Conflict in Syria What is going on??. Where is Syria?
Post on 24-Dec-2015
224 Views
Preview:
Transcript
Conflict in SyriaWhat is going on??
About SyriaSyria is a nation of about 21 million
people -- roughly 2 million more than the population of New York state.
The nation is about the same size as Washington state and slightly larger than North Dakota.
Syria is run by the minority sect known as Alawites, which make up 11.8 percent of the population.
About the GovernmentSyria is currently led by a man
named Bashar al-Assad, who assumed leadership in 2000 by a “non-democratic” vote
Civil War Era (March 5, 2011 – Present)Before the Civil War, Syria had a
diverse economy agriculture (22 percent of the economy), industry and excavation (25 percent), retail (23 percent) and tourism (12 percent).
Peaceful protests began over human rights violations, religious oppression, and government corruption
Civil War ContinuedPresident Assad used the military to
fire on the protesters, starting open rebellion
The Free Syrian Army was formed to counter the government attacks
As the war continued, the government started attacking its own people, including supporters, with weapons (including chemical) and famine
Pictures of the War
Pictures of the War
The Numbers Currently, the UN estimates over 100,000 people
have died during the course of the civil war An estimates 6.2 million people have been
forced to flee or lost their homes The Syrian Observatory for Human rights says
40,146 civilizations have been killed, including more than 4,000 women and more than 5,800 children.
Why does the US care?There is significant evidence that the
Syrian government used chemical weapons on its own people
Chemical Weapons are internationally banned, and considered a “red line” in warfare
Because of the location and influence of Syria on the Middle East, the US government is afraid rebel groups like the Taliban will acquire the chemical weapons and use them against us
What does the rest of the world think?Great Britain, one of our
strongest allies voted against helping the US in a war against Syria.
Russia and Iran both support the current president in Syria, and will not tolerant US involvement without a UN decision.
France supports US involvement
Current Status- AbroadThe UN is waiting for the results of their
investigation to decide if chemical weapons were used in Syria
The UN will be meeting to discuss what to do about Syria◦ Both President Obama and President Putin
(the president of Russia) will be present
Current Status- DomesticThe United States Congress
will be voting on September 9th on whether the US should send military forces into Syria
Supporters:◦President Obama (D)◦Secretary of State John Kerry (D)◦Senator John McCain (R)◦Nancy Pelosi, minority leader of
the House of Representatives (R)
Current Status- DomesticOpposition
◦Speaker of the House John Boehner (R)
◦Rand Paul, Senator from Kentucky (R)
◦US general public
YOU DECIDE
You are now members of the United States House of Representatives. Should we go to war with Syria? Why or why not?
top related