In recent news, Syrians have been seeking to overthrow their authoritarian leader Bashar al-Assad. As a result, a civil war has killed over an estimated 120,000 Syrians and has also left many displaced. In the meanwhile, international efforts have been complicated and passive. In the United States, pressure is building in congress on whether or not to intervene. Though intervention has proved successful in Libya, which faced a similar civil war, it is unsure if such an attack would be practical in Syria. The US, widely known for its humanitarian outreach, is under question on whether or not they have a moral imperative to step in, while also considering its possible negative outcomes for itself and the international community as a whole. …show more content…
Another obstacle besides Syria’s allies is its use of chemical weapons. Allegations of the use of chemical warfare in Syria, a serious offense in international law, have heightened international tension (Yan, et.al). In contrast to the disorder happening in Syria, Libya’s civil war came to an end quite quickly. Libya was much easier to intervene not only because Gaddafi’s army was weak, but also because the instability of Libya directly threated the national security of Europe. From the perspective of the United States, it was also seen as beneficial due to Libya’s large resource of oil, which is not as prominent in Syria. With Syria’s powerful army that would be difficult to take down and its allies on the U.N. Security Council, invasion would destabilize surrounding countries. It is also argued that the situation in Syria is more complicated and dangerous than that of Libya in 2011(Estep). The civil war in Syria has proven to be much more destructive, with more lives lost and an enormous amount of refugees flooding surrounding countries. Support that the West can provide would not be effective in preventing civilian deaths, as the war zone would be taking place in densely populated cities. With given conditions, military intervention in Syria has little prospect of success and high risk of disastrous failure (Smith). With the assumption that Assad is undoubtedly using chemical weapons against his own people even when he had the upper hand in the war
In March of 2011, Syrian citizens peacefully protest about the arrest and torture of group of teenagers who had written anti-government graffiti on a wall. Instead of President Bashar al-Assad listening to the people, he responded with violence. This led up to the uprising of rebels, and the Syrian Civil War. Though what is truly fueling the violence in Syria?
“a really, really tough case” that defies historical parallels. Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War refers to political, military and operational support to parties involved in the ongoing conflict in Syria that began in March 2011, as well as active foreign involvement. Most parties involved in the war in Syria receive various types of support from foreign countries and entities based outside Syria. The ongoing conflict in Syria is widely described as a series of overlapping wars between the regional and world powers, primarily between the U.S. and Russia as well as between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
On the other hand, a U.S. military intervention is unlikely to happen since the U.S. cannot afford, politically or economically, an unsecured contribution to the Syrian war for an unpredictable period of time, especially after Obama’s foreign policy has been focused on ending all military involvements in Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S. army hasn’t seemed to rest from the wounds of the two major past war, and veteran families were promised that military interventions will end, which makes the issue of intervention in Syria even more complicated for the U.S.
Technology in modern times has changed our lives for the better. The internet lets society learn quicker and puts information at our fingertips that was not available to the common person twenty years ago. The internet also provides entertainment. Although technology has changed our lives for the better, historically the Industrial Revolution did not impact society in a totally positive way. Tenement houses, child labor and poor labor conditions were some of the negative results of the Industrial Revolution.
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
Currently, the world is in disagreement over tensions in the Middle East. A divided country of the Syrian government and rebels has caused horrific acts. Acts that the president of the United States deemed necessary for military retaliation. That has sparked the debate on if it was not only justified but ethical to launch tomahawk missiles into war-torn parts of Syria. In an article on the Huffington Post, Dr. Helen Ouyang argues that it was justified and that military intervention is needed. She uses different forms of arguments to draw comparisons of Syria to other countries around the world, dissociate the scenario with the past military struggles and offers many reasons why the benefit will outweigh the cost.
The parties involved in many civil wars are often not just limited to the country in which the war is actually taking place. Often, other countries will give aid to one side of the conflict or even involve their own military forces. Recent examples of such occurrences include Russian, American, and Turkish involvement in the present Syrian Civil War and the NATO bombing campaign during the Kosovo War. These countries expend massive amounts of resources and lose great numbers of troops in these conflicts often to uncertain ends. This begs the question: Why do foreign powers involve themselves in the civil wars of other countries? It is possible that such interventions occur because the intervening party believes that they could make strategic gains by doing so. Another theory is that countries intervene when they feel that there is a moral obligation to get involved in the conflict (Kim 2012, 19). However, even when circumstances seem to be in favor of a foreign power intervening, they do not involve themselves. This paper will test these hypotheses by examining the intervention by the United States and Russia primarily in the current Syrian Civil War and attempt to discern their motives for
As of recent, there is an ongoing debate over the response of the Obama administration related to the events occurring in Syria and the potential violation by the Syrian government of customary international law and relevant treaties and conventions in the use of chemical weapons against its own people. The conflict itself has history which is required to be thoroughly examined before conclusions can be placed and actions are to be carried out. The Syrian Civil War has not only affected the lives of Syria’s citizens but has becoming a pressing issue in direct international relations between countries like Russia and the United States. Obama’s administration has their own response to the crisis at hand and believes that a military strike is a fully legal move to make given the situation present at hand. According to the evidence, it would seem possible that a violation has not occurred and that the threat by Obama’s administration to use force in the Syrian crisis stands on illegitimate grounds because the proceedings are done by Syrian government on their own grounds. However the atrocious actions committed by the Assad regime could in fact provide legality to military intervention by the United States. Finally, the focus will be to determine whether chemical weapons are in fact the sole factor for international intervention.
