Of Syria and Civil Wars

Virinder Kaur POLS 202-01 world(prenominal) relations Reaction story 1 Of Syrian struggles and US contrary Policies Due October 4, 2012 Modern Syria runner gained its independency in 1946, following numerous categorys of barbaric strife. Before this, the assure had been nether a french Mandate and had suffered nether a conditional (or more aptly, false) independence, wherein the French State held veto cater e realwhere every(prenominal) potential laws introduced by the Syrian the great unwashed (US Dept. of State). In 1970, the Baath exercisey came into policy-making world-beater in Syria in only a nonher bloody coup-detat, with Minister of Defense, Hafiz al-Assad, pickings up the mantle of President (US Dept. f State). He would remain in power up until his death in the year 2000. This would lastly result in the troth of his son, Bashar al-Assad, to the presidency, a position that would once more see noncombatant malcontent and intra landed e produce violenc e (US Dept. of State). Over the past 18 months, there puddle been ongoing violent meshs in Syria mingled with the Syrian regimen and various groups of rebel fighters (US Dept. of State). fit in to BBC newsworthiness, this perfectly bloody dispute within the state has instigated a good deal of international fight crimes on the side of both the political relation and the rebel groups mired.The civil war in Syria began in mid-March of last year when citizens firstborn openly protested over against Assads administration (US Dept. of State). abruptly following the Syrian Armys continued violent suppression of the protests, the relegateicular quickly turned to armed rebellion, lastly leading to 18 months of violent sharpshoot on the citizens of Syria by its regimen and by rebel/terrorist groups (US Dept. of State). These continued violent uprisings in Syria atomic number 18 in no get around a failure on the part of the united States unusual policies. In fact, the fall in States p place d owned very little stinting consumption where the start of this conflict is in suspense.Beyond its go for of the protestors cry for democratic proceedings, the US was non responsible for instigating violence on any front. Furthermore, the United States was openly critical of Assads ear double-dealingr reaction to what had started verboten as peaceful protests. According to Al-Monitor News, the US financially makeed the opposition to the Syrian government activity by granting a waiver to a rationalise Syrian Army (FSA) fend group, too called the Syrian Support Group, or SSG, which is an NGO aiming to nominate the FSA with intelligence, communications, and financial accept (Rozen).The US, like most governments, is reluctant to rub any ordnance store deals or provide lethal aid to the FSA and divers(prenominal) slackly organized militant groups as they fucknot contain the violence of all of their members (Frieden). Any hindrance beyond this would be unreasonable and a hazard to state interests of which, according to realists, in the hierarchy of issues facing the state, national and international certificate is most important (International Relations Text, 40). Direct involvement in the conflict willing only farther detonate the violence as hindrance by foreign states is believed to cause, not prevent, rebellion (Frieden).Al Arabiya News maintains that the United Kingdom and France gestate excessively provided similar support for the Syrian opposition. The UK offered financial assistance and France offered non-lethal armed forces aid (Al Arabiya). France, in particular, was adamant against becoming directly twisting in the bloody conflict with out UN support. Instead, it provided center of communication and protection for the FSA (Al Arabiya). France beneficialifies its determination to repress direct involvement by reiterating the error George W.Bush made when he independently distinguishable to invade I raq. France had also debate that final cause and, in time, had proven correct (Al Arabiya). Russia and China, on the other hand, atomic number 18 vehemently opposed to the UNs resolution to impose sop up and economic sanctions, believing they are measures interpreted by American and European states to further assert their power over Syrian sovereignty or as a core to line the US treasury and EU banks, according to George Lopez, a professor of Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame (Lopez).However, the people of Syria are rebelling against the Assad regime, from which it can be inferred that the legitimacy of the Syrian government is already down the stairs question. Russia, in particular, is against UN intervention in Syria, predominantly in providing aid to the rebel groups. As stated in the The Moscow Times, this is because Russia has immobile economic ties to Syria due to its economic and military interests in Syria, Russia will not override its support of the Syrian government in favor of the anti-Syrian government sentimentalists (Amos).Russias economic interests include its billion dollar arms contracts with the Syrian government and its military interests lie in the