...The United States has announced deployment of boots on the ground for the first time to provide logistics and support for the rebel Kurdish and Arab troops fighting ISIS. About 50 Special Operation troops are slated to be sent to northern Syria, to "train, advise and assist mission," said White House spokesman John Earnest. The troops will not fighting the ISIS on ground, according to media reports. "It will not be their responsibility to lead the charge up the hill," Earnest said. But he added, "There is no denying the amount of risk they are taking on here." The decision to send ground troops to assist local forces battling ISIS is a shift in President Barack Obama's stance of not interfering with the raging middle-east situation by the...
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...A Civil War in Syria Syria is a dangerous place to live right now as the country is in the middle of a civil war. Syria's army is under the control of Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, who is providing troops to fight the rebel groups. These rebel groups want him out of office. Syrian citizens are caught in a war zone and desperate to leave the country. In Syria, half of the school-age children are not able to get an education. They are prevented from going to school because of the fighting in their country. Many European countries are actively supporting Syrian refugees by giving money and providing shelter. Syrian refugees are fleeing their homeland and traveling across Europe because of civil war, while many people are wondering why other rich countries, like Japan, are not supporting this global issue....
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...Battle for Syria Bryan Smith COMM/215 July 17, 2008 Will Powers On March 15, 2011 citizens of Syria began demonstrating against the Ba’ath Party, demanding the resignation of President Bashar al-Asad and release of political prisoners. These demonstrations quickly developed into a country wide uprising when the Syrian government deployed troops of the Syrian Army who opened fire on many civilians. Several cities became engulfed with military members who were ordered to open fire on civilians and were executed if they refused to do so. During this time, many civilians and Syrian Army defectors began forming small militias and eventually unified under the name Free Syrian Army (FSA). “On September 23, the Free Officers Movement officially merged into the Free Syria Army, led by Colonel Riad al-Assad.” In October 2011 and February 2012, Russia and China vetoed the United Nations Security Council’s backed resolution condemning Syria. As the fighting continued and the killing of innocent civilians increased, “France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada and Australia expel senior Syrian diplomats in protest (Syria Profile, 2012).” As of today, the fighting between the Syrian Army and the FSA continues as the rest of the world watches and wonders, when it will come to an end. I believe that President al-Asad should step down and face criminal charges in an International court for the order to kill civilians. If he does not step down, he should be taken by force comprised of...
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...inevitably holds characteristics of civil conflict, there is a aspect of civil conflict that must not be looked at in all revolutions. There is a horrible truth about the Syrian problem which is overwhelming, that there are Syrians fighting and killing other Syrians in Syria. The civil conflict taking place in Syria is not a purely sectarian one. The western media exaggerates the extent to which the conflict can be so described. An arrogant Orientalist set of views refuses to understand the Syrians have a much different life. It revolves around death and pain. Sectarian war is the inevitable the destiny of Syrians. Not every conflict is about discrimination or for religious reason. The Spanish Civil War was a conflict between the supporters of the Republic and the fascist followers of Franco. The situation in Syria is closer to the previous example than sectarian civil war. One of the biggest reason behind civil conflict in Syria is the uprising of Syrians against a new feudal class that had enslaved them in syria. For rxample, the majority of Muslim Sunni rebels are moved by a will towards social justice and revenge against these feudalists, rather than exclusively by a sense of Sunni discrimination. In Syria, Syrians are fighting for different political reasons. Certainly some parties have religion focused political reasons to fight for, and some others have sectarian ones. Also there is sectarian “rhetoric” from both ends of the conflict. Nevertheless, the...
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...Arab-Israeli Conflict The Arab League * October 1945 Britain helped form the Arab League * The first members were Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia * Its purpose was to prevent Soviet progress in the region * Others joined as they became independent * By 1983 new members included Sudan, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Oman, South Yemen, Kuwait and Bahrain * The 36 million Arabs had a common language and culture * Most were Muslims and hated colonial rule * They had similar economic problems * Even oil rich states had unequal distribution of wealth among rich and poor * But above all else they hated Israel Palestine 1923-47 * British Mandate from 1923 * Promises made during World War I led to Arab expectations * Also led to Jewish hopes for a homeland * Theodore Herzl (Viennese Jew) started the Zionist Movement * 1896 First Zionist Congress – he proposed a national home for the world’s Jews * The Balfour Declaration seemed to be a British commitment to this * 1920s 10,000 Jews a year settled in Palestine * Arabs alarmed – saw this as more Western imperialism * 1922 Churchill said it was a promise of a national Jewish home not a state * 1929 Arab riots against the 100,000 Jewish settlers * Jews protected themselves with the Haganah (their own security force) 1930s * 1933 Britain restricted Jewish immigration to Palestine to appease the Arabs * Led to Jewish riots *...
