If you were/have been out of the loop on the current situation in Syria, here are
some articles that helped me get the best grasp of the context, facts, and options in the issue:
some articles that helped me get the best grasp of the context, facts, and options in the issue:
1. Wikipedia page on Syria: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria
I used this resource to get a better knowledge of Syria’s history: The end of World War I left the Ottoman Empire defeated, and Syria was put under French rule. However, Syrians didn’t like that, and in April 1946, Syria gained independence as a parliamentary republic. What followed after that was shaky—Syria went through a period of repeated military coups up until the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party took power in 1963. Hafez al-Assad took office as president. Last name sound familiar? That is because he was the father of the current president of Syria, al-Assad. The current al-Assad has been in office since 2000. Syria’s Civil War began in March 2011, essentially an extension of the uprisings there and throughout the Middle East that were part of the Arab Spring.
This brief of Syria’s history by Hyacinth Mascarenhas at PolicyMic was a good comparison piece: http://www.policymic.com/articles/62007/the-complete-history-of-syria-in-21-photos
**Wikipedia is quite useful as an objective source of information because it accepts information from many sources, backs up its information with links and footnotes, and will makes notations on pages with questionable accuracy or questionable objectivity. I found it helpful to look also at the page for “Arab Spring” as it gives timelines for the uprisings in different
countries—a good visual to see how Syria uprisings compare to those of its neighbors: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring
2. "Key Questions on Conflict in Syria" New York Times analysis by Liam Stack http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/28/world/middleeast/the-conflict-in-syria.html?ref=syria
News flash and Pres. Obama says that after the chemical attack allegedly by the government of Syria, we’re gearing up to go in there with military force. Context please! So how did we get into this situation? This New York Times analysis article by Liam Stack was very helpful: “Key Questions on Conflict in Syria,” Aug 27, 2013 Those questions include: Who are the antagonists? Who outside Syria supports the rebels? Why would their government use chemical weapons now?
3. "Which Bad Syria Option Do You Prefer?" NPR Parallels by Greg Myre http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/09/03/218587228/which-bad-syria-option-do-you-prefer
Hang on a minute—what kind of options do we have to responding to the conflict in Syria? I found this article to be helpful: “Which Bad Syria Option Do You Prefer?” by Greg Myre as part of NRP Parallels, Sept. 5, 2013, Options he gives are Step up humanitarian activities, arm the rebels, limited U.S. strikes, or a sustained U.S. attack and pros and cons for each. Options he
gives are (1) Step up humanitarian activities, (2) Arm the rebels, (3) Limited U.S. strikes, or a (4) Sustained U.S. attack, and he discusses pros and cons for each.
4. "Split Senate Panel Approves Giving Obama Limited Authority in Syria" New York Times news article http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/world/middleeast/divided-senate-panel-approves-resolution-on-syria-strike.html
This is a good New York Times news article by Mark Landler, Jonathan Weisman, Michael R. Gordon, Sept 4, 2013, reporting the
pending decision to make a military strike, including reporting about what a military strike would entail and possible implications.
**After this I felt like I had sufficient background to read all sorts of other news articles and op-eds and evaluate where I stood. I also listened to Pres. Obama’s (15 min) speech at http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/foreign-policy/syria to see what I thought of his rationale.
5. "Crisis in Syria" New York Times live dashboard http://projects.nytimes.com/live-dashboard/syria
Then there was Secretary of State John Kerry’s off-hand mention that got Pres. Obama out of a military strike and into diplomatic discussions with Russia’s President Putin. With the situation changing, this New York Times page was good for frequent updates. Also see the parent page for links to other helpful articles: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/syria/index.html?8qa
**Wikipedia is quite useful as an objective source of information because it accepts information from many sources, backs up its information with links and footnotes, and will makes notations on pages with questionable accuracy or questionable objectivity. I found it helpful to look also at the page for “Arab Spring” as it gives timelines for the uprisings in different
countries—a good visual to see how Syria uprisings compare to those of its neighbors: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring
2. "Key Questions on Conflict in Syria" New York Times analysis by Liam Stack http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/28/world/middleeast/the-conflict-in-syria.html?ref=syria
News flash and Pres. Obama says that after the chemical attack allegedly by the government of Syria, we’re gearing up to go in there with military force. Context please! So how did we get into this situation? This New York Times analysis article by Liam Stack was very helpful: “Key Questions on Conflict in Syria,” Aug 27, 2013 Those questions include: Who are the antagonists? Who outside Syria supports the rebels? Why would their government use chemical weapons now?
3. "Which Bad Syria Option Do You Prefer?" NPR Parallels by Greg Myre http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/09/03/218587228/which-bad-syria-option-do-you-prefer
Hang on a minute—what kind of options do we have to responding to the conflict in Syria? I found this article to be helpful: “Which Bad Syria Option Do You Prefer?” by Greg Myre as part of NRP Parallels, Sept. 5, 2013, Options he gives are Step up humanitarian activities, arm the rebels, limited U.S. strikes, or a sustained U.S. attack and pros and cons for each. Options he
gives are (1) Step up humanitarian activities, (2) Arm the rebels, (3) Limited U.S. strikes, or a (4) Sustained U.S. attack, and he discusses pros and cons for each.
4. "Split Senate Panel Approves Giving Obama Limited Authority in Syria" New York Times news article http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/world/middleeast/divided-senate-panel-approves-resolution-on-syria-strike.html
This is a good New York Times news article by Mark Landler, Jonathan Weisman, Michael R. Gordon, Sept 4, 2013, reporting the
pending decision to make a military strike, including reporting about what a military strike would entail and possible implications.
**After this I felt like I had sufficient background to read all sorts of other news articles and op-eds and evaluate where I stood. I also listened to Pres. Obama’s (15 min) speech at http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/foreign-policy/syria to see what I thought of his rationale.
5. "Crisis in Syria" New York Times live dashboard http://projects.nytimes.com/live-dashboard/syria
Then there was Secretary of State John Kerry’s off-hand mention that got Pres. Obama out of a military strike and into diplomatic discussions with Russia’s President Putin. With the situation changing, this New York Times page was good for frequent updates. Also see the parent page for links to other helpful articles: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/syria/index.html?8qa