Syria Civil War

2011: Uprising Turns Violent First...teenagers are arrested and tortured for painting pro-revolutionary slogans Second...Pro-democracy protests erupt in a southern city Third...Assad’s security forces fire on protesters Fourth...between March and July, thousands were in the streets protesting daily

Descent into Civil War Rebel brigades vs. government forces War of control of cities and towns By 2013, 90,000 dead; by 2015 250,000 dead Civil Wars have traditionally been left to country to resolve…. Has become Sunni v. Shia (Alawite) v. ISIS---Rebels v. Gov’t

May, 2015

War Crimes All sides have been accused of war crimes Includes: murder, torture, rape, forced disappearances Civilian Casualties Blocking access to basic necessities Food Water Healthcare Chemical Weapons on whole neighborhoods Problem: Only an international tribunal can prosecute for war crimes, but two major obstacles exist: 1) Who to prosecute; 2) will: the Security Council, incl. U.S., has repeatedly voted down resolutions to act.

Chemical Weapons Use of chemical weapons...or suspected use..became justification for involvement Obama on chemical weapons: source IBT (British) Hundreds killed in August 2013 by sarin gas Assad pressured to remove chemical weapons Problem: There is some doubt as to who is using the chemical weapons.

Humanitarian Crisis >4.5 million people have fled Syria since 2011 Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey have been the primary destination of refugees About 10% of refugees have fled to Europe Media Question: Why has the focus been on Europe rather than the camps in neighboring countries?

Assignment #2 Research The Arab Spring Respond to the following. Keep track and cite your sources. Do not use Wikipedia except to find other sources that are linked. What was it? Was there a distinction between perceptions of the events of Arab Spring between outsiders and citizens of the countries involved? In other words, did most Egyptians, Yemenis, etc. feel as if they were on the edge of revolution just as western media portrayed? ***Perhaps also keep in ear to the debate tonight and note the candidates’ thoughts.

Rebels and the Rise of Jihadists ISIS has complicated the war, taking large swaths of land in both Syria and Iraq. U.S. Coalition forces have been involved to remove ISIS Rebel forces divided over strategies and end goals ISIS has taken advantage of the civil unrest in this Muslim country. Was the involvement of ISIS unavoidable?

Peace Efforts It is unlikely that there will be a decisive military victory by either side. The UN has looked for political /diplomatic means to an end. Possibility of a cease-fire then transitional period Reality Check? ..To what extent have outsiders’ efforts at such means been successful in the past? (How would you research this?)

Proxy War Iran and Russia’s support for Assad American support for rebels Shia Lebanon’s support Sunni-dominated rebels supported by Turkey, U.S., France, UK, Jordan, Saudi Arabia In past conflicts such as Iraq War the U.S. supported Shia opposition governments..

Assignment: Who is Assad? Using at least 3 different sources (for purposes of cross-referencing).. Determine the response to your assigned question: How did he become president? [Describe the election process as well as why him..] What has been the nature of his regime? Explain how Assad was “groomed” for the role of president. What have been some of the actions of Assad that have been particularly provocative?