Introduction
The time has come for all parties – national, regional and international to take credible steps toward a mutually beneficial resolution to the Syrian crisis. The war between Bashar al-Assad’s administration and the rebels has reached an impasse. Neither side has been able to deliver a decision blow and the record on resolving civil wars is clear – until external actors reach some sort form of accommodation, they will continue to fund and arm their proxies, and the war will continue indefinitely. Hence, the UN calls upon the United States of America and the Russian Federation to exercise their influence in the region, cease “destructive competition” and collectively pursue a solution to this crisis consistent with the Geneva Communiqué agreed to and issued on 30th June 2012.
The UN recognizes that the current dispute over Ukraine is likely to take precedence in diplomatic efforts of the United States and Russia. However, in light of the massive number of casualties (150, 000 lives, more than a third civilians from both sides of the conflict, including upwards of 7,000 children and 5,000 women) and ever worsening humanitarian and military crisis, the UN hopes both Russia and US recognize that it is imperative to resolve the Syrian crisis and view these two incidents in separate vacuums.
NEGOTIATION AND PRACTICAL STEPS
As permanent members of the UN Security Council with veto powers, Russia and United States wield political power through the threat of enforcement measures (Chapter VII of the Charter). Russia and the United States must use this enforcement capability to craft a compromise that restores peace to Syria.
In addition to threats of sanctions, Russia and the United States must utilize their influence in ...
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...lition – elements that have links to anti Russian Islamists.
Russian Role in Iran
Like Saudi Arabia, Iran does not have the capacity to win a long proxy war in Syria. Russia should pressure Iran to search for a political instead of a military solution to the Syrian conflict. Such a settlement could bring peace to Syria while still protecting Iranian core interests – ensuring its connecting with Hezbollah and Lebanon while staving off Western control of Damascus.
The Way Forward
Civil war history has shown that in conflict resolution, nothing is possible without genuine compromise from all players. The stalemate means that all players must shift – the Syrian government, the rebel alliance, regional powers such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as international powers such as the United States and Russia. For the sake of the Syrian people and combating al-Qaeda,
There is always that one person that stirs the pot in a situation that could have been solved rather quickly without them interfering. This is exactly what happened in Syria. The Syrian Civil War began when a peaceful protest when a group of teenagers who were writing anti-government graffiti on a wall. Syrian people called on their president who instead of making democratic reforms, acted in extreme violence against unarmed civilians. More than a quarter of a million people in Syria have been killed and over 10 million have been forced out of their homes. The Assad regime continues to suppress their citizens and they have begun using chemical bombs to kill thousands of Syrians and many even
Shiraev, Eric B., and Vladislav M. Zubok. International Relations. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
Much of the contemporary commentary about U.S. policy towards Syria reduces to a debate for or against regime change which many observers characterize as a standard U.S. objective linked to a belief in American exceptionalism. President Obama tried to disavow such a view during his speech in Cairo in 2009 entitled, “A New Beginning.” His declaration there that, “No system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other,” was an emphatic rejection of what John M. Owen, IV describes as a “fairly common practice of statecraft.” In this paper I will summarize Owen’s main ideas from The Clash of Ideas in World Politics: Transnational Networks, States, and Regime Change, 1510-2010, analyze his research design, evaluate the coherence of his central argument, and assess his contribution to International Relations scholarship. Although Owen’s work sheds light on the phenomenon of forcible regime promotion, his explanation is only one of several plausible causes.
The initiation of the Syrian War was heavily influenced by the (what was supposed to be a peaceful) protest. As well as the many deaths of the Syrian citizens. These conflicts helped citizens realize all the issues that were going on at the time. There were many causes for the violence that went on during the Syrian Civil War. It can be inferred that the three main aspects that fueled the violence of the Syrian War were due to foreign influence, sectarian opposition, and conflicts between opposing groups.
Consequently, Russia offers U.S. businesses both high risk, and potentially high rewards. Russian firms and customers admire U.S. technology and know-how, and generally are interested in doing business with U.S. companies. At the same time, there is a tendency in some quarters to suppose that the U.S. is responsible for the changes which have occurred in Russia, especially those which have caused most hardship to individuals and to industry. This sentiment has attracted the support of some political leaders, and in given credence by a significant proportion of the populace. At the same time, a strong U.S. commercial presence is viewed in the Russian Far East as a counterbalance to other regional economic powers.
For the past several months the United Nations’ Security Council has debated on whether or not to accept the U.S. proposal to force Iraq to comply the new and former resolutions. The new resolution calls for complete disarmament of Iraq and the re-entrance of weapons inspectors into Iraq. If Iraq fails to comply, then military force would be taken in order to disarm Iraq. This proposal met opposition from council members Russia, China, and France. They thought that the U.S. proposal was too aggressive and that the U.S. should not act alone without U.N. approval. For weeks they refused to believe that the only way to make Iraq disarm is through the threat of force and the fear of being wiped out.
