Experts: Impact of Syrian airstrikes far reaching

WASHINGTON (KTRK) -- It may be a half a world away, but what is happening in Syria, the aerial attack on ISIS, does affect us here at home.

The most obvious impact is in the oil industry. Energy, the undeniable lifeblood of our economy, is inextricably linked to the bloodshed in the Middle East. Though Syria accounts for only as much as one half of one percent of the word's oil supply, what's happening in that country is important.

"So far, it seems to have no impact in the short term," says Christopher Ross, an energy industry insider and Executive Professor of Business at The University of Houston. "What does move the needle is the threat of ISIS expanding and then threatening serious countries."

That threat, he says, is long term. ISIS, not afraid of brutal propaganda, becomes a danger to global economic stability if its influence and power spreads throughout the Middle East, beyond the borders of Syria and Iraq.

"If you really wanted to go after them (ISIS) at some point," suggests Rice Univeristy Political Science Professor Richard Stoll, "you had to go after them in Syria. So I think that's, you know, a big deal."

He adds it is critical to have the support and assistance of other Arab Nations. It not only sends a clear message this is not just a "West versus the Middle East" fight, but it further enforces the idea

that ISIS is a global problem.

"If the Middle East breaks apart," he warns, "it can have a destabilizing effect throughout the world."