...! ! ! ! ! Assignment#3! MB!8600! ! WILL!SYRIA!BE!THE!NEXT!IRAQ?! > A!look!at!what!USA’s!move!in!Syria!should!be! by! Deep!Bhatia! Student!ID:!500128395! September!24th,!2013! ! ! 1! ! Table&of&Contents& 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 ! Introduction...................................................................................................................................1!! Methodology.................................................................................................................................1!! Summary!of!the!empirical!findings................................................................................................2! References.....................................................................................................................................5! Appendix........................................................................................................................................8!! ! 2! ! WILL&SYRIA&BE&THE&NEXT&IRAQ?& Introduction& What!began!as!a!relatively!minor!civil!uprising!in!Damascus,!Syria!in!March!2011!as!an!influence!of!Arab& Spring!(wave!of!demonstrations!and!protests!in!the!Arab!world)!has!now!escalated!to!a!full>blown!civil! war,!with!an!alarming!number!of!deaths,!and!the!news!of!chemical!weapons.!The!war!initially!began!as!a! protest!from!the!masses!against!the!allegedly>corrupt!regime,!led!by!Bashar!Al>Assad,!whose!main! demand!was!that!he!step!down!from!his!post;!however,!recent!tolls!have!estimated...
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...LEVERAGE, DISCUSS THE SYRIAN CRISIS Historical Background Syria is described as a country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, and is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, Druze, Alawite Shia and Arab Sunnis, the last of who make up a majority of the Muslim population. Syria gained its independence from France in 1946 and united with Egypt from 1958 to 1961 after which a pan-Arab nationalist Baath (Renaissance) party took control in 1963. The Alawite minority (constituting about 12 % of the total population) has exercised monopoly over the political leadership of the country for almost four decades with notable support from the Christian community that is anti- Islamist. The Baath government has seen authoritarian rule at home and a strong anti-Western policy abroad, particularly under President Hafez al-Assad from 1970 to 2000. In 1967 Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel after the Arab defeat in the Six Day War. Civil war in neighbouring Lebanon in the 1970s allowed it to extend its political and military influence in that country. Syria pulled its forces out of Lebanon in 2005, having come under intense international pressure to do so after the assassination of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. A UN report implicated Syrian and pro-Syria Lebanese officials in the killing, although Damascus still denies any involvement, (CBC News). BBC News reported that in 2011-12 the Syrian Government, run by...
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...foreign aid to Syria? Syria continues to be categorized as a state sponsor of terrorism, since 1979. Syria’s government supports U.S.-listed terrorist groups and allows some of these groups, such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, to maintain headquarters in Damascus. Both of these organizations have been labeled as a terrorist group not only by the U.S, but also by the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and Israel. The Syrian government also houses and aids worldwide terrorists, and serves as the center of trade in illegal narcotics. An American supported Israeli-Syrian treaty would make it far more difficult, rather than easier, for the United States to speak up or take action against these activities. The 2006 State Department Country Report says the Syrian government remains an active supporter of Hezbollah and has a secret presence in Lebanese politics. The goal of the Hezbollah is to dominate Lebanese politics in order to create a theocratic Islamic state out of Iran and to act as Iran’s (and Syria’s) substitute in confronting Israel and the US as a second front. Syria has suspected ties to the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005. However, Syria still rejects the terrorist categorization, denies involvement in the Hariri killing, and says it was Hamas, Hezbollah, and other groups on its soil to be legitimate resistance movements aimed at beneficial Arab territory held by Israel. Reports claim that Syria was involved,...
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...Article Rebuttal: The United States and Syrian War William L Johnson BCOM/275 September 10, 2013 Article Rebuttal: The US and Syria War My rebuttal article is the story of the Middle Eastern war in Syria. Syria has decided to turn over all of the chemical weapons to Russia and eventually have Russia destroy them so that the war between the US and Syria will not commence. President Obama is still trying to convince Congress to have an airstrike on Syria but more than half of Congress is oppose to this war because we the people of the United States just finished two wars one in Iraq and the other in Afghanistan. CNN has posted, ” A new diplomatic solution in the standoff between the Syria and the United States surfaced unexpectedly Monday as the war-torn country said it supported a proposal to hand over control of its chemical weapons(Shoichet & Crawford, 2013).” “President Obama told ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer that the Syrian reaction was a "modestly positive development" and a military strike would "absolutely" be on pause if Syria's chemical weapons were put in the hands of an international body (Padia, Schifrin, & Hughes, 2013).” For, the most part of this case I think that this case is a good form of argument of authority. Because based on the facts that President Obama is trying to force Syria to do something that he has no proof of or any knowledge of. The article is also part of Argument from Ignorance or Non-Testable Hypothesis based on President Assad...
