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Should the U.S. intervene in Syria?

Syria protests: opposition supporters launch attack on Homs Army College

A Brief Overview What are they getting themselves into? Should the United States intervene in Syria? This is a frequently asked question. Many people are concerned with the fact that American soldiers are again venturing into strange

Freja 2 territories with seemingly no point in proceeding. The Muslim Brotherhood has started a revolt against the Syrian government. Barak Obama has been making rash, as some might say, decisions about the United States getting involved in the Middle East lately. He boldly stated, "That's an issue that doesn't just concern Syria. It concerns our close allies in the region, including Israel. We cannot have a situation where chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people." He added, "We have communicated in no uncertain terms with every player in the region, that that's a red line for us, and that there would be enormous consequences if we start seeing movement on the chemical weapons front, or the use of chemical weapons." (OnTheIssue, 14) What exactly is happening in Syria? Recently, Syria elected a new president, Bashar al-Assad, after the previous president, Hafez al-Assad, also his father, passed away. Currently, some radical Muslims dislike the Assad regime leading Syria and seek to overthrow him. These Muslim groups, also known as the Muslim Brotherhood, are creating violent protests all over Syria and have now started a rife between the Syrian government, their army, and terrorists. Of course, as in the process of any revolution, thousands upon thousands of helpless innocent women, children, and elderly people must pay with their lives and the lives of their loved ones for the antics of these three assemblies.

Why does the US Want to Intervene? The question of WHY America is proposing to get involved in the happenings of the Syrian hierarchy is quite simple to answer, as long as one is willing to look at facts. What Obama

Freja 3 is telling people to believe is that Bashar al-Assad is a tyrannical murderer who is killing innocent citizens and must be stopped. His actual words on the matter, In a world with many dangers, this menace must be confronted. Now, after careful deliberation, I have decided that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets, (Huffington, 1) as taken from the Huffington Post in their article, Obama Says US Should Take Military Action in Syria, will Seek Congress Authorization for use of Force. But surely this isnt the case? Or is there an underlying reason for such drastic measures to be taken? Apparently, if the reader has been staying on top of things going on in the American government, they will have known that America is in debt: and not just any debt, but a whopping $17,156,117,102,204.49, winning the United States first place among national debt holders. This means that every single U.S. citizen, be that man, woman, or child, owes $56,467 for their share of the US public debt. (Manuel, 1) and now, to add on top of all that, one finds out that the Federal Reserve System (hereby referred to as the FRS) has been printing money without gold to back it up. This means that the FRS is making money out of thin air, with no value, basically making a U.S. dollar worth about as much as a trampled receipt in the parking lot of Walmart. Starting a third global war would mean great help for the United States. America has by far the most advanced military equipment in the world, and all the other innocuous countries will come knocking on the door to buy some weapons, tanks, airplanes, battle cruisers, etc., meaning that the United States will receive a sudden, very harsh increase in weapons production.

What does the Rest of the World Think?

Freja 4 The Middle East Channel states that following a 285-272 vote against a motion by British Prime Minister David Cameron to authorize a military response in principle, British defense secretary Phillip Hammond confirmed Britain would not be getting involved in any action against Syria Britain will not be involved, although adding, I dont expect that the lack of British participation will stop any action. (Casey, Haber, 1) So even Britain herself disagrees with the United States. Russian president Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin said that The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and many political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syrias borders. (Putin, 1) this obviously points at Russias unwillingness to proceed with military action. Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, said military action would not help, but also repeated that China opposed anyone using chemical weapons. A political resolution has, from the very beginning, been the only way out for the Syrian issue, Wang said in a statement on the ministries website. (Reuters, 1) China is against the United States going in, Russia is against the United States going in, and the UK is also against the United States going in. Would America be the only Benefactor? The only other group that would be satisfied by military intervention is the Muslim Brotherhood, which is trying to get Bashar al-Assad out of Syrian government. This political group was originally formed in 1928, its headquarters are situated in Cairo, and its current leader is Mohammed Badie. Their success in overthrowing the al-Assad regime would bring the Brotherhood to power, meaning that Syria would be under control of a radical Muslim group that wants to force its religious beliefs on the country, annihilating anything and anyone that gets in their way.

