America's unwillingness to act after the chemical attack caused Syrian rebels to despair; no-one would come and save the day, leaving a vacuum that would be filled by the forces of Isis, turning Syria into hell on earth. Obama's conclusion was that there was no scenario where intervention in Syria would give a desired outcome. With over half a million killed and millions of refugees fleeing Syria's borders, Obama's vision of a Middle East where the youth would create a democratic and free world for itself had collapsed.