And Cramer believes there are other catalysts looming on the horizon that may not be as threatening at Syria but present the same degree of uncertainty, nonetheless – take for example the issue of the debt ceiling.
"We heard from Secretary of State Jack Lew speaking earlier this week on CNBC that there will be no negotiations on the debt ceiling," Cramer said. "But if that's the case then we will have a government shutdown, plain and simple because the Republicans won't tolerate that intransigence."
A shutdown could send markets into a tailspin. Of course, it could also play out like the Fiscal Cliff and simply be a lot of tempest in a pot of tea.
"The point is, I don't know how those negotiations will come out any more than I know if we will hit Damascus with missiles," Cramer said.
In addition, Cramer said Fed tapering could also roil markets.
"Next week we get an employment report that, judging from the weekly unemployment claims will be the best in ages. But before you jump up and down with joy, if you own stock that could be terrible news because it could verify all of the talk about how the Fed won' t help any more. I suspect a strong number sends the market south," Cramer said.
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Beyond those catalysts Cramer added that there are single stock concerns such as earnings from Hain which would suggest the healthy eating trend is gaining momentum versus metrics from Fresh Market which said sales for new stores were incredibly weak.
There are even technical patterns in charts of the S&P 500 that are confusing at best.
"We've got cross currents galore and I just can't tell whether the bulls or the bears will be pulled out to sea by the riptide. I can make the case that skies are clearing and the market should trade up to new all-time highs and I can make a case that a nasty storm is brewing and we'll probably lose everything we have made this year," said Cramer
The point is, there's no way of knowing. Therefore, Cramer says play it safe.
"These big macro forces could toss around the stocks as if they were small ships caught in a hurricane. They could easily drown a bull. Just ride this one out in port," Cramer said.
