Neuroscientist Paul Zak, author of The Moral Molecule, has studied the trust trap extensively at the Claremont Graduate University Center for Neuoroeconomic Studies, and says that we all suffer a hard-wired disadvantage when it comes to identifying well-structured cons.

FORBES: Why Anybody Can Be Conned, Even You

Despite the moral, humanitarian and strategic arguments for intervention, Syria is a trap that threatens to suck external powers in and shackle them with responsibility for war-making, peacekeeping and a reconstruction effort that could eventually involve thousands of boots on the ground and billions of dollars in assistance.

CNN: Obama's no-win options in Syria