Russian navy motif in Tartus, which is Russias last keister beyond the borders of the former Soviet concretion (Galpin). According to BBC, China has also block many UN proposed economic sanctions on Syria, a decision that reflects Chinas communist leadership concern that the West is hard to provoke a regime transpose in Syria under the guise of do-gooder action.This regime change could ultimately exist Chinas economic interests in Syria, its oil interests, in particular. According to BBC News, Persian Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi also rejects the fancy of foreign interference in the conflict in Syria, insisting that the solution to the problem lay only in Syria and within the Syrian family (Doucet). Despite this claim, Iran was, in itself, interfering i n the conflict by sending out Iranian planes making arms deliveries to the Syrian government under the cover of human-centered aid (Doucet). bb While it would be contingent for the US to intervene and perhaps thaw the issue in Syria, it would not be in our best interest. Foreign intervention in the Syrian Civil state of war will only result in a high price to be paid, principally the US loss of support on the international front as well as the financial expenses that the US would incur if involved militarily. Such civil wars and intrastate conflicts between rebel groups and the government can be resolved through with(predicate) diplomatic negotiations that can avoid these expenses (Frieden).The US is not financially secure nice to engage in yet some other bloody conflict in the nerve center East, particularly one as gnarly as the one in Syria. The economic consumption of the word convoluted is significant in that it remains groping who the non-FSA and who the actual lea ders of the rebellion are. According to Frieden, it is difficult to cumulate information about who is a part of these militant groups because they are covert and because terrorist groups admit incentives to exaggerate. Furthermore, should that question and the identities of the FSA be resolved, how would we distinguish the simple from the terrorists?Both important actors in these uprisings, the Syrian government, and the Free Syrian Army and other rebel fighters, collect participated in what whitethorn be considered international war crimes that deport resulted in a multitude of civilian deaths. The Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria reported that murder, torture, and sexually violent acts have been authorized by the Syrian it also found the anti-Assad sentimentalists were also guilty of war crimes, though not to the same conclusion as the Assad regime (Syria War Crimes Suspects, BBC).The question to ask ourselves should be Is it worth it? What can we gain from this in volvement, and more importantly, what are we at risk of losing should the situation spiral out of control, as it so often does? With many significant UN actors being divided on how the situation should be handled, the flirting close together of any kind of strategic interaction between relevant actors is difficult to even conjecture (Frieden, 75). International politics concerns itself mostly with proceeds analysis and bargaining to increase state security and protect state interests preceding(prenominal) all else.Getting involved in the conflict would be an unrealistic venture that would ultimately undermine national interests this is because involvement in this particular conflict reflects a ostracize sum outlook (International Relations Text, 55). This implies that, in the end, the gains and losses will add up to less than zero, meaning all actors recur in comparison to what they currently have, in which case the US has more to bear than to gain (International Relations Text, 55). Machiavelli theorizes that states are prosaic entities that ought to protect their own interests above all others (International Relations Text, 45).This thought reflects on the political theory of Realism, which states that a states primary interests lies in maintaining or expanding its power and security, economically and militarily (Class Notes, Wk 1). In coefficient of correlation to the theory of Realism, statesmen (i. e. the decision-makers) follow a different code of conduct than the average citizen this implies a different set of ethics and decision-making processes (IR Text, 46). According to classical realism, if one assumes national security an end, than any means employed to chance upon that end are thoified (IR Text, 46).The means by which to achieve an end are Joseph Nyes plans of hard power and piano power. Hard power is concerned mainly with the economic and military capabilities of a state while soft power deals originally with cultural values an d practices of a tending(p) state to introduce a diplomatic capacity to influence states (IR Text, 53). Neo-realists, much(prenominal) as the United States, relate more to the notion of smart power, an integral or go of hard and soft power, advance their purposes and expunge their goals (IR Text, 53).By intervening in Syria, the US would be put at risk in the economic and international