By Nico Z.
The Syrian crisis is one of the most complicated international crises in the world. With clashes between government forces and opposition forces, Syria is plagued by a violent civil war that has resulted in at least 250,000 deaths and the rise of Islamic militant groups. Multiple international interventions have only added to the turmoil. It seems as if there is no solution to the conflict. Or is there?
March 15, 2011: The Syrian Civil War began as a series of civilized protests against President Bashar al-Assad. Notorious for its poor human rights record and tyrannical nature, the Assad regime responded with violent crackdowns. As a result, there was further unrest. The government’s use of force only worsened the violence. Four months later, the riots were nationwide. Ever since the beginning of the civil war, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, have supported the rebels by supplying them with weapons and other military equipment. U.S. President Barack Obama has called repeatedly for Assad to be removed from power.
December 18, 2011: The United States ended its military presence in Iraq. Americans praised Barack Obama’s decisive action, but no one knew about what was to come. Simply put, we left too soon. Our withdrawal from Iraq created a power vacuum that was filled by the Islamic State of Iraq. At a UN summit nearly four years later, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani remarked that our post-9/11 military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as our subsequent departure, had created an environment for terrorism to flourish. The terrorists crossed the border into Syria and began fighting against the Syrian government alongside other opposition forces. After merging with the al-Nusra Front, which is a Syrian militant group associated with al-Qaeda, they became the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL. However, al-Nusra, as well as al-Qaeda as a whole, cut ties with ISIL after opposing the merger. This new terrorist organization proved to be as ruthless as terrorist organizations come. They have launched major attacks on villages, taking over huge swaths of Iraq and Syria. Innocent civilians have been massacred, with multiple mass graves being discovered. Cultural heritage sites were demolished, and Western hostages were executed.
September 10, 2014: Barack Obama delivered a televised address in which he stated that—along with America’s allies—“we will degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL.” Subsequently, he ordered military intervention in both Iraq and Syria. So much for the end of the Iraq War. The international, U.S.-led coalition to fight the militants has turned out to be a disaster. This is because we are continuing to back the Syrian opposition forces, which are just as nasty as other Muslim radicals. These groups, the most famous being the Free Syrian Army, are responsible for many deaths, kidnappings, and forced disappearances. Bashar al-Assad is just as opposed to terrorism as the rest of us. It’s as if we didn’t learn from the episode in Libya; sure, Muammar Gaddafi was a dictator, imprisoning and often killing those who went against him, but at least he knew how to keep his people in line. When NATO intervened in 2011 and helped the rebels overthrow and kill Gaddafi, it created another power vacuum that was filled by a jihadist government. Today, we are supporting Syrian rebels, which is adding to the chaos in the country. We’re doing this while also trying to fight ISIL. As a result, we are getting nowhere.
September 30, 2015: Russia is aware of our unsuccessful coalition in the civil war, and subsequently, they have began their own military intervention in support of the Syrian government, with assistance from Iranian troops. This caused major outrage among Western countries even though President Vladimir Putin asserted that not supporting Assad would be a mistake. Russia has launched multiple airstrikes in Syria, adding further to the destruction and speeding up the recent exodus of millions of Syrian refugees. Russia stated that ISIL was their primary target, even though many of their airstrikes have hit rebel-held areas. This has been deemed to be a proxy war between the United States and Russia.
The bombing of Syrian opposition forces is, more or less, a good thing. It is a great way to get rid of the instability that has plagued the rogue state of Syria for years. We've been backing the wrong horse all this time, and it has only been hurting us. We support the rebels thinking that taking out Assad is going to bring about a new, democratic government, but it is not. The “Free” Syrian Army is just as murderous and barbaric as ISIL.
There are those who would say that Bashar al-Assad needs to stay in power. His government's crackdown to the protests was what sparked the Syrian Civil War, but that was just a way of trying to keep the nation under control. The U.S. and its allies should step up and support Assad. He is the only person who knows how to keep his country stable. Also, he could be a vital tool in this war against ISIL. In fact, we should all band together and fight ISIL because nothing brings countries together like a common enemy. The U.S. and its allies need to stop supporting the Free Syrian Army and all of its cohorts, and reestablish relations with the Syrian government. Freedom is not the objective. The goal should be to establish a secure, peaceful and unbroken Syria. We’re just creating more of a mess.
© 2016 Nico Z. All rights reserved.
