As we head to war

If you have not been paying attention to the news lately it appears that we are heading to war in Syria.  Which has of course caused Syria to threaten if we do they will attack Israel and to which Israel says if they are attacked they will retaliate.  We are on the precipice of what could become a global conflict.  Currently Russia is saying that they will stay out of the conflict however they are strongly warning western nations to stay out of Syria.

The traditional allies of Syria are Russia and Iran however they also have good relations with several other countries including China, North Korea and Cuba.  Just like the previous World Wars these alliances are what could hypothetically cause a domino effect.  This is of course the last thing that we would want.  With so many major players on both sides of the fence things could get ugly fast.  This is the fear of many at this moment as they are watching what is happening.  The country is in a financial tail spin at the moment with a high level of social unrest, the added stress of an unpopular high profile war could cause internal strife.

The trigger for our current situation is the use of chemical weapons in Syria by the Assad regime.  The use of these weapons has been deemed undeniable and a “moral obscenity”.  To further the issue their appeared to  be a cover up in place of what happened to try and shift the blame.

In our country so removed physically from the east the idea of a war in the east or even spilling into Europe seems like it would have little to no effect on us here.  However what many forget is how interwoven the global economy is these days, far more than it was during the last two global conflicts.  Also there is the undeniable changes in technology in the last 70 years.  Interruptions to our communications network could put the populace in a general state of panic in many areas.  Take down the internet and phone services and most Americans would be lost.  Throw in a partial or complete collapse of the power grid, say by strategically placed EMP devices.

In such instances our country would be thrown into chaos.  We could be completely crippled and taken out of a global conflict without a foreign power having boots on our soil.  From this point one of two things could happen.  The first and most likely is all American forces would be recalled to enforce the rule of law in our country in an attempt to preserve what is left of it.  The second possibility is that at this point there could actually be a boots on the ground invasion by foreign military personnel.  At that point an attack could come by land (via Mexico), sea or air.  We would still have defenses such as our naval fleet however depending on current and future deployment patterns holes could be found to allow access especially if there is broken communications.

My suggestion is for everyone to watch the current situation closely and be prepared for anything to happen.  While any spill over onto our soil being the remotest of possibilities it is possible.  Have a plan and discuss it with your family.  Purchase extra fuel for your vehicles.  Ensure that you have a ready supply of both food and water on hand.  Make secured backups of all of your important documents.  Most of these things should be already in place if you have been previously preparing your family however if they are not you may want to work on that immediately.  Do not panic.  Use your head and remain calm.  Be prepared for anything that might come down the road.

Stay safe.