For over two years, since March 2011, Syria has been at war and it doesn’t seem to ever stop. It all started when 15 schoolchildren were arrested, “disciplined”, and “tortured” for painting anti-government graffiti on a wall. The locals of that community retaliated with a peaceful protest as they felt that the “disciplinary action” taken on the children was more like a torture case. President Bashar al-Assad’s government responded very angrily by opening fire on the protesters, killing four people. The following day, there was a funeral and the army opened fire at the mourners at the victims’ funeral, which resulted in the death of another person. After this, “hell broke loose”, and there was confusion in all parts of Syria over why the government would cause such chaos ("What's Happening in Syria and Will the Violence End?").
The violence kept escalating by the day, resulting in several riots and demonstrations by the people opposed to the government and asking the president to step down for his dictatorial actions and incompetency. The President’s refusal to do so led the unrest to develop into a full blown civil war in Syria. The war raged on without any intervention beyond widespread condemnation from the international community. However, when the Syrian government was reported to be using chemical weapons in the civil war against the people, there was a mighty reaction from the United States, French and British governments, who have since been sharing ideas and deciding on how to bring President Assad’s government to order. The United Nations have also been making the necessary efforts to send troops down to Syria, but such a move will require the agreement or endorsement of members of the United Nations including China and Russia, who have both expressed their disagreement with in such an action because of their relationship with President Assad’s government ("What's Happening in Syria and Will the Violence End?").
Britain and France feel like they should help stop the war by sending in weapons because they cannot send in their troops, but their fear is whose hands the weapons might end up in. According to sources, “There has been a big debate on whether sending weapons is the right way to end the war. There’s no way of telling who might get hold of the weapons” ("What's Happening in Syria and Will the Violence End?"). If they send in the weapons, and these get into the wrong hands, this could further destabilize the whole region. Their initial plan was to use the weapons to stop the war, but since they are still undecided, the war still rages on. The United States is still in debate as to whether to go into the war with full military power or to restrict the number of troops it should send when President Obama told his “war-weary” country that “America needs to use limited military force in Syria to deter future chemical weapons attacks”, whilst saying at the same time that “he did not want to enter into another costly and protracted war” ("Obama: US Cannot Turn Blind Eye to Syria"). Countries are allowed to help solve the civil war crisis in Syria but at their own risk of losing members of their military.
This issue has been trending on the media landscape for two years, but it seems that nothing has been done to bring the situation under control, however not because the countries don’t want to but because they can’t. The United Nations can’t send in troops because not all their members want to get involved in the situation. The most interesting and unfolding development about the situation is the fact that every month millions of Syrians depart from the country, and if the crisis don’t stop it could totally destroy the country and possibly turn it into a wasteland.
I am interested in tracking this issue because I am curious on what will happen in Syria within the next few weeks, whether they would be able to solve the problems themselves or would need international help. I am also curious on the decision the U.N, France and Britain will make concerning sending troops to Syria or sending weapons and also if these countries would come to a decision before the country is totally destroyed.
Within the next three weeks my prediction concerning the crisis is that the United States would enter the war in attempt to solve the problem and the would later on receive help from the concerned countries such as France and Britain. I believe that the Syrian government is using chemical weapons even though they deny it.
"Obama: US Cannot Turn Blind Eye to Syria." - Americas. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2013.
"What's Happening in Syria and Will the Violence End?" BBC News. BBC, 27 Aug. 2013. Web. 08 Sept. 2013.
