Recommendations for the US / Brazilian Presidents on Policies

 Recommendations for the US / Brazilian presidents on policies 

Recommendations for the US President of Policies

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How Syrian Women Are Fueling the Resistance
And Why Washington Should Support Them

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    This March 2013 marks the two-year anniversary of the anti-al-Assad uprisings and so far, the civil conflict has cost roughly 70,000 lives, displaced three million people and additionally made refugees of one million civilians. Countries like the UK, France and the US have provided aid to the oppositioning groups and US Secretary of State John Kerry pledged medicine, food, and "non-lethal" (which remains debatable) military aid to the Free Syrian Army (the FSA, the prominent opposition organization). Additionally, a 60 million dollar budget has been directed to the rebels' political wing to support the public goods and services in rebel-controlled areas. Although this can be seen as an good act, it is not sufficient to prevent further human conflict and the spread of Islamist extremism. More effectively, the United States should support opposition women organizations. As, Fotini Christia of foreignaffairs.com stated, this would help address the current humanitarian crisis and ensure that foreign aid reaches its intended recipients and in addition elevating the status of women in Syria.

Fotini Christia of Foreign Affairs suggest:

    "Syrian women have been active in the fight against Bashar al-Assad's regime from the start, dating back to the peaceful demonstrations in early 2011 in the southern city of Dara'a. They have remained actively involved even as the fight has become bloody. I met several of these women revolutionaries during my recent trip to the rebel-controlled countryside of Idlib province and to towns on the Turkish-Syrian border. These women smuggle guns to the opposition and make improvised explosive devices in their kitchens. They work in field hospitals saving the lives of FSA fighters. They document incidents of torture and sexual violence, in the hope that such information will be useful in a future war-crimes tribunal. Whether Sunni, Kurdish, Christian, or Alawite, with hijab or without, these women are fighting for a common objective: a free Syria..."

    A value of the source is the author Fontini Christia who is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, granting her access to many sources such as political books, primary documents and research papers.

MLA:

Christia, Fotini. "How Syrian Women Are Fueling the Resistance." Foreign Affairs. Disqus, 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. <http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139038/fotini-christia/how-syrian-women-are-fueling-the-resistance>.

SYRIA BUSINESS ON OPPOSITION

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SYRIAN OPPOSITION GROUPS ONCE AGAIN CALL FOR FOREIGN FUNDING AND MILITARY BACKING

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   Three years after the outbreack of the revolutionary wave of protest and civil wars in the Arab world that begain December 2010 called the Arab Spring, the fighting is still on its peak in some nations such as Syria. The Syrian opposition groups are still seeking for more finical aid from its western backers the US, Britain, and more, to form a provisional government. However, nations like these, especially France, are getting more doubtful of the possible consequences these spendings might have. Yet, Syrian opposition VP says that the opposition organizations need more cash and money. When asked about the possible dangerous consequences of the funding of going into extremists hands he states that the majority of fighting groups in Syria are not extremist or terrorists, only militants fighting for freedom and dignity. Personally, analysing the video interview, the Syrian opposition VP did not seem very convincing in his argumentations and could not give any concrete evidence or hints against these argumentations by France and many other European nations.

   Yet, US Secretary of State John Kerry on the sidelines of the G8 summit on Wednesday in London stated, “We are always considering a variety of options, we are going to continue to aid the opposition, working with them in terms of what they need, in terms of what we're willing to provide”. Kerry additionally said that the US administration is looking at possible ways to increase its help to the paramilitary organization in Syria. The German newsreport Der Spiegel for example state that US troops who were deployed to the Jordanian border were training militants of the main opposition group Free Syrian Army (FSA), who fight against their so-called leader al-Assad.

