Chaos in Syria

The article "Netanyahu on Syrian Options: 'Bad, bad and worse'," found in The Jerusalem Post, discussed a major issue in Syria. The article mentions the Bipartisan Congressional Delegation in which  three delegates from the United States met with the Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, to discuss problems with Syria regarding violence and chemical weapons. Before going into further discussion with this article, it is important to know how Syria got to the state in which it currently finds itself.

The New York Times presented a great article explaining the conflict in Syria. In 2011 residents of a small city began to protest the torture by the government, of students who put anti-government graffiti on walls. The President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad responded by attacking those protesters and that caused more protests to spread across the country. The government responded by sending tanks to cities and opened fire on demonstrators, which led to violent protests and with that, the government was able to justify an escalation of force. As the attacks dragged, soldiers began to turn against the government. As the opposition grew, they formed the Syrian National Council, which was an opposition government in exile. Soon after that, the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces was formed. This was an organization that unified different opposition groups into one to gain international recognition and more financing and military aid. Britain, France and Turkey were a few of the countries that recognized the coalition, but there were several extremist Islamist groups involved in the conflict that rejected the coalition. The Unites States wanted to get approval from the United Nations to intervene in Syria, but other countries, like Russia, did not allow it. Countries helping opposition groups were concerned that the money and arms they sent could end up in the hands of extremist groups who could further destabilize Syria. As of 2013 more than 60,000 people are believed to be dead and more than 400,000 Syrian civilians have fled to neighboring countries.

As we know Syria finds itself in the middle of a civil war, in which nobody has control. The United States and Israel have made it clear that they have a "close relation in all matters, including Syria." The Prime Minster of Israel believes their close cooperation is good because together they can keep the stability of the region and Israel is more secure. According to the U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro, there are two dangerous possibilities regarding nuclear weapons in Syria. Many are worried that the regime will use chemical weapons against the Syrian people. The other worry is that chemical weapons will be transferred to extreme organizations. Those concerned about the nuclear weapons want to prevent both of those options by keeping a close watch on Syria. Israel is one country who is monitoring the situation to understand specifically what is happening with the chemical weapons to be able to respond if it is necessary. The disorder in Syria is only making the situation more complicated because they do not know who is in control, so there is not much they can do to improve conditions. President Barack Obama was asked about the situation in Syria and he did not have a clear answer on what was to be done. He just hopes that whatever they do works in favor of everyone. 

The authors' point of view is focused on reporting the news on Syria. They do not clearly state that they are on one side or the other. They report the news in a neutral way, they do not express if what Israel and the U.S. are doing is good or bad or if it is wrong for Syria to have nuclear weapons. Based on this article, we could say that they have an interest in the U.S.-Israel cooperation against Syrian nuclear power. Most people would agree that nuclear weapons in the hands of Syria at this time could result in a catastrophe. That is because everyone wants to gain control and they will go to any extent to do it, even if they have to use nuclear weapons.