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...armed military conflict with another country has few positive results. Unfortunately the US intervening in the Syrian Civil War may be a necessary evil to preserve the long standing belief that the use of chemical weapons will not be tolerated in warfare. Many will argue that there is no proof the Syrian government was responsible for the chemical weapons attack near the capital city of Damascus. In contrast to these beliefs U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power said "The technical details of the U.N. report make clear that only the regime could have carried out this large scale chemical weapons attack,"(Fox News, 2013). Also according to intelligence analysis, conducted by several countries and the Human Rights Watch group (BBC News 2013), the evidence collected does point to the Syrian government using chemical weapons in the attacks near Damascus. The supposed use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government may not completely justify US intervention but it may help to deter further use of chemical weapons in future conflicts. Another benefit of US intervention in the Syrian Civil War would be increased credibility for the US and the Obama administration. Last year President Obama declared the use of chemical weapons a “red line” that would force him to rethink his “calculus” about that country’s conflict. (Crowley, 2013). If the US conducted limited strikes against Syria, in response to the chemical weapons attack, it would send a message to Syrian President Bashar...
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...Should the U.S. take Military Action in Syria? Syria, a country in the Middle East bordering Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon has experienced growing civil unrest since 2011. The current government, led by Bashar al-Assad, has responded with violence and human rights abuses. In September 2013 the United Nations (UN) (United Nations, 2013) confirmed chemical weapons were used against civilians in Damascus on August 21st. These actions have generated an outcry for intervention. Arguments Some believe taking action is the only way to stop the killing of civilians and end human rights abuses perpetrated by the military. These pro-interventionists conclude Assad continues his oppressive actions because he doesn’t believe anyone will take action to stop him. Assaults on Syrian civilians are documented by many sources. Since January 2011 it is estimated over 100,000 citizens protesting against the Assad regime have been killed by military forces (Table, 2013). A report commissioned by the UN in June 2013 estimated 5,000 were killed each month since July 2012. This number exceeds reported deaths in Iraq at the height of war in 2007. In a September 2011 report many atrocities against children were documented. Over a hundred children were killed in connection with protests, many others reported injured. A group of children in the town of Dara’a, as young as 8, were taken into custody in connection with anti-government graffiti on a schoolhouse wall. These children...
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...Mohammad Khattak Ethics for Mangers (ETM-750) Prof: Robert Bigelow Final Project The Syrian Conflict Evaluate the ethics of any legal or ethical issue in the news. Analyze the dilemma or issue. Thoroughly evaluate the appropriateness of applying at least two ethical frameworks reviewed in the course, and suggest an approach that might help to avoiding such dilemmas/issues in the future. What started off as an uprising and eventually led to a civil war, has destroyed much of Syria and resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands. And no matter what angle you look at it from, the existing regime under the command of Bashar Al Assad and his so-called "war against terrorists" has broken all barriers of ethics, morals and rules of war. Many sources have claimed foreign interference to have ignited the situation, but at the same time, the regime has spared no efforts to suppress the voice of those who stood up against the oppressive rule. But the dilemma does not end with how the situation was dealt with by the existing rulers. Nations all around the world are waiting on how the United States of America responds to the happening and whether the US can justify its reason for intervention, which it believes to be its moral duty under the principle of its 'Just War Theory'. Utilitarianism One of the ethical frameworks that would apply to the Syrian situation would be the act and rule of Utilitarianism that dictates that the actions of a party be justified so...
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...Middle East Assignment Humanities 412 Syria 1.) Provide a map of the region. 2.) What year did Syria become independent and from who? Syria became independent on various different dates. It first was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1516 till the first world war, as the Empire collapsed Syria became a mandated territory in 1020 administered by France with Lebanon. They first tried a declaration of independence in 1944 but the French resisted this. On April 17th 1946 independence was finally achieved and the French forces withdrew. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3580.htm 9.) Hot off the presses: a current dispatch about the situation in the country. Currently in Syria there is a widespread antigovernment protests, the Syrian authorities have been trying to stop these protests with military force. So far 1600 people have died and 10,000 have started to flee the country and move to Turkey. These protests were inspired by the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia. In March people started participating in rallies wanting freedom in the southern border town of Deraa. Things escalated when security forces opened fire on unarmed crowds. This single act created much unrest in Deraa, which spread onto other towns and cities. The president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad responded by sending in tanks and troops with the goal to restore order. Once again tanks and snipers fired on unarmed protesters, at night men were rounded up and electricity and communication lines...