"the majority of fighting groups in Syria are not extremist or terrorists, only people fighting for freedom and dignity" Syrian opposition VP, 2013 

In 'The Promise of the Arab Spring: In Political Development, No Gain Without Pain' historian and Foreign Affairs editor Sheri Berman states:

"Fledgling democracies in North Africa are struggling to move forward or even maintain control, government crackdowns in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere have kept liberalization at bay, and Syria is slipping ever deeper into a vicious civil war that threatens to ignite the Middle East. Instead of widespread elation about democracy finally coming to the region, one now hears pessimism about the many obstacles in the way, fear about what will happen next, and even open nostalgia for the old authoritarian order. "

MLA CITATION:

MR/MA. "PressTV - Syria Opposition Leaders Call for US Arms." PressTV - Syria Opposition Leaders Call for US Arms. PressTV, 11 Apr. 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. <http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/04/11/297680/syria-opposition-calls-for-us-weapons/>.

ABC News. "Syrian President Bashar Assad's Regime Near Collapse." YouTube. ABC News, Jan. 2012. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded>.

Sheri Berman. "The Promise of the Arab Spring." Global. Foreign Affairs, Feb. 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. <http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138479/sheri-berman/the-promise-of-the-arab-spring>.

NATURE OF GOVERNMENT

Syria's State Expansion and the Transformation of Syria's Political Arena

How Syria Social and Economic intervention changed overtime

  Following Syria's gain of formal independence from the French in 1946 and a coup led by the socialist Arab Ba'ath Party, Syria was transformed into an one-party authoritarian state. Not only did the Syrian state experience a strict authoritarian rule by the until today governing Ba'ath party, but also like many postcolonial states, experienced tremendous growth in the scope and reach of state institutions. As historian and editor Steven Heydemann of the Cornell University states in his research book Authoritarianism in Syria: Institutions and Social Conflict 1946-1970 that "the size of the armed forces increased, and public schools were built at a rapid pace. Accelerating a trend that had been under way since the war, the size of the civil service grew dramatically during these years, from forty-seven hundred in 1939 to twenty-one thousand in 1952, with most of this growth taking place after 1946." (59) Looking at this Table from the source Syria vol. 2, Economy & Finance, we can clearly see the increasing trend in employment in Syrian state organizations.

Table 8. Expansion of state employment in Syria by department,1939-1952

	Department	1939	1945	1952
	Presidency of the Republic	7	16	20
	Parliament	--	--	40
	State Audit Department	16	25	49
	High Court of Justice	--	--	18
	Prime Minister's Office	15	22	35
	Muslim Fatwa and ReligiousSchools	94	107	157
	State Inspection Office	--	--	19
	Advisory or Shura Council	3	22	--
	Information Directorate	--	--	50
	Civil Servants Disciplinary Board	--	--	12
	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	22	184	216
	Ministry of Finance	719	834	2,472
	Ministry of Interior	259	408	508
	Tribal Directorate	--	288	20
	Police and Public Security	1,564	2,509	2,676
	Health Ministry	363	560	1,234
	Justice Ministry	677	902	1,184
	Reformatory Schools	--	--	49
	Land Department	184	215	299
	Ministry of National Economy	--	--	255
	Agriculture Ministry	207	317	698
	Public Works Ministry	98	169	613
	Education Ministry	2,554	3,466	10,056
	Agricultural Schools	--	--	182
	Total	6,782	10,044	20,862
Source: Syrian Arab Republic, Syria, vol. 2, Economy and Finance (Damascus: 1955), pp. 159/60.

    Noting Hinnebusch's statement of Asad's aim having been to "consolidate the unstable Ba'th state and mobilize Syria for a war to recover the lost territories" and in the process of this, turning "the Ba'th state from an instrument of class revolution into a machinery of power in the service of raison d'etat." we understand to importance of this expansion of state for al-Assad (65). Preserving a "leading role" through strict governmental involvement in Syria's economy, society and induvidual rights was essential for al-Assad goals of domestic and foreign politics and consequently meaning that all sort of "protests [have] to be forcibly repressed" (Kelidar 1974)

    Furthermore, Hinnebush states, "to be sure, Asad's foreign policy prioritised alignment with Egypt, a necessary partner in any war to recover the Golan and continued close alliance with the Soviet Union, needed to back Syria's military build-up. But acquiring the resources to support war preparation required détente with several former enemies. An alliance was struck with the conservative Arab oil states who provided financial resources in return for an end to Syria's effort to export revolution" (65). But is this point backed enough with evidence? 

