Syria: A Brief History

Syria is an ancient land with great history, dating back to the dawn of civilization. Syria is part of the Fertile Crescent, and signs of civilization date back to 10,000 BC. From around 2,000 BC Syria was occupied successively by the Sumerians, Egyptians, Hittites, Assyrians and Babylonians. Throughout history it went on to be conquered by the great empires such as Persia, Rome, the Islamic Empire, the Ottomans, and France. Following World War II, Syria became independent from France and spent the next few decades in political instability. It wasn’t until 1971 when Hafez al-Assad, leader of the Syrian Correction Movement, came to power that Syria unified under one regime and stabilized. Assad governed aggressively, fighting to take back lands believed to belong to Syria and using intimidation to get what his regime wanted. After his death in 2000, his son Bashaar al-Assad gained power.
In 2011, the people of Syria grew tired of the Assad regime’s military grip over the country, and began protesting his rule. The regime’s response was violent, and the country has been in civil war since. The most recent development has been the discovery of evidence that the regime has used chemical weapons on its own civilians, inciting the US to intervene. The five options for US intervention include tactics ranging from US bombing and artillery strikes to simply staying out of Syria altogether.
The first option is to “Use the might of the US military to end the Assad regime.” This option entails use of Air and Navy forces to critically strike Assad’s forces and supply the rebels with weapons and ammunition. A second option details “limited strikes against the Syrian military.” Limited strikes would be carried out to ensure that no further horrors would be committed by the Assad regime, and indirect aid would be provided to the rebels. A third option proposed is to “Work with the international community to end the civil war.” This would involve supporting the world of the UN