I need help with home work if you want here are all my qestions you only have to answer the main one if you want, Its about syria so all thw questions really to syria.
Why did the Syrian government start killing its citizens in April 2011
How did the civil war begin?
Which country is Syria’s most important ally?
What influence does Russia (capital: Moscow) have over the U.N.?
Give one main reason why Russia wants to protect the Syrian government?
Why does President Obama want to strike Syria militarily?
The article states that “Syria has artificial borders that were created by European colonial powers, forcing together an amalgam of diverse religious and ethnic groups. Those powers also tended to promote a minority and rule through it, worsening preexisting sectarian tensions.”
What does this mean?
12. Which outcome described in the article is the most likely outcome? Why do you think so?
If you can help me out that will be great! thanks
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
The British and French divided up most of the former Ottoman Empire. The agreement on how to do this was the Sykes - Picot Agreement, initially secret, of May 1916.
The uprising in Syria is part of a series of attempts by Arab peoples to overthrow dictatorships. This is known as the "Arab Spring" movement.
The civil war began when many Syrian people saw the success of the democratic movements in other Arab countries, especially Libya. The Assad family has been in control for over 40 years and isn't going to leave easily. They control a fairly serious military force while the rebels have little more than rifles. The recent gas attacks show how serious Assad is about staying in power.
Syria has an alliance with Iran, but Iran lacks the capacity to project force or aid any significant distance from its borders. Russia is the Assad regimes effective ally, able to manufacture any type of armament, transport it anywhere and is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
As one of the victorious powers in the Second World War, Russia has veto power over any decision made by the Security Council of the UN. This effectively blocks the UN from authorizing meaningful action against Syria.
Russia's motivations are to confound western powers, especially the US. Russia's status as a world power slipped badly after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The "strong man" leader Vladimir Putin is trying to regain Russian status as a nation and personal status as a great leader on the world stage.
President Obama sees a situation getting out of hand. If Assad can use WMDs without consequences, than many other dictators will try the same. A major step backwards in controlling chemical weapons. There is also the issue of these weapons coming onto the black market and into the hands of terrorists if the Assad regime falls. There is also a matter of internal politics: If Obama fails to act decisively, he will be judged a weak President in the eyes of history. His predecessor may not have been the brightest bulb on the tree, but he kicked a$$ in response to 9/11.
There may not be an attack by western powers. The US House of Representatives is likely to withhold approval (although this does not prevent the President from taking short-term military action but it does mean that a substantial portion of the US population does not support warlike action). Britain will not act, Parliament has denied PM Cameron's request for authorization. Only France will stand with the US. Apparently there is an alternative being negotiated with Russia. That if Syria immediately surrenders all chemical weapons to some custodial power, military action might be avoided. There will be a massive headache of verifying compliance, as was with Iraq. Saddam said he destroyed all his WMDs, but who would believe him? Same with Assad.
The issue of the great powers drawing borders without regard to the people who lived there was an issue in many places: Middle East, Africa, south and southeast Asia and South America.
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Ottoman incompetency..seriously. Nobody, no nations, no one else.. other than Ottomans themselves. The rest of the dear European nations were just pawns came around to win the game to "name" the country.