Secretary of State John Kerry said two days ago that the use of chemical weapons should should “shock the conscience of the world.”

“The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity. By any standard, it is inexcusable and – despite the excuses and equivocations that some have manufactured – it is undeniable.”

The situation in Syria is a disaster. Certainly, Assad is a nightmare, but that does not mean that the rebels will necessarily be better. Assad’s atrocities do not erase the fact that there are factions from Al Qaeda on the other side. What follows are five reasons why bombing Syria at this time is a bad idea:

1. While we may know that chemical weapons were used, we don’t know for sure who used them.

The US says it has little doubt that Assad is responsible for using the chemical weapons, but other nations are not so sure. If reasonable doubt is the litmus for convicting an individual, should not the standard be higher for bombing a nation?

2. There is already an UN investigation going on.

The US claims Syria has used delay tactics to prevent inspections, but it has been revealed in a WSJ report that they weren’t asked until last Saturday, and agreed to an investigation and a cease fire within two days. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who has been described as a “pliable instrument’ of the US, said he had been pressured by the US to end the investigation, but believed their work was still valid.

3. If we bomb chemical plants we will release the poisons.

Violence cannot solve all problems. While our nation gives lip service to negotiation, it is seriously considering delaying talks so it can drop bombs in the middle of the Syrian mess and then resume negotiations afterward.

4. We ourselves have the world’s largest stockpile of the weapons we are calling immoral.

How can anyone outside the propagandized US take seriously the claim that the rest of the world should be indignant about other nations having the same weapons of mass destruction we have? How are Syrian chemical weapons worse than the depleted uranium we have used multiple times in other countries and which is still causing birth defects in those nations years later?  

5. The world has not forgotten our nation’s rush to war in Iraq.

The US sponsored nightmares in Iraq, Iran and Egypt are more than enough to put us in time out for a decade. We cannot be the moral leader of the world until we can comply with international standards. It is time for the United States to stop trying to recast the world into our own image, and rejoin the human race.