In this essay’s scope, the Syrian war has been analyzed using the just war theory. The just war theory highlights situations where waging a war can be justifiable and also provides guidelines on how a war should be fought. In as much as the theory recognizes the need to protect innocent human life even when it involves the use of force, the theory puts in place several principles that need to be met to qualify a war as being just. As for the Syrian situation, the bone of contention is whether the proposed US military intervention is justifiable or not. Those who are for a US military intervention observe that the enormity of the massacre in Syria justifies an external intervention. They point out that an intervention would protect further loss of innocent human life. Those against such a move point out some guidelines that have not been met to merit such an intervention as a just
The “just cause criterion is central in the “just war” doctrine. When assessing the sufficient “just cause” reasons the principle of self-defence is undoubtedly tolerable. It can be extended to the reason of assisting aid to victims of oppression or external threat (Moseley n.d.). Following this principle, the mass murder of the Syrian civilians by the government forces that reached nearly 40000 (Aloyo 2014) create a justified cause for the USA and the international community in general. However, in the case of Syria using forces against the aggression as a whole will be an impossible task, as both parties
The war in Syria has resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties, as well as the displacement, of just as many refugees who have fled the country. The regime of Bashar Al-Assad, reportedly deployed chemical agents against innocent Syrian people. President Obama went on record, saying that Assad should not cross the “thin red line” (Filkins, 2013). Many interpret this statement from the president to be a threat of war against Syria. Some are actually arguing the ethics of war in this case. During a panel discussion between theologians and policy makers on what makes for a “Just war”, Stanley Hauerwas, Professor emeritus of theological ethics at Duke Divinity School explained that the idea of a “Just war” consists of a discourse which requires thorough diplomatic argument that exhausts all nonviolent efforts before military intervention can ever be considered (Shimron, 2013).
Syria’s civil war has overflows of violence all around the world. Groups like ISIS who feel as if the west has caused the plight of the Arabs or Muslims will attempt to retaliate against the west, curbing that overflow by funding NGO’s, United Nations agencies, and other programs that are assisting in putting an
Over the last few years, the Middle Eastern nation of Syria has been the location of a brutal, nationwide conflict. Governed for the last fifteen years by the Syrian dictator, President Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian people began an armed rebellion against the oppressive regime during the spring of 2011. For four years, the bloody conflict has waged between pro-Assad forces, and various factions of rebel groups. In 2013, pro-Assad forces deployed rockets with chemical warheads into rebel controlled neighborhoods, killing many non-combatants indiscriminately, showing the world Syria’s complete lack of humanitarian considerations, and Assad’s willingness to stop at nothing to remain in power. This use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime has
The Syrian Arab Republic is an Arab country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the North, Iraq to the East, Jordan to the South, and Israel to the Southwest. In March 2011, the Syria conflict has begun due to various reasons and is still going on today. This outbreak is one of the key factors which resulted the Arab Spring (Arab Uprising). Arab Spring refers to the democratic uprisings that arose independently and spread across the Arab world in 2011. The protest originated in Tunisia in December 2010 and quickly took hold in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. In these countries, the citizens intiatied the protests as the ruling families have been
“What then is freedom? The power to live as one wishes” (CITE CITE CITE). Syrian people have lost their freedom, and have been living in fear since the Syrian Civil War broke out in 2011. The horrific civil war has been going on for years. There was a rebellion against the Syrian government six years ago starting the civil war. Ever since then innocent civilians have been hurting and suffering. Syrian people have been drug away from their homes and are living in anguish. The controversy on how the United States should help Syrian people has formed over the years. The media has started to cover the Syrian civil war more, and it has shown the world how much Syrian people are hurting. Americans have started to realize that these people need help, but the question of how to help is still under discussion. Some people believe that America should use organizations to donate money and supplies to the people in need. They believe that with the help of money and food that the people will be okay. Other people believe that America should send in U.S troops to help end the fighting.