The Security Situation in the Syrian Arab Republic

The Security Situation in the Syrian Arab Republic PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Military assistance, American
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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The Security Situation in the Syrian Arab Republic

The Security Situation in the Syrian Arab Republic PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Military assistance, American
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description


Security Situation in the Syrian Arab Republic - Implications for U.S. National Security and U.S. Policy Options

Security Situation in the Syrian Arab Republic - Implications for U.S. National Security and U.S. Policy Options PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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The Security Situation in the Syrian Arab Republic

The Security Situation in the Syrian Arab Republic PDF Author: United States. Congress
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781977820945
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description
The security situation in the Syrian Arab Republic : implications for U.S. national security and U.S. policy options : Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, first session, hearing held July 17, 2013.

The Security Situation in the Syrian Arab Republic

The Security Situation in the Syrian Arab Republic PDF Author: United States. Congress
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781981620906
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description
The security situation in the Syrian Arab Republic : implications for U.S. national security and U.S. policy options : Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, first session, hearing held July 17, 2013.

Security Situation in Iraq and Syria

Security Situation in Iraq and Syria PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Insurgency
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Five Conundrums

Five Conundrums PDF Author: Michael a Ratney
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781086817843
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Book Description
For the past 8 years, two U.S. administrations, the United Nations (UN), and numerous foreign governments have sought to end the catastrophic war in Syria and reach a negotiated political settlement to the conflict. Their efforts have repeatedly been complicated, even thwarted, by the highly contested and violent politics underlying the conflict, the sheer number of conflict actors inside and outside of Syria, and those actors' diverse and often irreconcilable objectives.Many of the complications for U.S. policy have stemmed from the need for policymakers to focus on three separate but intertwined dimensions of the Syrian conflict, even while policy options to deal with one dimension of the conflict had significant but often unpredictable effects on the others. The first dimension has been the campaign to deal an enduring territorial defeat upon the so-called Islamic State (IS), an element of U.S. policy that enjoyed near unanimous international consensus and adequate means to accomplish the task. The second is the central conflict between the Bashar al-Asad regime and its opponents, an existential power struggle that drew in multiple foreign powers and yielded nearly unimaginable destruction of Syrian property, infrastructure, and lives. And the third is the strategic challenge of Iran and its drive to eliminate U.S. influence in the Middle East.As the United States and other parties sought to navigate these three dimensions of the conflict, a set of paradoxical challenges-conundrums-emerged and, in some cases, made the situation in Syria even more intractable and a solution on terms favorable to U.S. national security even more elusive.This paper discusses five such conundrums. The first is that military, political, and economic pressure on the Asad regime, a principal feature of U.S. and Western policy, in many ways exacerbated problems for Syrian civilians, the Syrian opposition, and Syria's neighbors without yielding political concessions or reforms to the nature of Syrian governance. The second involves the Syrian opposition-though highly fragmented save for most extremist elements and thus an ineffective force for driving political change in Syria, the United States nonetheless continued to accord it considerable international support and legitimacy. The third conundrum deals with the challenges of balancing the U.S. relationship with Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally, while simultaneously working with a Kurdish-led militia viewed by Turkey as a national security threat. The fourth centers on Russia's involvement in Syria and, specifically, the contradictory need for the United States and Russia to work together in Syria even while the two countries hold opposing views on a continued role for Bashar al-Asad in Syria's governance. And the fifth conundrum is that foreign interventions in the Syrian conflict, including those designed to counter the Asad regime's brutality and hasten a resolution of the conflict, may actually have made the war longer and bloodier, particularly for civilians. This is consistent with the historical experience with foreign intervention in civil wars elsewhere.At the end of the day, foreign involvement in such a complex and volatile situation as Syria yields, almost inevitably, unpredictable consequences. But many of the negative consequences of the Syrian conflict were actually predictable, particularly Asad's brutal reaction to the uprising, his refusal to yield to pressure, Iran and Russia's support for the regime, and the potential for foreign intervention to exacerbate the situation for Syrian civilians. Taken together, the consequences-both predictable and unpredictable-may ultimately prove to outweigh the benefits of involvement.

Security Situation in Iraq and Syria

Security Situation in Iraq and Syria PDF Author: United States. Congress
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781981442386
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 92

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Book Description
Security situation in Iraq and Syria : U.S. policy options and implications for the region : Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, second session, hearing held July 29, 2014.

