By snoadmin
After months of political upheavals in the Middle East, Syria has become the latest country on the brink of an uprising. After over a decade under the rule of Bashar al-Assad, Syrians are calling for political reforms and the end of al-Assad’s reign altogether. Now Syria’s political and regional allies, including Iran and Hezbollah, have begun to voice concerns for the embattled nation. In addition, many Syrian youths are now calling out to leaders in those neighboring nations for aid. With Syria embroiled in political battles, neighboring nations shouldn’t get involved in the crisis, despite their status as Syrian allies.
Becoming involved in Syrian political problems at this point in the conflict, is too risky a move for neighboring countries such as Turkey. There simply isn’t enough to benefit from jumping into the fray. Turkish president Abdullah Gul was quoted by CNN.com as saying, “We have reached a point where anything would be too little, too late. We have lost our confidence.” Despite pleas from Syrians desperate for aid, the sentiment is a common one throughout the region.
Previously, Syrians rejected the idea of receiving international aid-most likely due to NATO bombing Libya. But, after thousands of deaths (CNN reported 17 in just one day) resulting from brutality at the hands of government leaders and their supporters, Syrians seem to have changed their minds. Some have even taken to making YouTube videos to plea for help ranging from everything to a no-fly zone to weapons for protestors. Some have even called for others to take up arms against the regimes themselves.
But, other Middle Eastern countries, who’ve been vocal in expressing their concerns and opposition of al-Assad, are reluctant to fight for change. They’ve gone so far as to warn al-Assad that without change, his reign will end similarly to those of Libya’s Muammar Gadafi and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, but have yet to engage in any action. And with instability rocking the country, staying uninvolved is probably the best choice. If the Syrian government is behind thousands of murders of its own citizens who are hungry for change, there’s no telling what they’d do to foreign citizens fighting on behalf of Syrian political reform. Syrians, despite how difficult it will be, will have to face this one on their own.
Then there’s the question of whether or not the United States should get involved. The United States has played a somewhat limited role in Middle Eastern political fares recently. Only after the crisis in Libya became dire did Pres. Obama decide to send troops in. And even then, he pledged that the U.S. would only play a “supporting role” in bringing the conflict to an end. He claimed that America’s role in the struggle would be “reduced significantly” from what we’ve done in previous Middle Eastern conflicts. We should employ a similar tactic here as well. We shouldn’t interfere in international conflicts just because we can. We should try to let Syria settle the conflict for as long as we possibly can. If the situation becomes too dangerous, which it may be very soon, we should enter Syria with the intention of helping overthrow al-Assad. After that, governmental reform should be left to the Syrians.
Ultimately, the instability of the Syrian government combined with the possibility of more Syrian civilian deaths makes it too dangerous for Syria’s allies like Iran, Hezbollah and Turkey to get involved in the conflict. The United States should also remain unattached for as long we can. We should hold out until the situation becomes extremely dire. Until then, we’re afraid to say it’s best that Syrians deal with the crisis for themselves as long as possible.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.