Works Cited

• Heydemann, Steven. Authoritarianism in Syria: Institutions and Social Conflict, 1946-1970. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1999. Questia School. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.

• Hinnebusch, Raymond. Syria: Revolution from above. New York: Routledge, 2001. Questia School. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.

Syria's Business of NATURE OF GOVERNMENT

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SERIOUS TRAVELLING REPORT OF SYRIA'S NATURE OF GOVERNMENT AS OF 2013

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  The modern Syrian State, as we know of it today is 'republic' in Western Asia boarding the Mediterranean Sea that was established as a French mandate after the First World War and gained independence in April 1946 as a parliamentary republic. There has been a lot ambiguity concerning its politics and the great number in military coups and civil wars made a clear evaluation difficult. Yet, as stated in the 2012 Syrian Constitution, the state is formally a “democratic state with full sovereignty” and Bashar al-Assad is in its presidential rule (Qordoba 8). However, this account has significant limitation in trustworthiness due to its origin and its purpose. One, the source was written by al-Assad's regime of the Syrian Arab Republic and therefore is likely to disregard negative aspects of his governance and manipulate information to fit his likes. Two, the source's purpose of trying to not only inform, but moreover to persuade Syria's strength and respectability to other nations, is likely to decrease the source's accuracy and credibility.

      An example of the possible inaccuracy and limitations of the source is the contradicting Department of State's report on Syria's nature of government. Check it out: 

"The Syrian Arab Republic is ruled by an authoritarian regime dominated by the Socialist Ba'ath Party. The Ba'ath party espouses a largely secular ideology; however, Islamic traditions and beliefs provide a religious foundation for the country's customs and practices. While the 1963 Emergency Law, which authorized the government to conduct preventive arrests and override constitutional and penal code provisions against arbitrary arrest and detention, was rescinded on April 19, 2011, the practice of arbitrary arrest and detention has not abated." — Department of State [Link]

      Although this source is fairly objectively reporting about Syria nature of government, note the word choice and the impact it has on the overal tone of the text. Terms like "authoritarian" and "dominated" effectively impact the overal siding of the text and gives it meaning. Since the source's origin is the US Department of State and the FBI and its corresponding purpose is trying to back US military involvement in Syria, one most note the possible limitations of this text. 

      Moreover, check out Scott Stewart's report on the possible, yet very likely, consequences of US, Turkish, Saudi Arabian, and European intervention (both humanitarian and military) has on the Arab world and many other nations around the globe.

      Although much of the international aid has been a humanitarian one, which includes shelter aid, food and equipment shippings etc., there "have been numerous videos released showing Syrian rebels using weapons such as the M79 Osa rocket launcher, the RPG-22, the M-60 recoilless rifle and the RBG-6 multiple grenade launcher. The Syrian government has also released videos of these weapons after seizing them in arms caches. What is so interesting about these weapons is that they were not in the Syrian military's inventory prior to the crisis, and they all likely were purchased from Croatia. We have also seen many reports and photos of Syrian rebels carrying Austrian Steyr Aug rifles, and the Swiss government has complained that Swiss-made hand grenades sold to the United Arab Emirates are making their way to the Syrian rebels." — Scott Stewart.

CITATION:

Bureau of Consular Affairs. "Syria." Syria. U.S. Department of State, 12 July 2011. Web. 13 Dec. 2012.
Hinnebusch, Raymond. Modern Syrian Politics. Rep. University of St. Andrews, 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 20 Jan. 2013. <http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=5266>.
Horrocks, Peter. "Syria Profile." BBC News. BBC, 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 21 Jan. 2013.
F., Isabella. "Advantages of a Unitary System of Government." Reference.com. Dictionary.com, 2013. Web. 22 Jan. 2013.
Stewart, Scott. "The Consequences of Intervening in Syria." Stratfor – Global Intelligence. Stratfor, 22 Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2013. <http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/consequences-intervening-syria>.