Sometimes, it is difficult to understand certain news stories. You almost feel intimidated by the complexity of everything that had taken place to make the situation what it has become.
Such is the case with me regarding Syria. The civil war is an unbelievable tragedy there, and it seemed to come from the Arab Spring, which at the time, seemed like a promising regional, mostly peaceful revolution comparable to what happened in eastern Europe in the fall of 1989, and the ensuing months.
However, we all know that, unfortunately, things quickly seemed to deteriorate from there. Yemen clamped down on the peaceful protests as I recall. Things did not wind up so great in Egypt, either.
But nowhere did things turn out as sour as it has in Syria. The civil war there has displaced millions, killed at least tens of thousands, and completely destabilized the country. ISIS took over huge sections of the country, and although it appears that Bashar al-Assad is again assuming control over most of the nation, the war rages on. It has already been referred to as the greatest humanitarian crisis thus far of the 21st century to this point (admittedly still young, though), and the ramifications will likely be remembered for many decades to come.
It seems that horrific headlines are being made in the Middle East every single day, and nowhere have these headlines been as persistent for the past seven or so years as in Syria. It has been the single worst humanitarian crisis in the world for years, and despite what is going on in Yemen presently, the chemical attacks over the weekend shows that Syria still remains as likely the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
So, what exactly is going on in Syria? How did things reach this point, where regular chemical attacks are being launched against Syrian citizens, allegedly with support from Iran and Russia, yet with Syria, Russia, and Iran all officially denying it? They blame the rebels, and the support that these rebels get from the West. Who is telling the truth? Who is lying? Are the rebels from ISIS, or from some other factions that took the opportunity of the vacuum left by departing ISIS forces in order to take over and, if you will, stake their claim?
Who exactly is fighting now? And if millions of Syrians have been displaced and left their homes, where did they all go? And had it reached the point where Western military involvement is absolutely needed, or is that just another cynical power play on the side of Western powers, with greedy big oil corporations hammering the drums of war again?
These are some of the questions that I think are inevitable for anyone who, like me, hears about the Syrian conflict, yet feels a bit overwhelmed by it all, and puzzled by the seeming ambiguity and lack of consistency from the various reports.
Hopefully, the link to the article below might help to bring a little bit of clarity to a situation that has proven tragic for entirely too long, and where it seems that everyone blames everyone else for the evils and/or for allowing evils to continue happening there.
It seems that horrific headlines are being made in the Middle East every single day, and nowhere have these headlines been as persistent for the past seven or so years as in Syria. It has been the single worst humanitarian crisis in the world for years, and despite what is going on in Yemen presently, the chemical attacks over the weekend shows that Syria still remains as likely the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
So, what exactly is going on in Syria? How did things reach this point, where regular chemical attacks are being launched against Syrian citizens, allegedly with support from Iran and Russia, yet with Syria, Russia, and Iran all officially denying it? They blame the rebels, and the support that these rebels get from the West. Who is telling the truth? Who is lying? Are the rebels from ISIS, or from some other factions that took the opportunity of the vacuum left by departing ISIS forces in order to take over and, if you will, stake their claim?
Who exactly is fighting now? And if millions of Syrians have been displaced and left their homes, where did they all go? And had it reached the point where Western military involvement is absolutely needed, or is that just another cynical power play on the side of Western powers, with greedy big oil corporations hammering the drums of war again?
These are some of the questions that I think are inevitable for anyone who, like me, hears about the Syrian conflict, yet feels a bit overwhelmed by it all, and puzzled by the seeming ambiguity and lack of consistency from the various reports.
Hopefully, the link to the article below might help to bring a little bit of clarity to a situation that has proven tragic for entirely too long, and where it seems that everyone blames everyone else for the evils and/or for allowing evils to continue happening there.
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN SYRIA? EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PROXY WAR BETWEEN U.S., RUSSIA, IRAN AND TURKEY BY TOM O'CONNOR ON 3/3/18:
http://www.newsweek.com/whats-happening-syria-everything-you-need-know-proxy-war-us-russia-iran-turkey-829412
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