Let’s take a cautious approach over Syria

As Congress approaches the nine-year anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, it is stunning to hear Republicans on Capitol Hill and the campaign trail calling for military intervention in another Middle Eastern country.

This time the country is Syria. And the reasons for military action there sound eerily similar to the ones used by the Bush administration in the run-up to the Iraq war.

To review: We have a brutal Middle Eastern dictator who has committed egregious human rights violations. He might have weapons of mass destruction and ties to terrorism. At the United Nations, we have the United States leading the charge for an international coalition to stop him.