A Syria-ous Situation

It has been a little over a year since the so-called "Arab Spring" movement began toppling long-standing governments. Tunisia fell first, and Mubarak's regime in Egypt quickly followed. Then revolution came to Libya, and a relatively easy path of "protest" suddenly evolved into a brutal civil war. After bitter struggle (and intervention by NATO) Qaddafi was forced to run and was killed shortly thereafter. While the wave of revolution is still embroiling many Middle Eastern nations in conflict, Syria is without a doubt the current epicenter of dissent and violence.

President Bashar al-Assad has never been the most popular leader in the Arab world, and once neighboring regimes began to topple his government began a severe crackdown on any opposition to his rule in order to stop a revolution before it could begin. Unfortunately for him, the tide was too strong to stop and the actions of his government only worsened his reputation among his people. Furthermore, the crackdowns put international support largely behind the efforts of the protesters. The Arab League sent observers to the country to report on the increasing violence. Now, as a new government offensive sweeps through several major cities including Damascus, the Syrian capital, the Arab League has withdrawn their observers due to worsening conditions. If that does not tell you enough about how violent and unstable things have become, the United States is seriously considering closing its embassy in Damascus and evacuating its personnel.

Not every country has spoken out against Assad's regime. Syrian opposition leaders have accused Iran of providing assistance to the Syrian government. That should not come as any great surprise. After all, those despotic Islamists facing potential revolution have to stick together. Some groups have even gone as far as to say that Iranian Revolutionary Guard units have participated in the violent strikes against protesters, something the leadership in Tehran will not admit to. Besides the Iranians, perhaps the most outspoken supporters of Assad's regime are within the Russian government. Putin's government has experienced a wave of dissent recently, and as a result they are slow to call for the removal of any other government. If international support helps the opposition topple Assad, who's to say Putin won't be the next dictator (yes, I said it) out the door?

The situation in Syria is certainly worthy of our consideration. On the one hand, the protesters are calling for the removal of a dangerous regime that is no friend to the United States, Israel, or Europe. Just looking at the people who are coming out in Assad's defense should be enough to condemn him. But in our haste to see the despot overthrown, things could get much worse if highly organized Islamists were to gain control in Syria like they have in Libya and Egypt. Were a Muslim Brotherhood-esque group to seize power, it would put further pressure on Israel. Indeed, with Hezbollah running Lebanon to the north, Hamas in Gaza to the west, and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt to the south, the tiny island of democracy would be virtually surrounded by nations led by radical groups bent on the extermination of the Jewish people. Furthermore, pressure on the more moderate Jordan may result in an increased hostility toward Israel by the Jordanians if only to stem the potential outbreak of revolution in that country.

Regardless of whether the Syrian government weathers the storm or falters in the face of opposition, regional stability has been shattered. As we have seen in the recent past, Islamists and other totalitarians are quick to take advantage of chaos to, in the words of the Fabian Socialists, "remold the world closer to their heart's desire." Things are heating up quickly, and only time will tell exactly what the world will look like when it's all said and done.