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Yes, the U.S. Should Intervene in Syria There is much force backing Obamas plan to intervene in Syria, and many groups are lobbying for the proposed intervention to go on as planned. These groups include those who would directly benefit from this plan the FRS being among the top three supporters. These aggregations cant just go out and publicly state that war is good for the wars sake; they have to influence society, thus forming our public policies. An indication of the enormity of expenditure by military contractors to influence public policy is provided by Harvard historian Jill Lapore in The Force, an article that appeared in the Jan. 28th issue of the New Yorker magazine. Lapore reports that Lockheed Martin has contracts with the pentagon worth about $30 billion annually the weapons manufacturer lavished campaign donations on in all to 36 members of the 112th Congress. (Daily News Miner, 2) The U.S. Dollar Needs Saving! The U.S. is currently sagging under trillions seventeen trillion to be exact of dollars of debt. War will bring many countries to the American doorstep, to buy all kinds of weapons. Naturally, this will create more jobs for American citizens, making the unemployment numbers go down, since there is a sudden increase in the production of weapons. In December of 1913 the FRS was created, and practically immediately, in August of 1914, World War I breaks out. As a result, not just several empires were destroyed, but several gold-based currencies, several financial systems ceased to exist, and the U.S. dollar and the British pound became the strongest world currencies. This was the beginning of our modern day financial system.

Freja 6 The next step was World War II, at the end of which the U.S. dollar became what it is today. In 1944 in Bretton Woods, USA, was conducted a conference where the winners were building the post-war world. During this conference, it was decided that the U.S. dollar would become the only world-wide currency. What did all of this boil down to? All the worlds trade was now conducted in U.S. dollars. A certain gold-based equivalent of the American dollar was established, but as time went by, the Americans started to release dollars in quantities far exceeding the gold reserve of the United States. This is where the colossal debt of the United States came from. U.S. dollars are now useless pieces of paper and metal coins that have no value, considering that in 1973 President Nixon announced the U.S. dollar has no gold content any more. A Russian economist, Nicolai Starikov, describes the situation as follows: So what is this debt of the United States simply put? The United States emits money that is not based on anything, and a private enterprise called the Federal Reserve System loans the money to the state. Quite the complicated system is created, but the essence of it is rather simple: if the U.S. budget doesnt have enough money for the new aircraft carriers, the support of some young democracies abroad, paying out the benefits and allowances to citizens, or for anything else, the United States unlike the rest of the world dont have to work in order to make that money. They simply borrow it from the Federal Reserve System. Then this money gets into the budget so the U.S. can execute its spendings, but! The problem is, the worlds economy now has a great amount of notbacked-by-gold (or anything, really) dollars that need to somehow be sucked out. (Starikov, 2) This is done by the system of so-called Independent Central Banks, whose main function is to buy out treasury notes of the United States. But all this huge enterprise only works if everyone is buying U.S. treasuries. If all of a sudden the demand for them drops, an unavoidable collapse follows. This is why the main guarantee of the American dollar is not the American gold reserve or the American industry, as some liberal economists have you believe, but the American military.

Freja 7 The financial system would come to a halt today. China, Russia, and other countries are becoming malaise to buying American treasury notes. As an alternative, the Euro emerges, the Yuan strengthens its position. The world simply doesnt have the unimaginable amount of money needed to keep on buying out the American treasury notes. The system needs a reboot. And now think back to when the dollar was established: twice global wars helped the U.S. to come out of a crisis and take another step towards world dominance. Now America needs a war on a global scale once again. This war will bring exclusive pluses to the U.S. economy. This economy has exhausted itself, hasnt it? Thats why a good explanation is released now to justify why people are getting less and less well-off. War and the difficulties associated with war were always the best explanations needed throughout human history.

We Were All Poorly Aware of Things Going on in the Middle East These past few years have been rather rocky for people living in the Middle East, especially those in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and now Syria. Jonathan Powell in his article When to Quarrel with the Devil declares that In my view, we were too starry-eyed at the beginning of 2011, not envisioning the obvious problems that would arise, and we are too gloomy now, expecting the whole enterprise to collapse into chaos just because voters in Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia have opted for Islamist parties in free and fair elections, (Powell, 1) meaning that America should have been more aware of what was going on down there. He adds, I asked a leading official in the region how soon Bashar al-Assad would fall. He thought for a moment and replied: somewhere between one week and three years. A rather wide time frame, but it is clear that the ruling clan will have to go, given that the people on the streets have broken through the fear barrier. (Powell, 2) This pattern of uninformed intervention has been happening