SUMMARY: The Syrian Civil War between the Syrian government, and the insurgents, as well as the Free Syrian Army has been escalating since early 2011. The United States, and our allies have faced difficulty in sending aid to Syria, and continue to deal with obstacles in sending even basic medications to Syrian civilians. However, the United States and its allies have also contributed to the lack of organization and the disparity in Syria by sending aid and artillery to individuals based only on political connection, and ignoring organization, local alliances, and without a true understanding of the reality of the Syrian localities to best protect the Syrian protestors. The question addressed in this memo will be defining the viable options to be pursued in Syria, how to pursue them, and assessing the most beneficial path of least resistance when offering aid, funds, and artillery to specific groups in the country. The recommendation will be that although the best alternative action item would be to choose a Syrian group with the least oppositional values comparative to the United States to fund, supply with arms, and train; that the United States should do nothing for the time being. Given the physical and financial risk involved with the Syrian Civil War, it would be prudent for the United States to simply observe how the war progresses over the next several months, as well as complete some research to truly understand the state of affairs in local areas of Syria to determine the extent to which the United States could identify a group to provide aid to, as well as the extent to which the United States involvement would be within Syria.
An attack on the Syrian state would fall within the boundaries of the international concept of the responsibility to protect. The crisis in Syria has escalated by protests in March 2011 calling for the release of all political prisoners. National security forces responded to widespread peaceful demonstrations with the use of brutal violence. The Syrian President Bashar al-Assad refused to stop attacks and allow for implementation of the reforms requested by the demonstrators. By July 2011, firsthand accounts emerged from witnesses, victims, and the media that government forces had subjected innocent civilians to detention, torture, and the use of heavy weaponry. The Syrian people were also subjected to the Shabiha, a largely armed state sponsored militia fighting with security forces. Al-Assad continually denied responsibility to these crimes and placed blame on the armed groups and terrorists for these actions.
As you are aware, there have been many concerns with Syria. The issue involves Assad, President of Syria, and ISIS, a Syrian rebel group. This problem is advancing and developing into an international dilemma as the U.S we have to take control. Assad killed over 1,400 people, including children, with maybe the use of chemical weapons within the countries. This may or may not be reliable information because there are investigations in order to prove the theory. The problem with ISIS is that they have beheaded and slaughtered many innocent people to prove a point.
Quarterly, inc. "Syria." The Middle East. 11th ed. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2007. 437 - 456. Print.
The United Nations (UN) has estimated that the two and a half year long Civil War in Syria has lead to more than one hundred thousand deaths in the region. The continued conflict in Syria has caused the UN to stop updating the death toll in Syria because they have found that information from Syria and the surrounding region is no longer verifiable (UNCHR, 2014). The UN’s Refugee Agency (UNCHR) (2014) has noted that 2.4 million Syrians have registered as refugees, but they estimate that there are, in fact many more unregistered Syrian refugees escaping through the Iraq border.
A refugee is defined as an individual who has been forced to leave their country due to political or religious reasons, or due to threat of war or violence. There were 19.5 million refugees worldwide at the end of 2014, 14.4 million under the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 2.9 million more than in 2013. The other 5.1 million Palestinian refugees are registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). With the displacement of so many people, it is difficult to find countries willing to accept all the refugees. There are over 125 different countries that currently host refugees, and with this commitment comes the responsibility of ensuring these refugees have access to the basic requirements of life; a place to live, food to eat, and a form of employment or access to education. Currently, the largest cause of refugees is the Syrian civil war, which has displaced over 2.1 million people. As a country of relative wealth, the United States should be able to provide refuge for many refugees, as well as provide monetary support to the refugees that they are not able to receive.
Since the earliest recorded history, there has always been one elusive title that a State has strived for, the title of Super Power. Power is one of the fundamental characteristics of the international system and the distribution of power among states. It is obvious that states are unequal in power and this “entails a number of important implications for international politics”. As a result of this lack of power, the ‘weak states’ desires and concerns are often neglected and the ‘strong states’ demands usually shape the international agenda. In the Modern Society, some would argue that we have two great powers in Russia and the United States, but if you measure and compare the two countries, The United States is more powerful. Some of these categories are population in which the U.S has more than double Russ...
Between January and November of this year more than 750,000 migrants have been estimated crossing into the EU’s borders compared to only 280,000 in the whole year during 2014 (www.bbc.com). This influx of refugees and asylum seekers from the Middle East has become a heavy burden for European Union policy makers. Many state leaders have opposing viewpoints and varying solutions to the crisis that is plaguing their region and as a result there has been little to no actions taken to solve this ever growing problem. This crisis should serve as prime example of global cooperation, and it should highlight the ability to come together internationally and deal with important problems that affect all individuals. The solution of the refugee crisis will
... and tension will use the leverage gained from interdependence as a weapon as against each other. E.g., Russia is using its power as a main supplier of gas and oil to weaken the harsh international condemnation.