Current Event Journal: Syrian War

The Syrian war is one of the most recent political events that is still happening to date. Many news articles have emerged since the war started which attempt to explain the various aspects of the war. Some of the emerging topics and their corresponding explanations include the origin of the war, the participants, and effects among others. This paper summarizes twenty of such articles and the views that each of them represents.

 

Origin/Causes of the War

 

Hbcdjbjdbjdb traces the war to the emergency rule that the government enacted in 1963 and that had been operational until when the war broke out in 2011. Per the article, the government had suppressed the citizens’ freedom of expression, assembly, and association. This suppression meant that the government had powers over all its subjects and did not allow them to express any dissenting opinions or form any alliances for the same reasons. Specifically, the administration did not let any gatherings comprising of more than five people and authorized the police to arrest and details any culprits who defied any of the set obligations. Citizens had hoped for improvements after al-Assad assumed power, but his administration did not meet their expectations. Citizens started growing weary of the constant lack of essential commodities and the continuous rise in prices of the available products. Eventually, their suffering overwhelmed them and caused them to start an uprising against the government. This uprising would later lead to one of the fiercest wars in Syrian History.

 

chccvugbhvhjbj also suggest that the war began in 2011 when a section of citizens protested against the government and the then president Bashar al-Assad. The civic groups had felt dissatisfied with the way the administration run the country and called for the resignation of the president and the dissolution of the government. However, the ruling team did not take the accusations lightly. Instead, they suppressed all the protestors violently—especially the ones that were calling for the president’s removal. This violent suppression caused retaliation from the protesting parties, and within no time, insurgent groups had formed. Both parties held their grounds; the insurgent groups found more reasons for outing the administration while the government also validated their use of force citing the forceful retaliation of the rebels. These firm stances from both parties escalated the war.

 

On the other hand, yhdvugdihidsnksc suggests that had the feud remained between the citizens or rebels and the government alone, the war would not have persisted. Instead, the rival parties would have found a solution and called for a ceasefire, or one party would have overwhelmed the other causing the overwhelmed group—most probably the rebels to surrender. He argues that what existed between the two parties was an ordinary dispute that occasionally happens between governments and their citizens. Therefore, per jbfdjknihbisdnk the exact cause of the Syrian war was the involvement of international parties in the domestic feuds of Syria. Some foreign countries, bodies, and organizations sided with the government while others stood with the rebels. The rebels’ allies gave food, weapons, and financial support just like the government received from theirs. These constant supplies made each side confident of winning against each other thereby escalating the dispute in the war that has continued to date.

 

Participants in the War

 

Bdbjbddjbmd has categorized the rebel groups in Syria and the government as the primary participants in the war. He claims that both parties are equally responsible for starting and continuing the fight not only because of their active participation but also their intentions. For instance, he argues that the war would not have begun or extended if the insurgent groups had sought constitutional and peaceful means of airing their grievances. Similarly, the article suggests that maybe the outcome could have been different if the government had not used force to suppress the rebelling citizens. Vcdhjbjbiubc uses these reasons to classify the rebels and government as the primary participants in the war.

 

Hvdjbknjdcb agrees with hbdvjjbj on the primary participants of the war. However, he argues that other secondary participants have almost equal influence in the war. The article classifies Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah as the government’s allies and who have conducted numerous airstrikes in Syria against the anti-government groups. On the other hand, Turkey has declared open support for the rebels and continues to support them in fighting the government. The United States has also attacked the Syrian government and pro-government groups severally. Israel had for a long time stood as a neutral party in the war, but started conducting series of airstrikes on Iran and Hezbollah after claiming that the latter two’s presence in the southwestern part of Syria threatened its security. Finally, Lebanon had been a peaceful neighbor and the recipient of the Syrian refugees, yet it became an indirect participant after fleeing Syrians started fighting within its territories. All these parties mentioned above are participants in the ongoing Syrian war because they have contributed to the continued violence within and without the country in one way or another.

 

Implications of the War

 

Many news articles have arisen regarding the impacts of the Syrian war both locally and internationally. The most written about implications include numerous cases of refugees, effects of chemical weapons on living and non-living beings, hostility between the participants like the U.S and Russia, and adverse economic impacts as discussed below.

 

Refugees

 

Bdjfjbkdnkdbdf classifies the third group from the ones previously mentioned above to be the nonparticipants in the war who have suffered from the continued violence regardless of them not participating. The article states that most civil wars usually affect women and children most and the Syrian case is not an exception. The women and children are often defenseless whenever violence arises primarily because of the femininity and naivety regarding physical confrontations. Most women and children fled Syria to neighboring countries because they could not withstand the constant battles that marred their country. Others also suffered internal displacement fleeing their cities and towns to safer regions within the state. These categories of refugees have been increasing over the years with the number of fleeing citizens being directly proportional to the intensity of the war.