Freja 8 for a very long time, at least since the CIA overthrew the democratically elected Iranian government in the early 50s and the massive campaigns to discredit Egypts Nasser throughout the fifties and sixties began. Also, our continual investment in the security of the Saudi royal family since the 1930s should be taken into account as well. But, to look at the most recent chain of events leading up to colossal American interventionism in the Middle East and South Asia, one needs to research America and Saudi Arabias support of the jihadists in Afghanistan. America gets to show off Her Fancy New Weaponry The United States, according to Roy Lanner in his recent poll on The Top Ten website, sits ranked in second place on military advancement, declaring that America has the most hightech and modern troops in the world. Fredrick Kagan, in his article What to do About Syria, states that Irans own military and security forces are active in Syria in defense of the Assad regime. (Kagan, 1) So Iran is another country the United States would have to go against, but their military level isnt too much to worry about. Americas main plan of action is to overthrow the mendacious Assad regime, right? But in order to do so, the U.S. must eliminate all their means of defense. Kagan adds that In order to use the weapons, Assads forces must remove them from any [such] protective facilities, load them onto vehicles, drive them through the war-torn streets of a conflict zone, set them up, and fire them. (Kagan, 1) So, the United States would have to devise a plan to keep Syrian forces from opening fire in such a way, or any way, for that matter. Kagan concludes by remarking, Using such advanced munition, moreover, would require putting manned aircraft over Syrian airspace, which in turn means attacking Syrian air defense in advance, (Kagan, 2) thus making them utterly helpless and unable to fight back.

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No, the U.S. Should Stay out of Syria and Mind their own Business Now the reader has heard all from the side for sending military down into Syria, stating that Bashar al-Assad is a cruel, bloodthirsty dictator with only his own good in mind. Now they get to learn about the side against seeing American troops being sent down. Comparing the Situation in Syria to that of Iraq Figuratively speaking, the situation in Syria doesnt differ that much from that of Iraq eleven years ago, in 2002. Megan Finch in her article Death Covers Baghdad Today interviewed an American nurse, Cathy Breen, who was stationed in Iraq during most of the war. Finch quotes Breen on the subject, I was more than once asked to be a witness on the stand, and I was never allowed to speak about the war or present photos to juries. Imagine that I could have shown photos of orphans and said, this is what the protestors are trying to prevent. (Finch, 1) This points to the fact that the U.S. didnt want the rest of the world to know what was really going on in the Middle East at the time. Now, of course, things have blown over. Have they really, though? When Finch asked Breen what the Iraqis say about Americans, Breen answered, I had an opportunity to talk with a holy man, a teacher of the Quran. I had quite a long time with him with an excellent translator. I was with him I the evening, in his home. I met his wife and kids, and the next day we travelled together. And I asked him what he felt the effects of violence have been on Iraqis. A little bit into the conversation, he said, and I quote, we consider the American people, as represented by the American soldiers, who fight against us, as war criminals. We saw how they were cruel and savage, how tanks ran over innocent people. It became normal for households to lose loved ones. We saw terrorists, whom me caught and handed over to the U.S. troops, later released. Many

Freja 10 wrongs are accredited with Islam. The U.S. was wrong to bring terrorism to Iraq. (Finch, 2) This paints a nice picture of the time: Iraqi citizens hide in their houses or refuges, whatever they have left as notorious American soldiers rampage their town, pillaging, annihilating everything in their path. Cathy Breen was further asked what the Iraqis think of the state their country has been left in, and this is what she had to say: and then, after a while, a young woman trusted herself to speak, and she said, Its not about the water or electricity. You have destroyed everything. You have destroyed our country. You have destroyed our ancient civilization. You have destroyed what is inside of us. You have taken our smiles form us. You have taken our dreams. Another said, You dont destroy everything and then say were sorry. You dont commit crimes and say sorry. No, it will not be forgotten. It is not written on our hearts, it is carved into our hearts. (Finch, 3) before the intervention, Americans were welcomed into the border limits of Iraq with open arms now theyre looked upon as scum, dirt, putting looks of disgust and hatred on the faces of Iraqis. Now, to peruse the current situation, Megan Finch also quotes Cathy Breen, all my kids are now very afraid. In the night, when they are sleeping they just wake up screaming and hug me. They start to see bad dreams and every morning my little daughters ask me, Daddy, please dont die. Now we are hearing many threats from the Shia that if America attacks Syria, or if the Syrian regime will topple, the Sunni people in Baghdad, especially those living on the East banks of the Tigris River, will be killed. (Finch, 4) This life in current Iraq, post-America. People are afraid to leave their homes, children beg their parents to survive the day. Is this what is in store for Syria? What Leading Officials Say Of course, as in any important, pressing matter, one would like to hear what the beloved officials say on this subject. William Jasper in his article Syria, Obama, Putin, and the UN

