engagement – retribution. There are too many saber rattlers who seem to think that the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean protect American citizens from citizens of other countries where American bombs and bullets have done their work. They might want to ask the citizens of New York City and Washington who survived the 9/11 attacks about the illusion of American invulnerability.

Nevertheless, seemingly rational men and women are discussing military options in Syria as if the Syrians have no way of counterattacking. Whether it is recent Syrian cyber-attacks (newsflash: Syrians know how to use computers and the internet) or disgruntled jihadists from wherever who are tired of Americans attacking Arab and Muslim countries – every American bullet, missile or bomb fired in Syria has the potential of wreaking untold havoc in the United States.

It is hoped that President Obama will not fall into the trap that his enemies have set for him. Having attacked his legitimacy, his citizenship and his loyalty to the United States, these same enemies are now baiting him into taking military action that can only have disastrous consequences for Americans, as well as Syrians. That liberals and progressives who do not want to be seen as “weak” are joining in the unholy chorus only makes it worse.

After all the analysis and debate the conclusion has to be that American military action in Syria is a mistake. It is that simple.