As most of you all know,
Syria
is in a civil war. The Arab spring uprisings turned violent when
Syria's
President (dictator) Assad cracked down on the protesters and thus sparked the
violent conflict. From that point on the world watched as the conflict escalated
with
Turkey
on the brink of all out war should the conflict spill over into their country
and possibly risk the Kurds taking the opportunity to succeed. And just
recently, there are reports of chemical weapons being used (however these
chemical weapons are most likely ones not listed in the chemical weapons ban
treaty, for if they were then the international community would be allowed to
go in and crush Assad). Needless to say this situation is a complete mess.
Pros of going in: One of the main reasons to go in is to
remove a dictator. Assad while having the title of President is not a true
elected leader. As with most countries that wish to fake a democracy they have
rigged elections and systems to keep certain specific people in power. This is
despite Assad trying to appease the protesters pre civil war with
constitutional reform.
Another reason to go in is that if the rebels win, there is a chance that a
democracy (a real one) will develop. These rebels seek the rights and privileges
that are granted to people in most free countries and they are willing to fight
for it. If we help them, then it allows a possible future alliance in the
Middle East (
America will no
longer just have
Israel
to rely on). In addition, once
Syria
is changed over to a new government, old ties with countries that may be
against our countries interests may cease (as in the case of
America versus
Iran).
Syria
is a puppet of
Iran in the
region and
Iran
flying in troops to help Assad is proof.
Iran is a rouge nation (at the
moment) and removing an ally may help suppress their ambitions.
Finally, some of the rebels are foreign fighters from other countries.
Unfortunately, some of them are radical Jihadists. If we help in some way then
we can surgically remove these elements from the rebellion, or even use them as
cannon fodder to do the dirty work while leaving the moderates safe to later
rebuild the country based on freedom and democratic principles.
Cons: Everything listed in the Pros section can back fire.
The new government of
Syria
once the conflict is over could be worse than Assad (case in point
Iran after its
revolution). So world may get an even more violent and dangerous rouge nation.
Ties even with
Iran
may even strengthen, and the country may become a training ground for future
jihadists. If we aid the rebels, we may just be giving weapons to the jihadists
themselves which could increase violence and blood shed throughout the entire
region. On top of that,
Iran
and other nations may become emboldened and develop nuclear bombs faster and
then follow that up by giving the bombs to their allies. All of this is a
dangerous proposition.
But we also have to remember that
America is war weary. The last two
wars we fought and the small brush fire conflicts in
Lebanon
and
Yemen
have stretched American forces thin.
America cannot be expected to win a
war for its allies and neutral nations anymore (at least not at the moment).
Also, our involvement may make the situation worse as some of the rebels seeing
that we are backing their comrades may see those same comrades as puppets of
the American government. This could result in the rebels fighting each other
both during and after Assad is removed from power.
Conclusion: For now we watch. We must look at the conflict
carefully and only give support on a needs based bases whether that be a show
of support on television to a small arm drop so the rebels can take out enemy
tanks. All support must be focused to only those rebels that we trust, and even
then how they got those weapons must be kept secret so as to prevent any sort
of negative influences that may destabilize the situation more than it already
has. From there we have to put our faith in the rebels that we helped to set up
a country that is friendly to the
U.S. Also, once the civil war is
over, the
U.S.
and other countries should offer aid in rebuilding (such as electricians,
plumbers or even experts in writing constitutions). We can get involved, but it
must be selective and it must be secretive. The rebels must win, but only the
ones who will not want to kill us after.
Yes I am a libertarian and I would prefer that the U.S. stay out
of the conflict. But unfortunately, libertarians are not in charge so my
conclusion is based on the U.S.
getting involved because it is almost certain that both the Republicans and
Democrats will push us into the conflict thinking it is our moral duty to do
so. Though I think they forget that it is our moral duty to avoid sending our
soldiers into harms way in the first place.
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