First of all, what makes you so sure that the Syrian despot is the one who fired the gas? Second, what business is it of ours who kills whom in an internal civil war? I can tell you from experience that once you take sides in a civil war, you make yourself a legitimate target everywhere in the world. Why would Germans want to create a new set of enemies seeking revenge for their buildings, their bridges, their water and sewage systems, their airfields, and their friends' lives? Costs should be counted before "little wars" are launched, because an act of war legitimizes retaliation against the aggressor.
Germany has been allowed to depend on the U S for its military needs ever since WWII. So they probably aren't in much of a position to provide help, and certainly haven’t exhibited any will to engage anybody in combat.
If the United States wasn't so trigger happy and didn't stick its nose into every other nation's business, we wouldn't be teetering on the economic brink right now. Over the last two decades, we have fought and spent ourselves into exhaustion. Perhaps a little dose of German reticence would have been wise.
It is time for us to tell Germany that they are on their own and we are going to bring our military personnel and material home. We could use it to protect our southern border and get a lot more bang for our bucks.
Hear! Hear! I agree with your last point completely. And not that it matters, but so do most Germans.
One thing I always found interesting in Germany - the Brits claimed some prime river-front property in the major cities and kept it. We, on the other hand, kept giving property back bit-by-bit over the decades. The Brits figured they earned that land with blood; so did we, but we sold it so much more cheaply.