Civil Unrest And The Middle East

Syria’s civil war is the worst humanitarian crisis of modern time. The “Syrian Civil war Began in March of 2011, between rebel brigades and government force; economy and infrastructure is destroyed” (Library, 2016). “Divisions between secular and religious fighters, and between ethnic groups, continue to complicate the politics of the conflict” (Corps, 2016). Additionally, the Syrian civil war has taken a significant

The French’s mandate over Syria after World Ware One had an irrevocable impact on the nations’s communal factions. The mandate lasted from 1920-1946 and they begun their rule with intentionally made sectarian divisions. They were made in order to prevent Arab nationalism and stifle national independence movements. The divisions were made my religious and national minority. Granting the minorities independent status locations where they make up the majority. For example, there was a large population of Alawites in the mountain range behind Latakia, the French declared them a separate state. The Druze were granted the right and ability to govern themselves in the city of Jabal, just south of Damascus. The one religious group that did

The Arabs took this opportunity to start an uprising. The fighting continued for twenty years until France, in 1936, agreed to let go of their political influence, but they would keep a military presence there and could benefit economically, which meant they controlled the oil. Four years later France fell to the Axis powers and consequently so did Syria. Since the, now Free French, troops needed support along with the British, they agreed to leave the region completely if they helped them win World War 2. After the Germans were defeated, the French, reluctantly, kept their word and left the region. This, however, did not subside the fighting; what was once a battle for freedom turned into an ideological battle between Shias and Sunnis. Eventually some stability was gained and a proper government was set up. In 1971 Hafez Al-Assad was elected president and the country went from being a democracy to a monarchy. He groomed his first son to take over the country once he died but his son passed away in a car accident before he did. Hafez’s second son, Bashar Al-Assad, took control of the country in 2000 and he has remained in power ever since. Prior to the Arab Spring, there were outbursts, but none significantly affected his regime. Once the Arab Spring began, however, the people of Syria, mainly Sunnis, revolted against Assad. At the same time, The United States pulled troops out of Iraq leaving them without any structure or

The author achieves his goal but also fails in certain aspects. Sahner prefaces the book with the statement that he will provide an understanding to the rich history of Syria and the multiple sects that proliferate its landscape. What he fails to do is provide an encompassing view to this landscape but instead undertakes the executive decision to focus on specific snapshots of Syria’s history. Consequently, he skips almost entirely the later parts of the Islamic Caliphate and subsequent Ottoman rule that dominated a large part of Syria’s history in the second millennium A.D. Overall, the author weaves a tale that is well written but could have expounded more upon the certain epochs in Syria’s history. Nonetheless, it overwhelmingly succeeds in personifying a culture and country often dismissed and simplified as “just another tragic, religious conflict”.

Another specific conflict area that this paper will examine is Syria. The area, today known as Syria, is in a unique location which has made it subject to many empires, including the Roman and Ottoman. Since the area has been at the center of history for thousands of years it is home to a diverse ethnic and religious culture. Currently the country is home to “Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, Druze, Alawite Shia and Arab Sunnis, the last of who make up a majority of the Muslim population,” (BBC). Prior to World War I, the area was under control of the Ottoman Empire, after the war the empire was broken up and France took control of the area. In 1946, France granted Syria independence, and the country has been dealing with political instability ever since. From 1958-1961, Syria joined up with Egypt to create the United Arab Republic. The following years brought about a succession of upheavals within the government. In the 1960’s the Arab-nationalist group, Baath, took over power, and in 1970 one of their leaders, Hafiz al-ASAD, took control, which brought about political stability. In 1967 there was a war taking place between Israel and Syria, which resulted in Israel occupying a southwestern region of the country. In 1970, Syria’s neighbor of Lebanon broke out into civil war and Syria extended their military power into that country. The Baath government has been known to be a strong authoritative power and has powerful anti-western policies in place that

Imagine this: The United States is involved in an intricate war in the Middle East

Throughout centuries, war in the Middle East has been on a rise. The main cause of war in most of these countries is religion. Everyone wants to fight for their religion and their Gods. The problem is in some religions such as Islamic, they believe when they kill they’re fighting for God, also they believe they will receive 100 virgins and go to heaven when they die. They are not the only religion fighting for their God, however, religions such as Judaism and others also fight. In the Middle East, if there is a war going on there is a 50/50 chance it is over religion. What the world ignores about these wars is they have been going on for centuries. People were brutally murdered every single day and still are today all over religion. The religious wars started from the beginning of time and go all the way to current times. As the way things look now, it does not seem like history is going to change. Starting in A.D with the Siege of Jerusalem and going all the way to current things such as the attacks on Paris, the phrase “history repeats itself” seems to be true.

