With all that
is going on in Syria, I’ve been asking people how far they think Damascus,
Syria, is from Jerusalem? One great answer I received was “it must be either
very close or far away.” Apparently we are not much for geography in the United
States. Most of us recognize that the Middle East is a very dense area of the
world, but just how dense? In answering my basic question you can look in the
New Testament, where Saul, soon to be Paul, has an encounter on the road from
Jerusalem to Damascus. This indicates that, even 2000 years ago, it was
possible to travel between these two cites on foot. The answer to my question
is 135 miles. But this belies the question of density in the Middle East. Some
interesting distances: between Damascus and Cairo, Egypt: 382 miles; Nicosia,
Cyprus: 204 miles; Tel Aviv, Israel: 133 miles; Amman, Jordan: 109 miles; and
Beirut, Lebanon: 55 miles. These are all capital cities in the Middle East and
they are very close to each other. The fallout of the civil war in Syria on the
countries surrounding it has lead to disruptions, as millions of people have
fled from Syria to these nations. Any action that is taken in Syria will
undoubtedly have repercussions on countries in close proximity, and we just
don’t know where this may lead. Generally, this type of tenuous situation is
not good for stock markets. The stock markets in the U. S. have shown no
apparent significant downturn--yet! The Middle East still
supplies about one-third of the oil that is used in the U.S. A disruption to
the supply line, or worry about such a disruption, could send oil prices skyrocketing.
Such an event would have a negative impact on the growth of the U.S. economy, with
more consumer dollars going for gas and less for consumer products. While we
are in the stages of becoming self-sufficient in energy, our infrastructure, to
make this possible, is not yet fully in place. Today, on the front page of the Wall
Street Journal, it was reported Secretary of State John Kerry, in London, 2855
miles from Damascus, in an off-the-cuff remark, suggested that President Bashar
al-Assad could avert an attack by promptly handing his chemical weapons to the
international community. Moscow, 2184 miles from Damascus, declared its support
and quickly got Damascus on board. In Washington, DC, 5877 miles from Damascus,
the vote on action in Syria became muddled. No matter the outcome, the Middle
East does have an impact on the markets and citizens of the U.S.
Ed Mallon
