Syria

Syria is a country currently with no stability.  Wars are constantly breaking out in the street and innocent people are dying.  People are starving and children are being forced to take sides when they aren’t even old enough to form an opinion.  How has this country become this volatile??  I think that this all started because of three major factors.  The first one being is the presidential regime.  Here we have a country that is supposed to be of a republic nature but instead Hafid al-Assad decided to remain president for a long time without the Syrian people “choosing” him as a leader.  After he passed away the presidency automatically defaulted to his son without a fair election, which has created more of a presidential monarchy than a republic.  The second major factor is the revolution that occurred in the Arab world between Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt.  These countries put an end to the brutal regimes of long presidency.  This created a major effect on Syria, who wanted to create the same atmosphere.  The third major factor deals with the social, economic, and political problems that they face today.  The population is struggling as they fight daily for food and peace and a better life.

Russia and China are among the countries that disagree with this revolution.  They have been stopping any decisions the UN makes to help the revolution because they have the right to veto.  These countries have major strategic benefits to abort the revolution because they support the presidential regime.   Russia, one of President Bashar al-Assad's strongest allies despite international condemnation of the government's violent crackdown on the country's uprising, has repeatedly blocked the United Nations Security Council's attempts to halt the violence, accusing the U.S. and its allies of trying to start another war.  “The United States is outraged that this council has utterly failed to address an urgent moral challenge and a growing threat to regional peace and security,” said Susan Rice ambassador to the United Nations.  France’s U.N. ambassador, Gerard Araud, vowed that this “veto will not stop us” from pressing for Syria to end a crackdown that has killed nearly 3,000 people. 

The question that has remained unanswered is whether or not the West and the UN should step in or if we should just let Syria solve their own problems.  I think that the West and the UN should step in because of all the innocent people that are dying.  The only thing we need to be careful of is that we don’t recreate a situation like when we interfered in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The US needs to be more cautious and diplomatic because Syria is more complicated from the support of Russia and China to the Syrian President.  This could create an international conflict between the super powers, which could lead to WWIII.  Any decision of interference must be considered carefully between the US and UN in order to help Syria and not hurt it.  The best thing we could do in the meantime is help the citizens of Syria by providing them food and medical assistance until a decision can be made from the aiding countries. 

Facts:

Russia strongest ally: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/russian-anti-terror-troops-arrive-syria/story?id=15954363

Susan Rice: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russia-china-block-syria-resolution-at-un/2011/10/04/gIQArCFBML_story.html

Gerard Araud: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russia-china-block-syria-resolution-at-un/2011/10/04/gIQArCFBML_story.html