Thoughts on Syrian Crisis

 ARTICLE : Stronger sanctions urged by Friends of Syria

This is as good of a place to start as any. When reading the article above, I was overwhelmed by emotions. None of them were positive. I've only been watching the events unfold in Syria for few months, while the upraising has began about 16 months ago. The situation is seemingly getting worse and there is a lot of uproar in the international community. This uproar, in and out of itself, is mind-boggling to me. Yes, the situation is horrible : people are dying and homes are destroyed.  The death toll thus far is between 10, 000 to 14, 000 - depending on the source. Yet these numbers are not in themselves that outrageous, when compared to other conflicts in the world. For example:  "The International Rescue Committee says 45,000 people are dying every month in the central African state - a total of 5.4 million dead over the past decade." - DR Congo death toll more than 5m

Really, Syrian crisis hardly seems like a crisis when you take the state of other nations into the account. Why is all this buzz then? Oil? Political agenda of western states to to put in power a more USA friendly government? Perhaps. I rather doubt that the uproar of the international community is due the sincere concern of those nations. Otherwise, their concern would be placed more appropriately. What I found really interesting about this article is Clinton's comment:

"U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Russia and China "must pay a price" for blocking UN sanctions that might force Assad to step down."I don't think Russia and China believe they are paying any price at all — nothing at all — for standing up on behalf of the Assad regime," she said. "The only way that will change is if every nation represented here directly and urgently makes it clear that Russia and China will pay a price. Because they are holding up progress, blockading it. That is no longer tolerable.""

Oh, the irony! China will pay "a price" to whom? To the nation it loans billions of dollars on weekly basis to make sure its economy doesn't belly up in anouther week? Really Clinton, do not bite the hand that feeds you or you may get slapped. Oh, the arrogance! USA is threatening Russia and China, two of the major players in the world! Why? Because they disagree! Well, we all know how much democratic nations do not like being disagreed with! You either agree, or will take our democracy and run you over with it. True? Maybe? What about Iraq, Libya or Egypt? (Egypt: Islamists Kill Man For Walking With His Fiancee In Public Before Marriage, ‘It Is An Abomination’ - USA supported government in action) Or any other war, USA marched its big bum into... . IN WHAT CASE, did anything actually turn out great for the country/political player USA tried to "help". Anymore help, and it seems we're going to be face to face with WWIII. 

I think, disagree if you wish, that perhaps we need to need to take a step back before thinking about jumping into the crisis in the Middle East or other Muslim countries. Urge peace, help develop infrastructure, use economic sanctions, send humanitarian aid... but DO NOT think that you know better how to solve the political problems of the countries whose belief system are not familiar with. If they want a new government, let them fight for it themselves. In this way, they will only be able to blame themselves for the state of  their country. Perhaps consider Russian's stance on the situation :

"A senior Russian official said July 9 that Moscow is halting its weapons sales to Syrian authorities until the situation there calms down.Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the G20 summit June 20 that only the Syrian people have the right to decide whether their president, Bashar Assad, steps down. Putin said not all Syrians want a change in leadership and that all parties need to negotiate a solution to end the bloodshed.Russia reiterated June 9 that despite its growing concerns about the conflict, it will continue to oppose the outside use of force to end it." Syria in crisis

Stop supporting armed conflict. Supporters of the current government ( Russia) and supporters of the opposition (Western countries) should stop heating up the conflict by selling the arms to the friendly side. Military support of the opposition should never be an option, because it cuts down on their chances of becoming a legitimate government. Legitimate government should be chosen by people not by guns, especially not by foreign arms! Keep your arms in your country, don't extend them into the territory of others or they might get burned as they did in Iraq, Libya, Korea, Afghanistan.

Food for thought: "The Arab Spring replaced the harsh order of hated dictators with a flowering of neophyte democracies. But these governments--with weak mandates, ever shifting loyalties and poor security forces--have made the region a more chaotic and unstable place, a place more susceptible than ever to rogue provocateurs fomenting violent upheavals, usually in the name of faith," writes TIME's Bobby Ghosh.