Syria
We all heard about the Arab Spring, the multiple uprisings occurring in the Middle East almost a year ago. However, it is not simply a thing of the past. There is still a lot of violence happening, particularly in Syria.
For the last 11 months, Syria’s leader, Bashar Assad, has been terrorizing his own people who attempted to get him out of office last month. According to the Huffington Post, “The U.N. said in December that that more than 5,400 people have been killed since March, but it has been unable to update its count for weeks due to the chaos. Hundreds more have been killed since that tally was announced (1).”
Over the weekend, Syrian forces bombed neighborhoods in Homs, which killed at least another fifty people (2). This violence, which Syrian state forces deny and accuse “terrorists” of doing, is leading to issues between states worldwide. Particularly involved in this event are the member nations of the United Nations Security Council. While the West would like to create a U.N. resolution with the Arab League calling for Assad’s resignation, Russia has vetoed this resolution and China stands by Russia’s side (3).
While Obama says that the United States and other countries are willing to diplomatically lean on Assad and use sanctions against him and his regime, he says that, unlike in Libya, they will not use force. He also says that the United States has no plans to arm the oppositional forces to Assad’s military in order to foster a better armed uprising (4).
From what I know about the Arab Spring, which is admittedly limited, I do not know of many differences between the situations in Libya and Syria, and therefore, I do not understand why one garnered a militaristic response from the United States and why one is not even being considered. I feel as though there must be something to gain from not going in militarily, even something such as not wanting to spend more money while in an election year where economics are a heavy issue.
I do not necessarily believe that military force would be the best route, though I’m not sure of how many dictators tend to take to rational discussions and reasoning. I believe that more of a fight would be put up by Assad and his military before he gives up, which will occur at the expense of the people.
This would particularly occur at the expense of the women who live in Syria. Women had a lot to do with the Arab Spring protests in other countries, so I’m sure many were involved in Syria as well, which puts them at a particular risk. Further, living in war-torn countries leads to stressful pregnancies or difficulties which child-rearing, which is often done by women.
1. “Obama To Syrian Civilians: U.S. Stands With You .” The Huffington Post, 06 February 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/04/obama-to-syrian-citizens_n_1254348.html?ref=world
2. Evans, Dominic. “Syria bombards Homs; West scrambles for new strategy.” Reuters. 06 February 2012. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/06/us-syria-idUSTRE80S08620120206
3. ibid.
4. Pace, Julie. “US not considering arming Syrian opposition.” Associated Press. 07 February 2012.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_US_SYRIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
