BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Advocate - The civil war in Syria has been raging for about two years, with over 100 000 people killed and nobody seemed to care. A few weeks ago it was alleged that sarin nerve gas was used by the Syrian regime, killing about 1 500 people, and all hell breaks loose. We are not at all advocating that it is okay to use chemical weapons in contravention of international law, but are more concerned about the lack of a concerted international response when so many were dying and the physical infrastructure of Syria was being reduced to rubble. It seems that United States President Barack Obama has made the decision to make a pre-emptive strike against Syria’s military targets in order to teach it a lesson. He has, however, decided to take an enormous gamble by going to a Republican Congress, which has blocked his every turn, for approval.