The Crisis Since World War II

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

With a death toll in the hundred of thousands, and millions displaced, the Syrian civil war has become a violent mark on the world’s history. What started as a peaceful protest has spread over five years, has evolved into a war with a tyrannical government, a clashing rebellion, and terrorism fighting either side. But what is it that really fuels the immense amount of violence? It can be narrowed down to four groups that are obvious. The government and the rebels are the forerunners in violence in the war, sure, but they aren’t the only ones. There are the terrorist groups, with skewed views to support the destruction of people and things around them, and in itself the stark difference of the religions and ethnicities of Syria. Who causes

For many ongoing years now, Syria has been in a war with thousands of fleeing refugees, terrorists that could be attacking at any minute, and the constant involvement of other countries that has done more harm than their planned good. I believe that the foreign involvement of countries such as the US and Russia have fueled more of the ongoing 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.

I am writing to you today as a student at the College of William and Mary. I am in an International Security class and recently we studied the events occurring in Syria. As you are well aware, the situation in Syria has been dramatically deteriorating in recent months with the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the recent entrance of Russia into the conflict. Syria, meanwhile, has been in the midst of a ravaging civil war since the early spring of 2011. Currently, the government of Syria is led by President Bashar al-Assad, a member of the Syrian Ba’ath Party, a branch of the same Ba’ath Party that Saddam Hussein was also a member of. This similarity may lead some to think that Syria will end up like Iraq, with a

Over the past four years, the situation within the Syria has become more and more dangerous. As many as 6.7 million people, have been displaced from their homes within the country alone. Another 4 million have fled the country entirely, in order to get away from the incessant fighting. An estimated 200,000 people have been killed over the course of the war, but the country is so

Because the Syrian civil war is one of the worst crisis’ in history with more than 22 thousand people killed and 11 million forced to flee.[i]

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.

Syria has been in war for four years. The rebels versus the president, Bashar al-Assad, and his loyal troops. But in 2016, the war has worsened. One of Syria’s major cities, Aleppo, has been getting bombed relentlessly by Russia. Innocent people die everyday. Children are left hurt and parentless. People that survive unscathed try to flee the city, only to find they cannot. They are prisoners in the city they once loved.

The sharing of the image across social media of Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi’s dead body washed up on a beach in Turkey has brought the Syrian’s plight into the eyes of the world. Thousands of men, women, and children make illegal and unsafe journeys across entire oceans just to get away from the conflict that is occurring in their home country. In view of the root of this horrible situation, one observes events dating back to 2011, when pro-democracy protests began throughout Syria. These protests displayed the anger prevalent among the people against President Bashar Al-Assad’s authoritarian government. The attempt by Assad to suppress the numerous protests with violence only induced more wrath from the irate Syrian people. Rebel militias

In the United Nations Security Council, aiding the Syrian rebels in fighting the oppressing Assad Regime, or fighting the terrorist organization ISIS could put an end to the violence, but it could also make the situation much worse. In Syria it is very tempting to immediately propose foreign military intervention when its government commits human rights violations against its own people, and when a terrorist organization makes about 3 million dollars a day off of gas and oil resources; but we must take a step back and realize that foreign military involvement isn’t always effective, and should only be used as a last resort when the diplomatic solutions fail, or when problems pose an international

The war in Syria is a political mess fought by many different parties and even the world’s largest superpowers. Contrary to what most believe it is not a religious war between Shia and Sunni branches rather a political war for power.

Balancing humanitarian concerns with U.S national interests is essential in determining a strategy for the refugee crisis in Syria. According to the UN Refugee Agency, there are approximately 2.5 million refugees, more than half of which are children. Not only do such atrocities conflict with the moral fiber of democracy, but also present serious risks to the economic well-being and security of the United States. Current research as well as historical reference illustrate that U.S foreign policy being implemented in the region is ineffective and at times counter-productive. If issues regarding the refugee crisis are not dealt with promptly, the potential for Syrian cooperation is greatly decreased, and the likelihood of civil war expanding to neighboring countries is significantly greater. Based on expert opinion, the following recommendations should be taken into consideration:

Syrian civil war started in 2011 was the outcome of the opposition against the President Bashar al-Assad regime. The uprising emerged as a response to the Arab spring movement that lead to regime change in Tunisia and subsequently turned into mass unrest rooted into the discontent with long-term dictatorship and poor economic situation in the country (Manfreda, n.d.). The number of Syrian citizens killed in the civil war reached 140000 since March 2011 (SBS 2014). The European Commission (2014, 2) reports approximately 9.3 million civilians “in need for humanitarian assistance”. The scale of armed rebellion between government and opposition that lead to an increasing number of casualties among civilians did not remain unnoticed by the

The most interesting aspect of the BBC Global News Podcast’s discussion on the conflict stirring near the Turkish-Syrian border was that of Turkey’s use of proxy forces in the province of Idlib. This was interesting because the proxy forces being used were that of the anti-Assad rebels, who had been fighting the Syrian and Russian governments for the past few years. This type of news coming out of an already volatile situation could only make matters worse, since the Russian military is definite on their airstrikes on the region. This type of story in global news today could become problematic, and lead to the Russian and Syrian governments deciding to close the de-escalation zones, which would put thousands of lives at risk. This story is even major in the global community, since it has the possibility of displacing more Syrians from the region.