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...BACKGROUND History reminds us that there has not always been global order throughout the world. Countries have long been invading one another over political differences and the desire to conform other countries. Inhumane actions against foreign civilians and those seeking asylum from civil unrest have also played a huge contribution to invasions on foreign soil. Since the induction of the United Nations Security Council in 1941, countries are now under the watchful eye of the world and must obey laws set in place for matters of peace and in dire situations war time laws. BRIEF HISTORY - UNITED NATIONS June 12, 1941 the Declaration of St. James Palace was signed in to effect by key members of fourteen nations including several members of what were exiled governments. This Declaration, also known as the Inter-Allied Declaration, created an alliance between governments across countries under the desire to create peace for all civilians so that they may enjoy economic and social freedoms. 1 2 “The only true basis of enduring peace is the willing cooperation of free people in a world in which, relieved of the menace of aggression, all may enjoy economic and social security; “It is our intention to work together, and with other free people, both in war and peace to this end.” 1 October 24, 1945 the United Nations Security Council is formed consisting of 5 permanent members. January of the following year the UN Security Council adopts it’s official procedures and begins...
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...breaking news on a delightful morning. The outline of the news states that we must leave Iraq as soon as possible as a result of its inconvenient conditions. This stunning message has left my parents with a remarkable impression on their faces. After a few days of long discussions and arguments my parents came up with a satisfactory solution. My parents clarification was to leave Iraq immediately and to proceed our life in Syria with a chance of exception in the UN (United Nation). The year 2007 was a significant and emotional time for my family and I leaving Iraq and beginning an inexperienced life in Syria. My family and I spent an entire night packing up the luggages with memorable household equipment and winter clothes. It was six o'clock in the morning when my parents woke my siblings and I up because it was time to lock the house down. As we began walking toward the minivan, our family members had constantly approached us with their pleasant hugs and unforgettable kisses. I could not believe my eyes that this was...
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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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...and novichok as the most threatening chemical agents in the world today. Sarin is typically odorless and colorless and takes one minute to kill a person. Sarin- -What is Sarin? Sarin is nerve agent that is colorless, odorless chemical that can kill you as little as a minute, in extreme cases. It was developed by German Researchers in the 1930's and it causes muscle spasms, vision loss, and asphyxia. This chemical is classified as a weapon of mass destruction. -How is Sarin Delivered? This is a dangerous chemical that can be deployed as a liquid, or loaded in to missiles and mortars. It can be packaged with other chemicals and converted in to nerve gas or fired from anti-tank guns and shoulder mounted launchers. Side effects of Syria- Sarin can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin. It cripples the respiratory central of the central nervous system and paralyzes the muscles around the lungs. This results in death by asphyxiation. The agent could even potentially contaminate food or water supplies. It can also linger in the area for up to six hours. Just a pinpricked-sized droplet is enough to kill a human according to the World Health organization. Exposure symptoms include nausea, violent headaches, blurred vision, drooling, muscle convulsions,...
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...After reading these New York Times articles, after watching the video, I’ve learned a great deal about Isis. These are some of what I learned, Isis was formed in 2013 in the islamic state of Iraq and Syria. They are a jihadi Salafist militant group. They are gruesome killers and are known for their brutal and horrific lashing punishments, mutilations, beheadings and crucifixions. They recently have made little kids as small as the age of 5 into bombs and blowing them up as an act of showing other people how strong they are and what they can do. Secondly they also get the attacks on video and post them on social sites as a threat to people around the world. They have captured women mostly islamic and have made them slaves, men have turned into brutal inhuman, ruthless, merciless, and savage killers. ISIS operates in Iraq and Syria and are slowly capturing more cities. The self-proclaimed leader of Isis is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and he has two deputies one is responsible for Syria and the other for Iraq. ISIS has rapidly expanded its control over Iraq and Syria by taking control of towns and cities near major supply passageways, critical foundation and border intersections. Isis started as an al Qaeda splinter group. ISIS is also known as (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) which stands for ISIL and Islamic State which they symbolize as (IS). ISIS has approximately taken over Syria and Iraq almost completely. I've come to realize that he goal and ambition of ISIS is to create...
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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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...Which faction of Syria is right? The uprising of Arabic democracy through 2011 sparked a flame spreading across the Middle East. The fire is at Syria’s door and has burned through many lives already. In a bloodthirsty war between the FSA (Free Syrian Army) and Bashir Al-Assad's military, these factions fight for and against democracy and cross every barrier in morality, principle and culture to both achieve and defend their goals. Both are ferocious towards one another, so who should we as the civilized world be supporting in this bloodbath? The rebels, who want nothing more than to have the freedom and lives mimic that of the first world? Or the government who are trying to restore order into Syria for the benefit of the people and maintain their history? Through each variable, I find that we should be defending the government against the animals on the other side. This is influenced from the analysis of the conflict and its evolution. Or devolution? The rise of the modern Middle East first originated in February 2011 with rebels bringing Gaddafi’s tyranny to an end. This war settled in October 2011 after rebels swarmed into Tripoli where Gaddafi was finally killed and democracy was planned to come forth within eight months of their new liberation. Syria’s people sought the same but Al-Assad was not impressed with this copy of Libyan uproar and sought to broadcast a message that Syria simply wasn't ready for democracy. To ease tension, they release dozens of political prisoners...
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