Syri A Country Filled With Violence, Poverty, And Instability

Syria’s civil war is the worst humanitarian crisis of modern time. The “Syrian Civil war Began in March of 2011, between rebel brigades and government force; economy and infrastructure is destroyed” (Library, 2016). “Divisions between secular and religious fighters, and between ethnic groups, continue to complicate the politics of the conflict” (Corps, 2016). Additionally, the Syrian civil war has taken a significant

For many ongoing years now, Syria has been in a war with thousands of fleeing refugees, terrorists that could be attacking at any minute, and the constant involvement of other countries that has done more harm than their planned good. I believe that the foreign involvement of countries such as the US and Russia have fueled more of the ongoing violence in Syria.

The US sponsored research conducted by the Political Instability Task Force identified key factors responsible increasing the political instability of states. These factors include: bad neighborhood, state discrimination and anocratic regimes. ( USAID, 2012 ). These are clear characteristics of Syria.The Syrian constitution for example does not address sexual orientation, the Alawite community ( from which Asad is a member ) dominate the entire government and according to Human Rights Watch, the government detains protesters and subject them to atrocities. Political parties are also harassed. (United States Department of State, 2014). Terrorists prey on domestic political instability to advance international terrorism because unstable states offers them the military and organizational skills. ( Campos & Gassebner, 2009).

The Arabs took this opportunity to start an uprising. The fighting continued for twenty years until France, in 1936, agreed to let go of their political influence, but they would keep a military presence there and could benefit economically, which meant they controlled the oil. Four years later France fell to the Axis powers and consequently so did Syria. Since the, now Free French, troops needed support along with the British, they agreed to leave the region completely if they helped them win World War 2. After the Germans were defeated, the French, reluctantly, kept their word and left the region. This, however, did not subside the fighting; what was once a battle for freedom turned into an ideological battle between Shias and Sunnis. Eventually some stability was gained and a proper government was set up. In 1971 Hafez Al-Assad was elected president and the country went from being a democracy to a monarchy. He groomed his first son to take over the country once he died but his son passed away in a car accident before he did. Hafez’s second son, Bashar Al-Assad, took control of the country in 2000 and he has remained in power ever since. Prior to the Arab Spring, there were outbursts, but none significantly affected his regime. Once the Arab Spring began, however, the people of Syria, mainly Sunnis, revolted against Assad. At the same time, The United States pulled troops out of Iraq leaving them without any structure or

I am writing to you today as a student at the College of William and Mary. I am in an International Security class and recently we studied the events occurring in Syria. As you are well aware, the situation in Syria has been dramatically deteriorating in recent months with the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the recent entrance of Russia into the conflict. Syria, meanwhile, has been in the midst of a ravaging civil war since the early spring of 2011. Currently, the government of Syria is led by President Bashar al-Assad, a member of the Syrian Ba’ath Party, a branch of the same Ba’ath Party that Saddam Hussein was also a member of. This similarity may lead some to think that Syria will end up like Iraq, with a

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has been in charge since 2000, following on from his late father who ruled for 30 years. Commencing in March of 2011, an anti-regime uprising has since escalated into Civil War where it has been estimated that more than 400,000 have been killed (CNN, 2017). Just this death toll alone proves the danger and inhumane conditions the people of Syria have been living in for over six years. Controlling large areas of Northern and Eastern Syria, Islamic State (IS) have been left battling government forces, rebel brigades and air strikes from

The Syrian Civil War is no different. There are two opposing views that feel strongly about what they are fighting for and the war is having a major effect on the country’s infrastructure and rate of development. However, only time will tell if any good will come out of the country’s civil war.

