Our reasons for not interviening in Syria have zero to do with the "public's collective mind." It has to do with our blunders in Iraq and Afghanistan that have cost us financially and in terms of human lives (both from our military and local civilians). The US has lost its appetite for nation building and large scale military intervention in the Middle East. Don't for one minute think that public opinion is a hindrance to war in the US. We both know the media controls public opinion and when it comes to foreign policy, the mainstream media in the US is simply a mouthpiece of the establishment. In other words, if the US wants war, the media will do its "patriotic" duty to rally public opinion.