A Syrious Issue

A territory engulfed in total war. Land ravished by death and violence. Barbaric groups fighting one another in hopes of grabbing more land.

Widespread destruction in Syria. Photo

This doesn't sound like something that could happen in the modern world, but more like the happenings of Medieval times or actions akin to those of the Romans. Unfortunately though, this is the reality that Syria is forced to endure. A reality in which violent extremist groups are emerging and a reality where Syrians are killing Syrians. The extent of the crisis in Syria is almost hard for us to comprehend. Not even I could believe just how dire the situation was while I was researching it.



You may also expect the U.S. to intervene on a grand scale with all our military might. This, again, is not the case. But don't start drawing conclusions just yet. Perhaps one of the most crucial reasons you don't see America invading Syria like we invaded France in WWII or Kuwait in 1991, is that American's, simply put, have had enough.

Many Syrians lack basic essentials, like food and shelter. Photo

As The Atlantic affirms, the U.S. goes through cycles of interventions. For instance, at the start of the cycle, we may intervene in a foreign land for security or humanitarian reasons, like we did in Kuwait to oust the Iraqis. Then the American public becomes decreasingly tolerant of the monetary and human cost of our intervention. Then, we don't want to intervene for a while until we feel pressured by moral concerns or security interests.

Unfortunately for Syria, as The Atlantic points out, Syria is in a bad place at a bad time. Americans are tired of our continued efforts in the Middle East which have cost thousands of American lives and billions of taxpayer dollars. This is, of course bad news for Syrians wishing to flee to their war-torn homeland in search of refuge. In fact, the U.S. has accepted around 12,000 refugees since the start of the conflict in Syria in 2011, which doesn't sound like a lot when you realize 11 million Syrians have been displaced.  The U.S. really only started to accept these people after "Barack Obama made the commitment under pressure from Europe and the United Nations for the US to play a bigger role in confronting the global refugee crisis," according to The Guardian. This further proves how Americans are weary to get involved, after years spent in the Middle East.

Syrian refugees. Photo

However, don't think that America is just standing by—despite our lack of ground forces, the U.S. is sending hundreds of millions of dollars of aid and a slew of technology to help remedy the conflict.

Since 2011, the U.S. has given nearly $6 billion dollars in humanitarian aid to Syria, including a $364 million expenditure in September 2016. This money helps the UN and other organizations bring basic provisions to those in need, such food, water and medicine. This huge expenditure of money is a step in the right direction, as around 13.5 million people are in need of humanitarian aid in Syria. Personally, I support the U.S. funding of these humanitarian efforts because I feel we have a moral obligation to help those who cannot help themselves. 

But we aren't just sending money. We are sending American might in the form of airstrikes to wipe out extremist groups like al Qaeda. Just last month, in January, The New York Times reported that an American bomber aircraft killed more than 100 al Qaeda fighters in a training camp in Syria. Extremist groups are taking advantage of Syria's state of complete chaos. Still, the U.S., although not on the ground en masse, is waging war from the air in an attempt to stabilize the region. 

Smoke from an airstrike in Syria. Photo

Unfortunately, like the drone-strikes I wrote about in an earlier blog, airstrikes can cause civilian casualties. The principal argument against our use of air power in Syria is that collateral damage is too likely with the enemy in such close proximity to innocent lives. These airstrikes have killed hundreds of people and the U.S. isn't acknowledging them, according to The Guardian. This has led some people to wonder if our use of technology in the skies is ethical. 

Ultimately, I think our humanitarian aid and use of air power are effective ways of helping the ailing country of Syria. But what do you think? Should we send more money? More airstrikes or a ground invasion? I want to hear your thoughts!