Jim, I responded to your post. The whole Middle East is a territorial dispute.

1) The West, as you put it, does barely enough trade with Syria to make a difference. Syria could stop exporting everything now and it would matter not one jot or tittle to the West.

"Syria Import and Export Indicators and Statistics at a Glance

Total value of eports: $12.84 billion (2010 estimate)
Primary export items: crude oil, minerals, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, textiles, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat
Primary Export partners: Iraq (30.22% of total exports), Lebanon (12.21%), Germany (8.89%), Egypt (6.8%), Saudi Arabia (5.04%) and Italy (4.55%)

Total value of imports: $13.57 billion (2010 estimate)
Primary import items: machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper
Primary import partners: Saudi Arabia (10.1% of total imports), China (9.95%), Turkey (6.97%), Egypt (6.44%), UAE (4.97%), Italy (4.93%), Russia (4.92%), Germany (4.38%) and Lebanon (4.12%)"

2) I haven't been snotty with you, so shove it. You're taking myopia to new heights.