Sarin, Syria & World War Three

Not to sound overly dramatic but, due to tensions rising in Syria, we’re currently teetering on the brink of World War 3. Here’s why.

President Bashar al-Assad’s government has been in power since 1963, with the country being in a “state of emergency” for the majority of this time. This meant that the military complex has effectively been in charge of policing the nation, which we all know is never really a good thing. As a result, basic human rights have suffered. In March of 2011, a massive Middle Eastern-wide protest movement called “Arab Spring” began to build momentum, specifically in Syria. To give you an idea of the size of this movement, it had been building since December of 2010 and spanned across 17 countries. Only a month after the protest movement made it to Syria, local demonstrations morphed into an actual armed rebellion, with Syrian military action against protestors being the catalyst. Violence erupted, tensions kept rising, more and more people died (roughly 80,000 – 100,000 with an estimated 50% being civilians) and shit got worse and worse. The tipping point was only a few days ago, when world news organizations received word that the Syrian government, run by President Bashar al-Assad, had allegedly used chemical weapons on civilians. Sarin gas, as UN gathered evidence suggests.

Yeah. Chemical weapons. Let that sit with you for a second. Pretty horrific stuff, huh? Now, this is where shit starts to hit the proverbial fan. There hasn’t been any substantial or concrete proof pointing towards the Syrian government even perpetrating what is effectively one of the worst war crimes imaginable. Though the US government feels there is, with Obama stating that Assad has crossed a “red line”. So, pressure has been exerted from the US onto its allies to agree to military intervention in Syria, with the primary ally being the UK. The British PM, David Cameron, who agrees with Obama, put it to a vote in the House of Commons, which he lost 285-272 – thus, no UK action (apparently). On top of that, Australians based in Syria have been told by Foreign Minister Bob Carr to get the fuck out, which has stemmed from an “expected international response to last week’s suspected chemical weapons attack”.

To top THIS all off, the US has moved warships into the Mediterranean, as has Russia, which is really, really scary. Why? Well, Russia and China have repeatedly warned the US that military action into Syria will result in a response. On the 28th of August, 2013, the UN Security Council (U.S./Britain/France/China/Russia) held an emergency meeting to address Western intent to intervene in Syria. It lasted an hour. Russia and China both walked out and all parties refused to comment on what occurred. China is of the opinion that any further military action in Syria will only exacerbate the problem, with their long standing ideology being that stability in the Middle East will never occur with so many constant regime changes. They’re asking for all parties to exercise caution and remain calm. Russia has been a supporter of Assad for quite some time, giving his government close to $2.9 billion in armaments, yet claim that the turmoil in Syria can be resolved politically. The US govt., and specifically Obama, has all but said fuck this, we’re gonna invade no matter who backs us. He’s actually going to be seeking approval from his congress (which is history-defying by the way), so we’ll see what actually happens there.

So a quick summary of what the situation is before I finish.

1) The US govt. claims Syrian govt. used chemical weapons on civilians – wants to invade to oust it.

2) UK PM David Cameron initially agreed, but was defeated in House of Commons, so no UK support (for now).

3) China, Russia and Iran are all standing by the Syrian regime and thus, want no military action from the US.

4) Syria and the UN are asking for patience, as UN chemical weapons experts are currently testing the area to find conclusive proof as to what actually happened.

5) The US is close to giving everyone the middle finger and just starting shit up anyway. Murica.

I’m going to end my article here but ask you one thing: debate this. Talk about this. In the comments here, on your newsfeeds, in texts or status updates; shit, even when you’re out and about. Anything is better than more pictures and “discussion” about some teen star dry humping Beetlejuice.

Written by James Wood.