Sad State of Being in Syria
Two years into the raging conflict as the Free Syria rebels continue their struggle against the government forces of Bashar al Assad reached a death toll recently of seventy thousand. Upon the outbreak of the original protests during the 2011 Arab Spring in countries like Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, the UAE and Yemen, the Syrian population also took to the streets in hope of unseating the country’s horrendous leader. Al Assad whose held power since 2002, has sadly proven his resiliance of policy for intolerance towards opposition and use of heavy force to combat threat against his Syrian regime.
Despite nearly all of the population being Sunni Muslim, the government favoritism has forever been with the secular Alawhite minority. This sector of Muslim is less observant than the traditional conservative practices adhered to by the Sunni or Shiite populations. The Alawhite represent about 20% of Syria’s population however while infiltrating approximately 50% of the military.
The Middle Eastern standard of rule has shown itself to be a tightly controlled, authoritative style that seeks desperately to maintain it’s own survival by often any means possible. Any such provocation by those opposed to the leaders in power have been met harshly in country’s like Iraq, Libya, or to a lesser extent Yemen and Egypt.
The situation in Syria though far exceeds that of other nations. The inhumane reaction and destruction done by al Assad’s regime to sequester the dissent is nothing shy of a travesty. Even from the start of the Arab Spring, when armed police intervened against the protestors in countries like Yemen, the UAE and Egypt, in no way did it reach the level of massacre that was taken against the people of Syria. Or as was sometimes the case during the movements in Egypt and Yemen where protests endured unhindered by the government, Syria was immediate in using violent force to curtail the opposition. So why didn’t the Untied States get involved to prevent the crisis as was done in several other countries, still lacks good explanation.
It's certain though that by now a much greater intervention by foreign nations should have been taken to relieve the bloodshed that has continued for this unfortunate lengthy two years of havoc.
The US likely chose to avoid intervention due to the potential force that it foresaw having to face. Also any such involvement would have been highly unfavorable prior to the November presidential elections.
Assad’s regime possess significant military resources including tanks, helicopters, jets, and as has been discussed recently, large stockpiles of chemical weapons. If foreign involvement occurred, such an enemy as Syria is capable of significant damage to the country's people for whom the leader has shown no regard for, potentially further worsening matters.
The frightening aspect of entering into a campaign of war against Syria is that it could ensue into a long, exhausting situation, similar to Iraq. The feeling of many Americans and our US military who have been in deployment for so long is impatience and frustration over the costly involvement during these last ten years. Thus the fear of entering into Syria without a way to quickly topple the government, is part of what’s forbidden Obama from posing a sensible notion of intervention.
Now though the stakes are getting higher. Obama mentioned several months ago, in a public address that a red line is in place for the administration to take action if chemical weapons were to become a tactic used by al Assad. Reports by media sources last week indicated factual evidence that such tactics have been utilized. Obama has now since had to back away from his previous remarks. It’s not determined however which side of the fight were responsible for emitting the toxins that left dozens of innocent villagers in a state of peril with symptoms of vomiting and delirium.
Another concern are the multitude of armed militias that are taking sides with the Free Syrian rebels or the Assad national army who for months been receiving assistance from the Shariba extremists. Other foreign Muslim groups taking sides with Assad have included Iran and Lebanon's terrorist group Hezbollah.
Secretary of state, John Kerry, has made several diplomatic trips in the last several months regarding the situation. His hope is to seek cooperative support from other western nations on how best to handle the war in Syria. He traveled to Russia early this week to discuss intervention strategies and to ask that Putin's government lighten up from it’s steadfast ambivalence on the matter.
Likely in the next week or two, more outspokenness is to come from President Obama on what actions the US and the international community can take to do more in relieving the chaotic suffering that’s affected the Syrian country’s population.
Click Below to Play Video:
Kerry Assures the Country of Relief
Encourages Free Syrian Free Army to Attend Diplomatic Talks
US Pledge of Sixty Million Dollars for Syrian Relief