There’s a lot of new happening around the world and the Syrian civil war has been one of the most covered new stories since 2011, when the conflict began. However, recently with the rise of the death toll because of the conflict it has garnered more attention from the media. Also, with the recent use of chemical weapons, the United States has become even more concerned with eliminating the conflict in Syria, as it has reached a new level. But why is the Syria conflict of any concern? Syria is a part of the Middle East which has always been a high level on interest for the U.S government for numerous reasons. Geographically speaking it is right in the middle of Israel and Iraq, two countries that are very high on the U.S interest list.
One of the main concerns, for the U.S, is their president, Bashar al-Assad, who came into power in 2000, after his father Hafez al-Assad (so the al-Assad family has been in power since 1970). The regime is not a democratic one and their government’s morals and rules go against the democratic principles that govern the United States. There are many arguments that can be made about the situation in Syria. Many international groups are more concerned with the humanitarian situations in the country. Civilians are usually the ones that suffer most in these types of ordeals. The United Nations, as of February, has estimated well over 70,000 civilians have lost their lives, over the 2 years of this civil war.
Many people in the international community want Bashar al-Assad to be charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court, but it’s not so simple. A quicker option would have him either be removed from power (most likely by a military coup) or he would step down himself. The problem with first option would be involving the U.S in the affairs of another sovereign nation. Other governments, like Russia and China, don’t particularly favor foreign invasion . With the second option, President Assad has said in previous interviews that he will not concede to the whims of the West. However, there has been progress made now that the Syrian government has decided to work with the Russian government to get rid of their chemical weapons.
Below is a quick timeline of the major events in the Syrian conflict. Read the whole timeline here.
March 2011: Protests in the streets after teens and children are arrested for political graffiti. Dozens of people are killed and the government cracks down on demonstrations. Bashar al-Assad regulates the right to peaceful protests.
May – September 2011: Sanctions are imposed by the U.S and the United Nations against the Syrian government
February 2012: U.N Security Council meets to discuss revolutions but they are quickly vetoed by China and Russia because they feel the sanctions and revolutions are too harsh. The U.S closes its embassy in Damascus.
June 2012: The U.N sends 300 unarmed military observers to see the conflict in Syria and report what’s going on. 3 days after they arrive they are pulled out due to increasing violence.
August 2012: Syrian Prime Minister Riyad al-Hijab resigns and defects from Assad’s regime. Hijab is the highest official to defect.
January 2013: Assad refuses to step down and proposes a new constitution and an end to the opposition (which he refers to as terrorists)
May 2013: The U.N reports that over 1.5 million Syrian’s have left their country due to the war.
June 2013: The U.S government releases a statement that Syria has “crossed the line” with the usage of chemical weapons.
August 2013: U.S team of investigators goes to Syria to investigate the usage of chemical weapons. As of the 21st of August, after another attack using chemical weapons where 1,300 people were killed they sped up the process. U.S officials call for action against Syria, like military invasion. Other countries like the United Kingdom are against it.
September 2013: President Obama vows not to put “American boots on Syrian soil” and Syria releases an initial report on its chemical weapons program. Syria also teams up with Russia to get rid of its chemical weapons programs.