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...War in Syria DBQ Essay Megan Gubler In Syria wars have been outraging between other groups formed and other countries. In there has been constant violence, shooting, killing, and bombing. What is the cause for all this violence? Some examples of all this violence are one disagreements, just by an opinion or a choice made that thought was right has brought war with others. The Kurds and Turkey at war because of a disagreement, however US is allied with both Turkey and Kurds. Two, sects, this has also brought violence to Syria, because of it three government loyalists were killed and when people found out they were outraged. Buildings were burned and more deaths were made. Finally, allied fighting. Similar of what happened in...
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...Middle-East and has granted rise to various militant groups. The main focus of this paper will be spent on the Rise of the Islamic State: ISIS and the New Sunni Revolution. The paper will provide an analysis on the events based off the depictions provided by Cockburn, a war reporter from the inside of Iraq and Syria. Providing this point of view inside Iraq and Syria illustrates the corruption of governments, abuses of power and media deception. Cockburn starts off the first chapter with talking about the fall of Fallujah in January of 2014. This being a big victory for ISIS as Fallujah is located only forty miles from Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. He explains that the “war on terror” is failing since 9/11 and gives a prime example of President Obama asking for five-hundred million dollars to train the Syrian opposition and arm them with the proper equipment. This equipment however would end up in the hands of ISIS and be a key component to their victories. US allies such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar also provided weapons for the war that ended up in the hands of the enemy. Another major point the author talks about in chapter one is that the United States is potentially fighting the wrong enemy over the events on September 11th, 2001. Cockburn states that funding for 9/11 came from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Monarchies but the US did not do anything about it. The battle of Mosul is the main topic in chapter two of this...
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...uprising difficulties have caused disturbances within the civilians of various countries in the middle east, political complications between the middle east and western regions as well as global fear of unknown uprising terror attacks. The rise of ISIS, explained in 6 minutes by “Vox” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzmO6RWy1v8 Despite the short length of this six minute video, it contains extensive content to provide all viewers with general information on the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The video thoroughly...
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...situations especially over the past few years, since conflict has begun in such places as Syria. Due to the fighting, 3,700 children have died and 500,000 have been made into refugees. There needs to be some changes to help the children grow and develop in the Middle East. Over the past two years education in Syria has decreased by 200,000 children. With all of these children losing their right to an education, it hurts their economy because they are not learning what they need to expand their minds and change their futures. For many of these children, not going to school is a big deal because they enjoy going to school. It is a time for them to get away from the fighting and from family life and enjoy learning. Due to the intensity of the war and the closing of most schools, women who were attending school cannot attend anymore. Since the women cannot attend school to get good jobs for themselves, they must marry off and forget about their dreams. When parents are put in the position that they must wed off their daughters, it is usually something they do not want to do, but must do. Many parents have wed their young daughters off to men so they can make sure that they are safe. Others have sold their daughters to men so that they can earn some extra money because they have fled Syria without any money or a little amount of money. The fighting does not affect only the school education in Syria, but it also disturbs the social interaction of the children. They grow up seeing violence...
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...Assad comments were made against a backdrop of growing calls from anti-regime protesters for a no-fly zone over Syria and increasingly frequent clashes between government troops and army deserters, the most recent of which left at least 30 troops dead Saturday. I still think Western intervention will be appropriate if civilians continue to be hurt in the region. Syria has gone through drastic changes recently. The Arab League foreign ministers meeting approved sanctions against Syria on Nov. 27, the US Navy has dispatched an aircraft carrier for Syrian coastal waters, and the United States, Turkey and other countries have started evacuating nationals from Syria. These concerns have become the focus of world attention. Western intervention in the Syrian situation is a strategic consideration that has to do with reshaping the regional order, while the intensity of intervention mainly depends on the development and evolution of the state of affairs. The Western countries, represented by the United States, have increasingly intensified regional intervention to avoid becoming the biggest loser in the wave of the Middle East, and taken different treatments and multiple standards among the Middle Eastern countries according to their needs. The situations inside and outside Syria have undergone great changes, and the West believes that it is a good time to intervene Syria. First, the Syrian political world has been seriously polarized. After eight months of protests, the opposition...
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...Children's Villages, over two million children have died while in conflict, about six million have been seriously injured, and more than ten million have been left in severe trauma in the past ten years. These children usually range from ages 14-17, but some have been found to be eight years old. Some kids are forced to fight, being abducted from their community. Others join in conflict, fighting back for what they have lost and hoping that fighting will resolve their issues. Either way, children shouldn’t be in these dangerous situations. The matter of child soldiers seems to be a major problem as of today, but children have been used in wars ever since 1998. In fact, at least 36 countries around the world have used child soldiers. Most countries that use child soldiers concentrate in Africa and South Asia. In conflict, kids are subject to abuse and, even worse, sexual assault. This shouldn’t be happening. It isn’t right...
