The raging civil war in Syria that began in March of 2011 has been fought tooth and nail by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and the rebellious Free Syrian Army. Reports from last week indicate that chemical weapons have been used, which crosses a red line set by President Obama regarding direct U.S. support for the rebels. It is time for the West to directly support the rebels, giving them the boost in power needed to topple a dictator who is killing thousands of his own people.
The story in Syria has been developing for over two years; every day, more news of violence and bloodshed seems to pour through the media. With more than 60,000 Syrians confirmed dead as reported by CNN, though the actual total is probably closer to 100,000, the situation is indeed dire. Furthermore, the conflict has produced more than 700,000 refugees, who have fled to neighboring Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. There are also now two million internally displaced Syrians who have been uprooted from their homes as a result of the fighting that has turned many towns and provinces into states of constant battle and terror.
The Free Syrian Army and other rebel groups have made very substantial progress over the two years, seizing control of provinces and countrysides, especially in the north, as well as capturing strategic airfields and bombing the University of Damascus, where al-Assad himself was educated. Defectors from al-Assad’s regime have joined the rebels over the course of the conflict, including many who were in his inner circle of advisors.
Al-Assad has refused to give up his power, instead resorting to killing tens of thousands of his own people as he struggles to cling to it. Strangely, Western nations have refused to get involved, despite the extraordinary human rights abuses and Iran’s strong support for the regime. In part, this is due to the obstructionism of the Russians and the Chinese, who are preventing most intervention options.
Last week, Obama announced at a White House news conference that the U.S. has evidence that chemical weapons were used in the civil war but that it remains unclear as to who used them. “We don’t know how they were used, when they were used, who used them,” said Obama. Although Obama has referred to the use of chemical weapons as a “game changer” in the administration’s policy towards Syria, he stressed that he needed more information before authorizing further action.
But in a situation that is bad and getting worse, waiting is a crime to the innocent citizens that will be killed every day the conflict rages. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) calls for the use of U.S. cruise missiles to destroy the regime’s aircraft and create a no-fly zone. Additionally, the U.S. needs to train and arm the Free Syrian Army to better fight against the better-trained and better-equipped regime’s forces.
Why should the U.S. and its allies expend the resources to do this? Because there is a humanitarian crisis at hand, and because such an intervention was successful in Libya earlier in the Arab Spring. In March of 2011, a multi-state coalition led by the U.K. and France intervened militarily in Libya by imposing a naval blockade, cruise missiles and a no-fly zone to stop dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s airstrikes against his own people. Gaddafi was captured and killed late that October.
While Syria and Libya are vastly different, the short and successful intervention in Libya was enough to help rebel forces throw off a dictator who had ruled for decades. The West needs to intervene the same way in Syria to give the rebels the same opportunity against the well-armed loyalist forces. The confirmation of the use of chemical weapons makes this call all the more urgent. Otherwise, thousands more innocent Syrians will be slaughtered every day as the civil war stalemate drags on.