relations commonwealth as they would be once again swamped with the cost of war and would be looked upon in an unfavorable manner by Russia and China, who contribute firm in their decision to not get involved due to their own economic and military interests in Syria. US involvement in Syria would reinforce Hannah Arendts idea that conceptualiseing without a banister, or in this case, acting, has become prevalent in contemporary politics.In her essay, The Origins of Totalitarianism, Arendt discusses how, in this modern twenty-four hour period and age, great politicians and world leaders are thwa rted by the ability to think and act without any sort of transcendental grounding, the most significant of which being invoice (Strong, Politics Without A visual sense). Should the United States adjudicate to follow through with intervening in Syria, it would be a repeat of Iraq unconditioned more soldiers will be stationed in the Middle East, more money that we just dont have will be spent on a war where very few actors have significant interests (i. . Russia and China). Such blatant shorten for recent historical events while contemplating a decision as massive as US association with the violence in Syria would be concerning and outright dangerous to United States national security. Another concern that arises is the idea of random occurrence and chance the concept of unpredictable elements, causality, and the effect they may have on the outcomes of a prone item (Class Notes, Week 3). The Uncertainty Principle was first introduced in the world of physics by Werner Heisenbe rg in 1927.Often, particularly in situations of extreme violence or chaos such as the Syrian Civil War, the multitude of actors as well other variables, makes it boney impossible to determine the possible consequences minded(p) a sequence of conceivable actions. This relates to the realists precept of back up Theory, which is essentially an approach to find the best or optimal melody of action in a war-ridden situation, for example, the Syrian Civil War (IR Text, 55).According to Game Theory, the actors involved in a given situation will try to maximize gains and minimize losses under uncertain conditions and with incomplete information (IR Text, 55). Due to chance, circumstances, and personalized initiatives of world leaders, unintended consequences are an needful consequence. While these inadvertent effects may be of a positive nature, it is just as possible that they may be negative and end up unraveling the very foundation of our country. Ultimately, the United States sh ould look to absorb peace and not yet some other war overseas.John Horgan, author of The End of War, entreats not only the US but countries all around the world to embrace the notion of peace rather than of war because we, as humans, are endowed with the ability to bring an end to war for good. Becoming involved in one more clangor in the Middle East, only undermines our freedom of will and of choice. That we should choose to engage in violence rather than in peace, would be a poor resolution if the US primary goal is to protect its interests. working CITED Background Note Syria. U. S. surgical incision of State. U. S. Department of State, n. d. Web. 01 Oct. 2012. .Rozen, Laura. US Authorizes Financial Support For the Free Syrian Army. Al-Monitor. N. p. , n. d. Web. 1 Oct. 2012. . Al Arabiya. France Gives Non-lethal armament Aid to Syrian Opposition PM. France Gives Non-lethal phalanx Aid to Syrian Opposition PM. N. p. , n. d. Web. 29 Sept. 2012. . Lopez, George A. Russia an d China Sabotaging U. N. with Vetoes CNN. com. CNN. Cable News Network, 08 Feb. 2012. Web. 29 Sept. 2012. . UN Draws up New List of Syria War Crimes Suspects. BBC News. BBC, 17 Sept. 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. . Amos, Howard. Billions of Dollars of Russian blood Suffers Along With Syria. The Moscow Times. N. p. , n. d. Web. 1 Oct. 2012. . Galpin, Richard. Russian Arms Shipments Bolster Syrias Embattled Assad. BBC News. BBC, 30 Jan. 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. . Doucet, Lyse. Syria Conflict No armament Solution, Says Ban Ki-moon. BBC News. BBC, 20 Sept. 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. . Frieden, Jeffry A. , David A. Lake, and Kenneth A. Schultz. A Primer on Game Theory. area Politics Interests, Interactions, Institutions. New York W. W. Norton, 2010. 74-79. Print. Viotti, Paul R. , and signalise V. Kauppi. Chapter 7 Positivism, Critical Theory, and Postmodern Understandings. International Relations Theory. New York Longman, 2010. 322-337. Print. Strong, Tracy B. Politics without Vision Thinking without a Banister in the Twentieth Century. Chicago University of Chicago, 2012. Print. Arendt, Hannah. The Origins of Totalitarianism. New York Harcourt, poise & World, 1966. Print. Horgan, John. The End of War. San Francisco, CA McSweeneys, 2012. Print. *Also pen class notes, discussions, and anything else that Professor F. mentioned during lecture. * *One case of referencing notes from another class (Comparative Politics) whilst explaining the uncertainty principle. *