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Ali Rinfrette
Mrs. Whitney
Composition II Pd. 5A
17 January 2014
United States Involvement in Syrian Conflict
You often hear of conflict between different countries, but it is a rare occasion to hear of
war breaking out within the borders of one country. A civil war has begun in Syria, creating
violence, death, and fear regularly for Syrian citizens. After the death of the thirty- year Syrain
ruler Hafez al-Assad, his son Bashar al-Assad took over the presidency, and violence has flooded
the streets of Syria. Assad has rid the Syrian citizens of their rights which have resulted in a
rebellion. Assad decided to resolve the rebellion by killing, torturing, and arresting anyone who
speaks out against the government. Assad's actions have turned an insurgency, or rebellion, into
a civil war. The president, however, claims it is not him who is ordering these brutal responses to
the rebellion, although he is commander in chief. There is also proof that Assad has used
chemical and biological weapons on Syrian citizens after stating he would not. Overall, Bashar
al-Assad is harming his own citizens at free will. Now the United States has a decision to make:
Should troops be sent to help innocent Syrians? If the United States chooses to retaliate to
Assad's violence, the support from other countries will be needed. Without other countries'
support, the Syrian conflict will create more violence and put a target on the United States.
As if the United States does not have enough issues to deal with already, entering Syrian
territory will lead to more violence from both sides of the conflict. Not only is the Assad regime
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aggressive, but the rebels have developed some extreme terrorist groups that president Obama
clearly states the United States will not support. He said, Not everybody who is participating on
the ground in fighting Assad are people who we are comfortable with. There are some who, I
think, have adopted an extremist agenda, an anti-U.S. agenda, and we are making clear to
distinguish between the two elements (Syria in Crisis Follow-Up 1). With interfering in the
Syrian conflict, the United States needs to be cautious with the enemy they are going up against,
because some rebel groups are against the United States, including their own government. This
would mean the United States would be fighting a two front war with two different enemies in
the same country. Along with the aggressive rebel groups, there has been evidence that Assad
has increased his aggression. The Syrian military launched missiles known as Scud-Type
missiles , or a type of long-range surface to surface guided missile able to be fired from a mobile
launcher. The targets of the missiles were the rebel groups in northern Syria. However, these
missiles are known for their inaccuracy, therefore it is a guarantee that innocent civilians lost
their lives along with the rebel groups (Syria in Crisis 2). If these missiles are so inaccurate,
one can also assume United States troops based in Syria would be harmed by the Scud missile
military attacks. With the unpredictable behavior of the rebels and the Assad regime, the United
States troops will be in harms way. The Assad regimes goal is to eliminate all anti-government
rebels, including the United States troops who are giving support to part of the rebel groups that
are showing no unnecessary aggression. Reports described the Syrian government was shelling
towns for days, and residents said that soldiers had then sealed off the town and that pro-
government militiamen had arrested and killed residents. (Syria: US Says 2) Reports also
show, rebel fighters who had been using a Syrian town Daraya as a base had withdrawn ahead
of the offensive. Activists said the majority of the victims, mostly men, but also some women
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and children, had been executed with shots at close range (Syria: US Says 2). Another
example of the regimes violence is sixty executed civilians were found burned in a garbage
dump in Qaboun (Syria: US Says 2). United troops would be treated equally or more
aggressive than the rebel groups without the support from other capable countries.
Going into Syria without other countries military and moral support would be a suicide
mission for the United States. This would result in the United States being Syria's only enemy.
Many United States citizens feel it is irrational decision to put ourselves in the middle of the
conflict when one was just recently resolved in Iraq. United States Kentucky Senator Rand Paul
stated, "the United States should only deploy forces if its interest were directly threatened
"(Syria in Crisis 2). Also, if the United States takes action, the rebel groups will interpret it as a
go-ahead to show violence towards the Syrian government because the United States is
supporting them. This would possibly cause more violence and conflict (Unrest 1).
Consequently uprisings in other countries might also begin because people will feel they have
support from the United States if they start a rebellion against their own government, which is
why the United States would need support in order to take action against the regime violence.