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...Syria’s Civil War The civil war going on in Syria has been a topic of much discussion. What began as peaceful protests has turned into brutal civil war with over 100,000 deaths and counting. The images of men, women, and children being gassed or shot to death are just horrible to watch and hard to bear. With all these casualties and the U.S government expects to make a series of targeted military strikes against the Syrian government? Syria is a country in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Syria is very diverse, ethnically and religiously. The country’s population is divided among Sunni Arabs (a little less than 60 percent of the population); Christians (about 10 – 12 percent); Alawites, a Shiite offshoot also about 10 – 12 percent); Druze (about 6 percent); and various, mostly Sunni, ethnic minorities, primarily Kurds and Armenians (Carpenter 1-2). The President of Syria is called Bashar al-Assad, who succeeded his father Hafez al-Assad after the latter's death in 2000. Hafez al-Assad had ruled Syria ruthlessly for 30 years. Throughout his rule, Hafez was forced to devote his time and energy to matters of defense and foreign affairs. As a result, the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is, as the Middle East commentator David Lesch has pointed out, “a child of the Cold War and the Arab- Israeli conflict” (qtd. in McHugo). Neither was caused by Syria, but the country suffered terribly as a result of both. The massacre started in April 2011, when...
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...Arab Israel Conflict 1948 War started when 5 Arabs nations (Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan & Iraq) invaded territory in the just-ended-to-be-British Mandate. It happens right after the announcement of the independence of the state of Israel on 14th May 1948. The fight has actually begins before that, because of the Partition Resolution, the United State Resolution (that would divide Great Britain’s former Palestinian mandate into Jewish and Arab states) on 29/11/1947. Arab do not want to accept the arrangement that they think Jewish get more benefits in the arrangement. The United Nations resolution sparked conflict between Jewish and Arab groups within Palestine. Fighting began with attacks by irregular bands of Palestinian Arabs attached to local units of the Arab Liberation Army composed of volunteers from Palestine and neighboring Arab countries. These groups launched their attacks against Jewish cities, settlements, and armed forces. The Jewish forces were composed of the Haganah, the underground militia of the Jewish community in Palestine, and two small irregular groups, the Irgun, and LEHI. The goal of the Arabs was initially to block the Partition Resolution and to prevent the establishment of the Jewish state. The Jews, on the other hand, hoped to gain control over the territory allotted to them under the Partition Plan. The fighting intensified with other Arab forces joining the Palestinian Arabs in attacking territory in the former Palestinian mandate. On...
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...Deaths NBC News Benghazi Suspect Flown to Washington to Face Judge NBC News Uruguay eliminates Italy; Did Suarez bite again? Sports Illustrated Obama sent Congress a $500 million request Thursday for a Pentagon-run program that would significantly expand previous covert efforts to arm rebels fighting both the Sunni extremists and forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad. The move that comes amid increased U.S. concern that the conflicts in Syria and Iraq are becoming an intertwined fight against the same Sunni extremist group. POPULAR AMONG SUBSCRIBERS Eat Butter Fat Time Magazine Cover Ending the War on Fat Subscribe The End of Iraq How Many People Watched Orange Is the New Black? No One Knows If approved by lawmakers, the program would in effect open a second front in the fight against militants with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, that is spilling over Syria’s border and threatening to overwhelm Iraq. “Obviously, in light of what has happened in Iraq, we have even more to talk about in terms of the moderate opposition in Syria, which has the ability to be a very important player in pushing back against ISIL’s presence and to have them not just in Syria, but also in Iraq,” Kerry said at the start of a meeting with Syrian opposition leader Ahmad al-Jarba. Al-Jarba thanked the Obama administration for requesting the $500 million,...
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...Rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ISIS aka Islamic State of Iraq and Syria was created in 2006 by Abu Ayyub al-Masri and started out as an al-Qaeda splinter cell group. They are the most brutal terrorist organization alive today. According to the Jerusalem report3, a letter was discovered from the compound where Osama Bin Laden stated that ISIS was even too brutal for him and kicked them out of al-Qaeda. He stated, “ISIS's blatant disregard for civilian life was likely to damage the reputation of al-Qaida should the groups remain associated” (JPOST Staff). I also believe that if Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is not wiped out, it will become a threat to the world because wherever they go, they kill, kidnap, extort money, and behead...
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