The Syrian Civil War has been a historic conflict and Russian intervention has only escalated the violence by maintaining the atrocious pattern of bloodshed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is determined to preserve Assad’s brutal regime. Assisting such a ruthless dictator is outrageous and unreasonable. Furthermore, the Syria peace talks are a series of ongoing negotiations that appear to be making little to no progress in resolving the conflict in Syria.

As United States leaders and diplomats watch the violence persist, they only offer words and rhetoric that are not supported by actions.

Secretary of State John Kerry emphasized the urgent situation in Syria during a recent ministerial meeting in Rome, Italy.

“The situation on the ground for the Syrian people is unfathomable,” Kerry said. “We haven’t seen a catastrophe like this since World War II, and it’s unfolding before our eyes.”

There is clearly a lack of public support in the United States for our country’s involvement in Syria. Memories of the Iraq War burn fresh in many American minds, but the civil war in Syria cannot be compared to Iraq. Although it feels as if the U.S. recently got out of the Iraq War, it doesn’t provide the U.S. with a free pass to sit back and allow the atrocities in Syria to continue.

The United States has the ability to end a humanitarian crisis. Most people studied the cases of Rwanda, Bosnia, the Holocaust and other tragedies in their high school global studies class. Ultimately, the Syrian conflict will likely be included in history books as another catastrophe that could have been stopped.

The peace talks need to take the direction of action rather than conversation because the flood of emigration and hostility are perpetual.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir is unwilling to allow the dire situation in Syria to persist even if the currently ongoing peace talks fail.

“We will push as much as we can to ensure that the political process works,” Al-Jubeir said. “But if that doesn’t work, it will be because of the obstinance of the Syrian regime and that of its allies. And should that prove to be the case, then it becomes clear that there is no option to remove Bashar al-Assad except by force.”

With the onset of the Arab Spring, Assad’s government violently cracked down on the citizens of Syria as he murdered hundreds of thousands of his own people and caused many more to desperately flee the country.

The U.S. somewhat has its hands tied behind its back because it wants to avoid a confrontation with Russia. However, how can a nation pride itself on having the largest military in the world if it refuses to stand up to this communist bully? Russia’s military capabilities do not stand a chance against America’s military capabilities. The U.S. does not necessarily need to intervene militarily since a threat alone could bring Russian intervention in Syria to an end.

If the U.S. continues to allow Putin to flaunt his strength in the Middle East, he will continue to wreak havoc in a country that is already ravaged by war.

It is critical for the United States and the entire international community to take action in Syria before Putin causes any further damage in the Middle East. Innocent Syrian civilians are dying every day as a result of Russian air strikes. Putin is bombing more innocent men, women, and children than militants in Syria.

We will only feel deep regret if we do not help Syria during this unfortunate hardship. The United States cannot stand by and watch the bloodshed without taking action because we would essentially be failing another nation during its time of crisis. Russia will only create more problems in the Middle East as Putin escalates the violence in Syria.