Another way acting alone would negatively affect the United States would be the weakening of
military. The Syrian military should not be taken lightly. They are fully equipped with soldiers
and artillery. This means if the United States enters battle alone, they will be fighting a
complicated battle. The Syrian military would not go down without fighting back, resulting in a
very costly war for the United States (Syria in Crisis 1). The large rebel groups would all need
military support, which would add to the expenses. The Syria in Crisis article stated, "U.S
military intervention might end up supporting rebel groups in Syria. Those against military
action also feel that Assad will be difficult to topple and that military action could lead to a
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protracted and expensive engagement in the region (Syria in Crisis 2)." Also, without the
support of other countries, many citizens fear that the United States actions will result in another
long war without a clear end (Unrest 8). This is similar to the war in Iraq which cost the United
States well over two trillion dollars with the issue never being fully resolved. Overall, the United
States retaliation without support from other countries would have an end result of them being
the only enemy of the Assad regime, a weakened military, and an enormous expense that would
only have a negative effect on the United States, bringing them to center of the conflict.
The United States would become Syrias only foreign enemy if they entered themselves
in the conflict. Besides the anti-government rebel groups, the United States would be the only
other target of the regimes violence. Syria is known to have possession of the fourth largest
chemical weapon stockpile in the world (Syria in Crisis 1). Evidence has shown that both
sides of the conflict hold chemical and biological weapons, and the United States would become
vulnerable to these weapons if entering the war. At the same time, the United States are allies
with neighboring countries of Syria, including Israel and Turkey. Not only would the United
States become susceptible to chemical or biological attacks, but so would its allies (Syria: US
Says 1). An example of a chemical weapon used to attack Syrian civilians would be a nerve
agent called Sarin, which was the first reported use of chemical weapons. The Sarin attack came
on 21
st
of August, near Damascus at about 2:45 local time, and again at 02:47 in Zamalka, an
adjoining district of Damascus (Syria in Crisis Follow-Up 1). The Sarin release caused its
victims to have shortness of breath, disorientation, runny nose, eye irritation, blurred vision,
nausea, vomiting, general weakness, and eventual loss of consciousness (Syria Chemical
Attack 1). The United States could become victims to this type of attack if they decided to aid
the anti-government groups in the rebellion. A Syrian foreign ministry spokesman stated, the
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weapons would not only be used against Syrians, but also against foreign invaders (Syria: US
Says 1). United States officials thought this was a warning against western intervention. Not
only would the United States become vulnerable to the chemical and biological weapons, but so
would its allies. Allies like Israel, Turkey, and Jordan would be at risk of an attack because they
are much closer to the Syrian border. The Syrian military has few missiles that could reach U.S
Naval Vessels stationed in the Mediterranean Sea, and the United States has defensive equipment
for these types of attack (Smith-Spark 1). Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, has warned that
Syria will "defend itself against any aggression (Smith-Spark 1). To go along with this,
Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader al-Halqi also said the Syrian Army "is on maximum readiness
and fingers are on the trigger to confront all challenges" (Smith- Spark 1). This shows how
serious the end result of this issue could be. All United States allies would be at risk of an attack
if the United States takes action, and some countries are not prepared for military strikes. The
United States would not only be hurting itself, but also allies, which they cannot afford to lose.
As stated previously, without other countries' support, the Syrian conflict will create
more violence and put a target on the United States. The rebel groups have a continuous
escalation in attacks on their own government, and will use this aggression equally on the United
States. These rebel groups are prepared to attack on all United States troops that enter Syrian
territory and the Syrian government leaders have a similar agenda with the ability to strike
Unites States land. From this, one can conclude that the United States would be fighting two
extremely aggressive enemies in a small territory, and without support. Going in alone makes the
United States the only opposing force to the Syrian government and the aggressive rebel groups.
Consequently, the United States will be supplying for the non-aggressive rebel groups, putting
troops in harms way, and depleting its own military. The United State also has to keep in mind
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the chemical weapon issue. With Syrias large stock of chemical weapons, the United States is
putting itself in the middle of the conflict; they would need to prepare for a chemical weapon
attack on its own citizens and surrounding allies. The United States allies, Israel, Turkey, and
Jordan should be greatly considered in the United States decision to act on the Syrian Civil
conflict. They will be the primary victims of Syrias chemical weapons being neighboring
countries to Syria. Overall, the United States has a vast number of issues to consider with
entering the clash of Syrian groups. The United States needs to evaluate all the positive
consequences and the negative consequences of including itself in the countless terrible events
taking place in Syria. So the questions remains, should the United States intervene the civil war
without other countries' support, knowing it will create more violence and put a target on the
United States and its allies.