Freja 11 declares that with polls showing staunch public opposition to another foreign war, little support in congress, and little to no allied or international support for the venture, the Obama White House was forced to back off from its original plans for an immediate assault on the Assad regime in Damascus. (Jasper, 1) This is great news for everybody; Syria gets some extra time to get their shtuff together, Russia because a third world war might not be held at their doorstep. Jasper also informs that during his 2008 presidential campaign, senator Obama famously stated, I was a constitutional professor, which means unlike the current president I actually respect the constitution. His performance as president proves indisputable evidence that his disdain for the constitution surpasses even that of George W. Bush, who similarly usurped power egregiously, so with regard to committing our nation to war. (Jasper, 1) Basically what Jasper is saying is that Obama needs to cool off, in the sense of geopolitics, to be more focused on redressing his own government, instead of gallivanting about the world, getting in peoples way. America is already ranked among the top three countries in the world by military advancement, what more does he need? Jasper concludes by boldly declaring, Russia, which has the largest stockpile of chemical weapons in the world, and has provided these weapons to Assads regime in Syria (and may have provided them to Assads opposition as well) now poses as the instrument of peace. President Obama and those who control him are content to see Putin and the UN celebrated as peacemakers while the United States is once again seen the world over as the warmongering villain. (Jasper, 2)

No, the U.S. Should Stay out of Syria and Mind their Own Business

Freja 12 I am firmly against the United States sending military intervention to anywhere, not just Syria. Especially since theyre not asking for help, and instead theyre interfering with the flow of things. I do believe certain elements of the rebellion are asking for Western help because the government doesnt need to ask for help because theyre getting help from all sides: Iran, Hezbollah, and Russia. Take Iraq, for example. After having intervened there, the Iraqis visions of America as a great, compassionate nation were crushed. U.S. troops brought with them much death and destruction, It became normal for households to lose loved ones, (Finch, 2) according to Cathy Breen, an American nurse stationed in Iraq at the time. She added that now, talking to a friend of hers still living in Iraq, people are on a level of fearing the American soldiers. The situation is terrible. Since weeks we are guarding ourselves in our village. Six people were killed as a reaction of a car bomb, and two of the victims was my cousin and his wife. They were going for shopping with the kids, and the militia killed the parents in front of the kids inside the car. (Finch, 3) And so, having gone from a happy and jubilant country to a dark, gloomy one, filled with hatred towards the malicious American soldiers, Iraq is a perfect example of the noxious American good intent. The feelings of the U.S. soldiers who are deployed to Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and all other countries who have been causing trouble for the U.S should be taken into consideration as well. All my friends who are either related to someone in the military, or who are in the military themselves, say that they are willing to do whatever would be necessary to protect their country, but many of them strongly disagree with the necessity to go to Syria and kill more innocent souls. So far, in total, there have been 60,000 deaths recorded, (Jolly, 2) according to David Jolly in his article Death Toll in Syrian Civil War near 93,000, U.N. Says. And thats not

Freja 13 including the estimated 11,000 children, adorable little five-and-six-year-olds, killed, for no apparent reason. I cant really say that that is something Id be willing to be part of either, since it would end up almost doubling, maybe even tripling the number of victims. And all of this is to say nothing of the fact that the rest of the world is stubbornly against any kind of intrusion on Syrian ground. "[An American attack] could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance." (Putin, 2) this is what the Russian government is telling the U.S. to keep in mind, although they probably know this through the several times they have been warned about the military counterstrikes that would be held against America if they do intervene, with the irrevocable possibility of starting a third global war. Basically, just stay out of Syria! Plain and simple. If we leave them alone, theyll leave us alone, and, frankly, Mr. Obama should be putting more attention and effort into his own country, instead of waltzing off to play hero in other areas.