 

Nidvinininvdhn states that violence knows no gender. He says that although the affected women and children always outnumber the men, it is not a reason enough to disregard the adverse impacts that violence has on the men. The article identifies that men have equally been refugees in most of the neighboring countries because of the constant battles that characterize Syria since 2011 when the war began. Most of the rebels usually conduct forceful recruits into their camps and often kill anybody who resists the recruitment exercise. On the contrary, most men do not like participating in the war, let alone for the criminal and outlawed groups. This situation often places them between a rock and a hard place.

In most cases, fleeing becomes the only viable option as is the case in Syria. The article further quotes the UN’s data that records that over 6.5 million Syrians have suffered internal displacement while three million others have fled to countries like Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan. These statistics make the refugees and the internally displaced the most significant indication of the adverse effects that the war has had on Syria and its environs.

 

Weapons

 

Another of the most significant effects of the war that citizens have experienced is the continued use of different types of weapons used. Jdbjkbnkbdc quotes a report from the UN’s fact-finding mission that found the Syrian government guilty of using chemical weapons like the Sarin and Chlorine gas. On the other hand, the rebels used mustard agents in retaliation after realized that the government had used the chemical weapons on residential areas occupied by rebel fighters. The chemical weapons had adverse impacts on the citizens amounting to death and loss of limbs. Citizens inhaled the chemicals and suffered burns in their windpipes and lungs thereby killing them. Others also suffered paralysis of the heart and diaphragm after inhaling the deadly chemicals. The use of chemical weapons attracted international intervention with some parties supporting the use while others were posing firm objections. These different opinions escalated the conflict thus increasing the adverse effects mentioned above.

 

Ujcjbdiidnkf has also identified the impacts that the use of cluster bombs and thermobaric weapons have had on the citizens. The international communities led by the United Nations had banned the use of both of the machinery mentioned above in any war regardless of the warring nations or the extent of the war. However, studies done at the Syrian military sites and battlegrounds showed traces of the weapons. These studies proved that the high fatality that the war caused resulted from the use of the internationally outlawed weapons. The worst effect of the cluster bombs that the Syrian military been using since the war begun is that some of the missiles do not always detonate at impact. The unpredictability of the detonation often leaves most of the undetonated bombs on the target location risking the lives of the residents of the target area. Some of those bombs have detonated long after the battles ceased in the target locations thereby killing the innocent citizens who had gone back to resume their day-to-day activities. Again, the most significant victims of these bomb leftovers are usually children who come across them as they play not knowing what they are. Jbcdjbjbdjbnjndc notes that these bombs have caused the citizens their lives and limbs.

 

Economic Impacts

 

Per vjbjbjcbjbkjbids, political stability ranks amongst the most significant requirements for economic growth. The economy of a country will only grow if businesses thrive both locally and internationally and when the majority of the citizens have jobs. However, the persistent Syrian war has made local and foreign companies to shy away from the country because of the uncertainty of the political state. Most organizations and firms that had initially set up in Syria have also closed down because of the constant destruction of property and unavailability of the market. As a result, most citizens have lost their jobs and become dependent on the government and fellow citizens. These harsh conditions have escalated poverty levels in Syria. The government also earns less local and foreign revenue because of the limited opportunities that result because of the continuous violence. Additionally, the government spends the resources that it would have used to provide social amenities for the citizens in weapons and military recruitments and training. The scenarios mentioned above have resulted in the poor economic status of Syria according to hvdhiksfcknk.

 

Gdcuiicjjosd also argues that citizens have suffered from the inaccessibility of basic needs. The battles have destroyed schools, churches, hospitals, and other facilities that benefited the Syrians. Some of the facilities have also survived the violence but lack attendants because the teachers, religious leaders, and medical practitioners have all fled respectively. This situation has resulted in a high number of school dropouts and mortality rate since the war began in 2011. Children, youths, and adults who previously went to the respective levels of education have had to give up their ambitions and either join the battle or flee to safer grounds. Victims of the violence and other diseases have had to depend on the aid from international bodies and health teams. As a result, Syria has suffered a massive reduction of intellectuals and human resource. Most citizens are seeking ways of surviving at all cost with most cases ending in deaths. These occurrences eventually affect the economy of the state.

 

Jbfveknpojnopd views the economic impacts from a different angle. His article claims that countries usually align with foreign states depending on the type of business that the respective states operate and the mutual benefits that they enjoy. Therefore, it is generally easy to find a state aligning to the nations that earn it the most economic benefits. However, Syria cannot afford such freedom because of the division that the violence has caused. Nations that support the government cannot allow business operations from countries that support the rebels and vice versa. This feud has driven away many potential business partners who would have set up industries to boost the Syrian economy. As usual, the citizens are the worst affected victims because when the economy of the nation is weak, the government will not provide resources as it should.