The Syrian crisis is one of the most complicated international crises in the world. With clashes between government forces and opposition forces, Syria is plagued by a violent civil war that has resulted in at least 250,000 deaths and the rise of Islamic militant groups. Multiple international interventions have only added to the turmoil. It seems as if there is no solution to the conflict. Or is there?
March 15, 2011: The Syrian Civil War began as a series of civilized protests against President Bashar al-Assad. Notorious for its poor human rights record and tyrannical nature, the Assad regime responded with violent crackdowns. As a result, there was further unrest. The government’s use of force only worsened the violence. Four months later, the riots were nationwide. Ever since the beginning of the civil war, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, have supported the rebels by supplying them with weapons and other military equipment. U.S. President Barack Obama has called repeatedly for Assad to be removed from power.
December 18, 2011: The United States ended its military presence in Iraq. Americans praised Barack Obama’s decisive action, but no one knew about what was to come. Simply put, we left too soon. Our withdrawal from Iraq created a power vacuum that was filled by the Islamic State of Iraq. At a UN summit nearly four years later, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani remarked that our post-9/11 military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as our subsequent departure, had created an environment for terrorism to flourish. The terrorists crossed the border into Syria and began fighting against the Syrian government alongside other opposition forces. After merging with the al-Nusra Front, which is a Syrian militant group associated with al-Qaeda, they became the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL. However, al-Nusra, as well as al-Qaeda as a whole, cut ties with ISIL after opposing the merger. This new terrorist organization proved to be as ruthless as terrorist organizations come. They have launched major attacks on villages, taking over huge swaths of Iraq and Syria. Innocent civilians have been massacred, with multiple mass graves being discovered. Cultural heritage sites were demolished, and Western hostages were executed.
September 10, 2014: Barack Obama delivered a televised address in which he stated that—along with America’s allies—“we will degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL.” Subsequently, he ordered military intervention in both Iraq and Syria. So much for the end of the Iraq War. The international, U.S.-led coalition to fight the militants has turned out to be a disaster. This is because we are continuing to back the Syrian opposition forces, which are just as nasty as other Muslim radicals. These groups, the most famous being the Free Syrian Army, are responsible for many deaths, kidnappings, and forced disappearances. Bashar al-Assad is just as opposed to terrorism as the rest of us. It’s as if we didn’t learn from the episode in Libya; sure, Muammar Gaddafi was a dictator, imprisoning and often killing those who went against him, but at least he knew how to keep his people in line. When NATO intervened in 2011 and helped the rebels overthrow and kill Gaddafi, it created another power vacuum that was filled by a jihadist government. Today, we are supporting Syrian rebels, which is adding to the chaos in the country. We’re doing this while also trying to fight ISIL. As a result, we are getting nowhere.
September 30, 2015: Russia is aware of our unsuccessful coalition in the civil war, and subsequently, they have began their own military intervention in support of the Syrian government, with assistance from Iranian troops. This caused major outrage among Western countries even though President Vladimir Putin asserted that not supporting Assad would be a mistake. Russia has launched multiple airstrikes in Syria, adding further to the destruction and speeding up the recent exodus of millions of Syrian refugees. Russia stated that ISIL was their primary target, even though many of their airstrikes have hit rebel-held areas. This has been deemed to be a proxy war between the United States and Russia.
The bombing of Syrian opposition forces is, more or less, a good thing. It is a great way to get rid of the instability that has plagued the rogue state of Syria for years. We've been backing the wrong horse all this time, and it has only been hurting us. We support the rebels thinking that taking out Assad is going to bring about a new, democratic government, but it is not. The “Free” Syrian Army is just as murderous and barbaric as ISIL.
There are those who would say that Bashar al-Assad needs to stay in power. His government's crackdown to the protests was what sparked the Syrian Civil War, but that was just a way of trying to keep the nation under control. The U.S. and its allies should step up and support Assad. He is the only person who knows how to keep his country stable. Also, he could be a vital tool in this war against ISIL. In fact, we should all band together and fight ISIL because nothing brings countries together like a common enemy. The U.S. and its allies need to stop supporting the Free Syrian Army and all of its cohorts, and reestablish relations with the Syrian government. Freedom is not the objective. The goal should be to establish a secure, peaceful and unbroken Syria. We’re just creating more of a mess.
© 2016 Nico Z. All rights reserved.