Many people have died for the United States. They died for freedom, liberty, and justice. Most American soldiers who died in the past 15 years, died in the Middle East. To reduce the death toll the United States should not involve themselves in the Middle East for three reasons. First, the United States risks the lives of soldiers and civilians in the Middle East. Moreover, the United States can be targeted by terrorists from the Middle East. In addition, the United States do not have very strong relationships in the Middle East.

The Syrian war is perhaps the worst type of war of modern time. The war has gone on for more than five years now, and a solution is yet to be found. The conflict has claimed over 250 thousand lives and left more than six million refugees (Erlich 1). It is believed that more than seven million have been displaced internally. The escalation of the war and difficult in finding a lasting solution is due to the involvement of foreign countries. The situation in Syria has been made by the interference of the West. The West did not only create the situation Syria, but they have intensified the dilemma and made the conflict last for many years. Some people may argue that the Syrian war was influenced by Arab uprising.

The war in Syria has brought pain and destruction to the people and cities affected. Upwards of 500,000 people have lost their lives and the country itself has crumbled as result of the irreconcilable differences between the protestors and government. The conflict in Syria is the deadliest struggle that the 21st century has experienced so far. This research explains what sparked the war, how it has affected Syria, and what is being done to end the battle.

Just as the sun began to rise – land appeared in the distance. The ship was bustling with students and faculty alike packing their bags and saying their final goodbyes. I sat on the top deck watching until the horn sounded for the last time and it finally dawned on me; time to go back to reality. I collected my belongings and was soon on a plane back to Minnesota.

In the mid-twentieth century, an Arab nationalist fervor overtook Syria, leading to a series of coups which would eventually install the ostensibly socialist Ba’ath party at the head of state -- a rule that lasts tenuously to the present day. In the chaos of the aftermath of European occupation the seeds were sown for the conflict that rends Syria today as a nation struggles to define itself outside of the context of both factionalist terrorism and the autocratic al-Assad regime which has reigned since that period. When Hafez al-Assad, father of current president Bashar al-Assad, came to power in 1970 he seized the whole of the nation’s political power, placing it firmly in the hands of his family and therefore those of the military

Many things have occurred throughout history which have impacted the instability in the middle east. World War One, and all of the treaties, alliances, and declarations that came about due to that have affected todays time and the decisions the United States Military makes regarding the issues of the middle east. America has learned a lot from the past, and this has ultimately benefited them in the end. The United States is more able to make educated decisions now because of all the past occurrences.

There has almost always been some kind of conflict in the Middle East, from modern conflicts with ISIS, to the long lasting conflicts over Jerusalem with the Palestinians and the Jews. Muslim world has always, in some shape or form, been very complicated. From the Fertile Crescent, to the war on terrorism, they have always played a part in history from good to bad. With only 21% of Muslims being extremist, why are they so powerful and not being over thrown with the majority of Muslims not being extremists? With so many people opposing this you would think that the Muslim governments would try their hardest not to hand there county’s over to the Muslim extremists. Muslim world has a lot of

The very origin of Syrian heritage is dominated by foreign empires—Assyrians, British, Egyptians, French, Hittites, Macedonian Greeks, Mongols, Persians, Romans, and Turks. The power of the aforementioned foreign empires greatly influenced the development of Syria. Just in the last three hundred and fifty years, the political rule in Syria has shifted several different times—from the Ottomans to the Assyrians, from the Assyrians to the British and French, from the British and French to the Baath Party, from the Baath Party to the United Arab Republic, and from the United Arab Republic to the rule of Assad. The Syrian economy in the sixteenth century was mainly supported by agriculture and military pursuits, while advances in the nineteenth century allowed for an economic growth boosted by energy and mineral resources—electrical generation, mining, nuclear energy, and oil and natural gas—and industry and manufacturing. During the last five centuries, Syria has been occupied by Christians (Catholic, Orthodox, and others), Druze, Jews, Kurds, Shia Muslims (Alawis, Ismailis, and others), Sunni Muslim Arabs, and Yazidis. Despite that, Syrian society has still been overwhelmingly Muslim. While the development of economics and religion have changed Syrian history immensely, the development of politics has been the driving force in Syrian evolution.