US army chief warns against country's military involvement in Middle East

Army chief of Staff has warned against the United States' military involvement in Syria and Egypt before better understanding the crises in the Middle East nations.

General Raymond Odierno said at the American Enterprise Institute that the US is focused on making sure the country's leaders understand the social, economic and other factors involved within the Middle East, because they're complex and quite difficult to understand."

According to the Washington Times, he said that one of the most important things is to understand what's going on in Syria and what will be the impact on Israel, Lebanon and Iraq.

He also warned that massive defense cuts of 500 billion dollars over the next decade, known as sequestration, could result in higher casualties during an emergency or intervention in the next few years, the report added.