( CNN ) -- `` What we 're talking about is not an open-ended intervention . This would not be another Iraq or Afghanistan , '' President Barack Obama said this weekend in an address to the American public about a possible U.S. military strike in Syria . That the president knows he must say what the strike in Syria is not says a great deal about the uphill battle he has faced in making a case for limited military intervention . The ghosts of the Iraq War hover over any Syria action that the United States potentially undertakes . But Iraq is not Syria . While Americans are exhausted after 12 years of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in which nearly 7,000 U.S. service members were killed , the differences between the two conflicts are worth noting if the case for Syria is to be judged on its merits . 1 . Chemical weapons have been deployed . Unlike Iraq , where evidence supporting the case that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction turned out to be faulty , Syria 's arsenal ( in this case , chemical weapons , which are considered a form of weapons of mass destruction ) is well-documented . The Obama administration has assembled an extensive collection of evidence , both crowd-sourced and from intelligence sources , that point convincingly to President Bashar al-Assad 's forces having gassed innocent civilians . And U.N. investigators are scheduled to share their report soon . 2 . The United States has not been alone in condemning the regime and pushing for action . Unlike in 2002 when France led the vocal opposition to the U.S. attack on Iraq , our NATO ally stands next to America in supporting action against Syria 's dictator . British Prime Minister David Cameron is also in favor of action , though Parliament and the British public remain largely opposed . Leaders of both countries have argued that the Assad regime can not be permitted to trample international norms . Also different from a decade ago -- regional powers such as Saudi Arabia , Turkey and Jordan have pushed for greater U.S. intervention on the diplomatic and military fronts for months . Without the international community stepping in , the Syria conflict could threaten to overrun the region . 3 . Extremists have gained because of U.S. inaction . The aftermath of American military action saw Iraq become the flame to which extremist fighters from other countries flocked . Extremists seized the opportunity created by the chaos and slashed the country open further , taking advantage of the upheaval to foment a conflict that pierced the heart of Iraq 's sectarian divide . In Syria , however , extremists have seized opportunities while a civil war rages . For months , supporters of greater U.S. intervention in Syria have warned that if the United States continues to stay out of Syria , jihadists would pile in to Syria . They have . Extremist elements have gained ground with help from coffers filled by supporters in Qatar and elsewhere . The number of extremists operating in Syria has grown in part because no credible , well-funded alternative exists . Inaction could lead to extremists ' multiplication , not their neutralization . 4 . There 's a savage humanitarian crisis with no end in sight . Before the American invasion , Iraq was a functioning state and society , albeit one presided by a dictator who had used chemical weapons in the past and ruled with fear and terror . But it faced no epic humanitarian crisis . Syria today is not functioning ; it is in fragments . More than 100,000 people -- the population of Cambridge , Massachusetts , or Burbank , California -- have been killed in the 2Â½-year war . Refugees number 2 million , a staggering figure , and half of those are children . Close to 800,000 of these displaced are under the age of 11 . Neighbors Turkey , Jordan and Lebanon all face the specter of instability created by the mounting numbers of refugees flooding their borders . Jordan has said as much , warning that it is a strain to absorb the refugees arriving each day . America is skeptical after a conflict that many now feel was not worth fighting for based on premises that turned out to be untrue . Unlike in 2002 , America is no longer ready to give its policymakers the benefit of doubt when it comes to entering battle . The past decade has left America exhausted , unwilling to pay another bill in treasured lives lost and dollars spent . America 's commander in chief is aware of the reluctance . This is why he called for limited intervention . It seems that an endless war -- or even an extended one that includes ground troops -- is unlikely . Getting into another protracted conflict in faraway lands is the last thing that Americans want . `` I know that the American people are weary after a decade of war , even as the war in Iraq has ended , and the war in Afghanistan is winding down , '' the president said . `` But we are the United States of America . We can not turn a blind eye to images like the ones we 've seen out of Syria . '' As Congress and the American public debate just what to do in Syria , it is important to be clear-eyed about just what Syria is and what it is not . And it is not Iraq . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Gayle Tzemach Lemmon .
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon : President had to explain to the public what a Syria strike is not . Clinton : Past war has left America exhausted , unwilling to enter another war . She said intervening in Syria conflict would be different from going to war in Iraq . Lemmon : If U.S. takes no action , extremism may rise and refugee crisis may worsen .