 

Russia-U.S Rivalry

 

The ongoing war in Syria has caused serious conflict between Russia and the U.S both of which have strong military might and massive control of the global market. Since the start of the civil war in Syria, Russia has supported the Syrian government and provided it with weapons to fight the rebels. Russia has done a series of airstrikes on the areas that the government purports to be the rebels’ residences as well as supplying them with anti-tank missiles. On the other hand, the United States has been against the Syrian government leading to their attacks of the Syrian government and any pro-government groups in Syria. This dissent escalated when the United States accused the Syrian military of using chemical and other outlawed weapons on its citizens. Additionally, the United States has also over the years supplied anti-tank missiles to the rebels. The confrontations have ended up being between Russia and the United States thus causing the feud between them.

 

Jdbjidvhhid argues that these confrontations have had massive economic effects both in Syria and other nations that the ongoing civil battle does not concern. He suggests that the feud that arises from the confrontations does not only end in Syria but also extends to the outside economy. Reports have emerged of Russia and U.S threatening direct economic and physical encounters towards each other ever since they disagreed on the Syrian matter. Per bdknknk the small states that depend on either of the superpowers has suffered the most effect. The countries that choose to transact with Russia does not have the free will to do the same with the U.S and vice versa. As a result, most economies including that of Syria have suffered because of the many barriers that the feud between the two nations creates. Therefore, jbddjnbcd suggests that remedying the effects that the war has created will require more than a ceasefire.

 

Bsbjbscjbeubj adds his opinion to the conversation citing long term effects of the violence in Syria. He suggests in his article that the situations that Syrians have been experiencing cause them significant emotional defects. Most of them suffer long-term traumas that affect their future lives even after the war ends. A lot of enmity cases also arise from the forceful recruitments into the rebel army. Hudkh quotes articles that suggest that some groups have turned the wars tribal—communities fighting against each other. Other citizens who have suffered from the government attacks would blame it for the atrocities caused. These resentments would bar the citizens from cooperating with the government in the future after the conflict’s end.

 

Mitigation

 

Kofi Anan made the first attempt to bring an end to the war in 2012. He had a ceasefire plan that he had hoped the warring parties would listen to and implement. By then Kofi was the chairman of the United Nations and had a six-point plan. The ideas addressed the grievances of both parties including the declaration of freedom of movement, working together to rebuild the nation, and providing humanitarian help to the affected areas. These plans seemed viable at first after both parties appeared to have welcomed them. However, later disagreements jeopardized those effects as war would soon break again. Kofi Annan then resigned from the chief mediating role.

 

Frkknkefniiikrf suggests that Syria can only witness peace if one party concedes defeat. This option also seems unlikely because every party feels right and wants to achieve its objectives. The rebels want to prove to the government that they are powerful enough to make it heed to their demands. On the other hand, the government wants to demonstrate its might against the rebels. Bdiojojdvjoj, therefore, states that peaceful ways have already failed thereby one party should be compelled to surrender. The only way of achieving this objective would be to cut the supply of food and resources to the rebels and starving them to quit. However, this will also arouse humanitarian concerns.

 

Hoefjejnoje states that the war cannot stop if the foreigners do not back off the fight. He categorizes that the rebel groups build their confidence and might from the funding and support that they receive from countries like the United States. Similarly, the government maintains its firm stance because of the foreign assistance that it enjoys. If the foreigners stopped aiding rebels and the government, the war would overwhelm them and cause them to call a ceasefire. The problem for this suggestion, like all the others, is that everybody involved maintains their adamant stance. Therefore, hbdjnjkndssj says that the only way of ending the war would be getting the differing superpowers led by the United States and Russia to speak in unison. They would then form a formidable force to compel one side to surrender.

 

Attempts by International Organizations

 

The United Nations Union has made several attempts to stop the Syrian war. The union has been researching the military camps and battlegrounds to determine whether or not any parties are using outlawed weapons like chemical weapons. They have also provided humanitarian assistance to the victims of the war. Member states also have an obligation of receiving and providing for the refugees who flee to their territories. Although the attempts by Kofi Annan and other subsequent mediators have failed, the union has not given up. It continues to advocate for peaceful means of solving the disputes. The union also urges foreign states to stop fueling the violence in Syria.

 

The European Union has also attempted to stop the violence before and is still actively involved in trying to end the war. The union has strategies that would promote peaceful power transitions in Syria. It also advocates for inclusivity in the Syrian government to achieve democracy, accountability, and save lives. These attempts have met rebellion from both the Syrian government and the rebels because it calls on them to denounce the fight. Like the UN, the EU is adamant on its attempt to stop the civil war. The members occasionally meet to devise new ways of addressing the matter. Hopefully, a solution will soon come up.

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