The Syrian war is a multi-problematic situation that started within Syrian borders. The Syrian war began in 2010 with something called the Arab Spring. The Arab Spring is a chain of events where people caused aggressive and non-aggressive situations such as protests which created harm in the Middle East. In 2011 people started a non-aggressive protest because children were being abused after spattering graffiti that stated how they agreed with the Arab Spring. The president during this time was Bashar al- Assad. Assad would torment and imprison the people of Syria who protested. The Syrian People wanted to end Assad’s brutal actions so they created a Free Syrian Army which led to a civil war (i.e. the Syrian war). There are several countries

Syria is currently all over the news regarding what many have to come to see as a civil war. A term like civil war needs to identify the players and the reasons for the war. In this case the players are being identified as pro government or antigovernment with a Sunni or Shia overtone. Sunni and Shia are the two major sects of Islam and both have a historical based conflict going back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad and how Muslims should be governed. This conflict has caused tensions and violence to flare up throughout Islamic history. This conflict has carried into modern times and has becoming a rallying point for Muslim people calling for change with their government and across the Middle Eastern region. The

Syria, a state located also in western Asia, in a region famously known as Middle East. Geographically, its’ location is bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey. The state is currently in the middle of turmoil, torn between three sides, the Assad Regime, the dictatorial current President of Syria, the Syrian Opposition (Free Syrian Army and Jaysh Al-Islam), and ISIS. There are also Kurdistan armed forces mixed in the civil war, causing even more problem in Syria. To understand the geopolitical condition of Syria, we need to analyze the pre-civil war condition of Syria followed by ISIS infected condition.

Since 2011 Syria has been experiencing a civil war. On the 22nd of August 2014, the United Nations has estimated that over 191,000 people have died. Many children have been killed or kidnapped throughout this war. The current president of Syria is Basar al-Assad; he has served since 2000 when he succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad. Basar was a graduate of Damascus University and Western Eye Hospital. Where he studied ophthalmology. He returned to Syria because his brother had died in a car crash and was now the next in line for the thrown. In 2000 and 2007, the national electorate reconfirmed Assad as the president of Syria. In December 2000 is when he married Asma Assad. She was born to Syrian parents but was raised in the United Kingdom. She graduated from Kings College with a bachelor degree in computer science and French literature. The Former president of Syria, Hafez al-Assad was president for 29 years. In 1970, he seized power by toppling Jadid. When he took power he de-radicalized the current government, also strengthened the countries foreign relations. During the cold war, he sided with Soviet Union so that they would show support against Syria. He also instituted the one-man rule, and then set up the state services. The Sunnis became political the formal heads of the political institutions while the Alawites were in charge of military actions. His son Basar al-Assad was not the first choice to

In Syria, there is a crisis between the common people and the government in power. The

Syrian civil war started in 2011 was the outcome of the opposition against the President Bashar al-Assad regime. The uprising emerged as a response to the Arab spring movement that lead to regime change in Tunisia and subsequently turned into mass unrest rooted into the discontent with long-term dictatorship and poor economic situation in the country (Manfreda, n.d.). The number of Syrian citizens killed in the civil war reached 140000 since March 2011 (SBS 2014). The European Commission (2014, 2) reports approximately 9.3 million civilians “in need for humanitarian assistance”. The scale of armed rebellion between government and opposition that lead to an increasing number of casualties among civilians did not remain unnoticed by the

In Syria civil war has been raging since March 2011. The conflict an attempt to overthrow the second Assad regime, led by Bashar al Assad, and multiple rebel groups, including the Free Syrian Army (FSA), the Islamic Front, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria(ISIS), and Jabhat al-Nusra (the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda). Like his father, who held power before him, Bashar al Assad has been a corrupt tyrant who rigged elections and eliminated personal freedoms. Two important contributors to the development of civil war in Syria were the drought that began in 2006 and the Arab Spring. The drought left many civilians in poverty, in need of support from the government, which was never provided. This caused

President Assad was given an outstanding western education, receiving a degree for ophthalmology from a London-based medical school. Naturally there was hope that since Assad had spent time in one of the most consolidated democracies, he might have been more willing to implement democratic measures in Syria than his father. Assad’s rise to power was actually through a series of rather lucky events for him. Originally his older brother was selected as his father’s heir but an unexpected car accident thrust Bashar into the spotlight. Upon the death of his father, Bashar then proceeded to be appointed leader of the major political party and the army after which he was elected president.