Armed Conflict in Syria

Armed Conflict in Syria PDF Author: Congressional Research Service
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781973754626
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 46

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Book Description
The Syrian civil war, now in its seventh year, continues to present new challenges for U.S. policymakers. Following a deadly chemical weapons attack in Syria on April 4, 2017, and subsequent U.S. strikes against Syrian military infrastructure and pro-regime forces, Members of Congress have called on the President to consult with Congress about Syria strategy. Other Members have questioned the President's authority to launch strikes against Syria in the absence of specific prior authorization from Congress. In the past, some in Congress have expressed concern about the international and domestic authorizations for such strikes, their potential unintended consequences, and the possibility of undesirable or unavoidable escalation. Since taking office in January 2017, President Trump has stated his intention to "destroy" the Syria- and Iraq-based insurgent terrorist group known as the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIL, ISIS, or the Arabic acronym Da'esh), and the President has ordered actions to "accelerate" U.S. military efforts against the group in both countries. In late March, senior U.S. officials signaled that the United States would prioritize the fight against the Islamic State and said that Syrian President Bashar al Asad's future would be determined by the Syrian people. Nevertheless, following the April 4 attack, President Trump and senior members of his Administration have spoken more critically of Asad's leadership, and it remains to be seen whether the United States will more directly seek to compel Asad's departure from power while pursuing the ongoing campaign against the Islamic State. Since late 2015, Asad and his government have leveraged military, financial, and diplomatic support from Russia and Iran to improve and consolidate their position relative to the range of antigovernment insurgents arrayed against them. These insurgents include members of the Islamic State, Islamist and secular fighters, and Al Qaeda-linked networks. While Islamic State forces have lost territory to the Syrian government, to Turkey-backed Syrian opposition groups, and to U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters since early 2016, they remain capable and dangerous. The IS "capital" at Raqqah has been isolated, but large areas of central and eastern Syria remain under the group's control. The presence and activities of Russian military forces and Iranian personnel in Syria create complications for U.S. officials and military planners, and raise the prospect of inadvertent confrontation with possible regional or global implications. Since March 2011, the conflict has driven more than 5 million Syrians into neighboring countries as refugees (out of a total prewar population of more than 22 million). More than 6.3 million other Syrians are internally displaced and are among more than 13.5 million Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance. The United States is the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to the Syria crisis (which includes assistance to neighboring countries hosting refugees), and since FY2012 has allocated more than $6.5 billion to meet humanitarian needs. In addition, the United States has allocated more than $500 million to date for bilateral assistance programs in Syria, including the provision of nonlethal equipment to select opposition groups. President Trump has requested $191.5 million in FY2018 funding for such assistance and $500 million in FY2018 defense funds to train and equip anti-IS forces in Syria. U.S. officials and Members of Congress continue to debate how best to pursue U.S. regional security and counterterrorism goals in Syria without inadvertently strengthening U.S. adversaries or alienating U.S. partners. The Trump Administration and Members of the 115th Congress-like their predecessors-face challenges inherent to the simultaneous pursuit of U.S. nonproliferation, counterterrorism, civilian protection, and stabilization goals in a complex, evolving conflict.

Confronting Damascus

Confronting Damascus PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Dictatorship
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description


Five Conundrums: the United States and the Conflict in Syria

Five Conundrums: the United States and the Conflict in Syria PDF Author: National Defense National Defense University
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781688668058
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Book Description
For the past 8 years, two U.S. administrations, the United Nations (UN), and numerous foreign governments have sought to end the catastrophic war in Syria and reach a negotiated political settlement to the conflict. Their efforts have repeatedly been complicated, even thwarted, by the highly contested and violent politics underlying the conflict, the sheer number of conflict actors inside and outside of Syria, and those actors' diverse and often irreconcilable objectives.Many of the complications for U.S. policy have stemmed from the need for policymakers to focus on three separate but intertwined dimensions of the Syrian conflict, even while policy options to deal with one dimension of the conflict had significant but often unpredictable effects on the others. The first dimension has been the campaign to deal an enduring territorial defeat upon the so-called Islamic State (IS), an element of U.S. policy that enjoyed near unanimous international consensus and adequate means to accomplish the task. The second is the central conflict between the Bashar al-Asad regime and its opponents, an existential power struggle that drew in multiple foreign powers and yielded nearly unimaginable destruction of Syrian property, infrastructure, and lives. And the third is the strategic challenge of Iran and its drive to eliminate U.S. influence in the Middle East.As the United States and other parties sought to navigate these three dimensions of the conflict, a set of paradoxical challenges--conundrums--emerged and, in some cases, made the situation in Syria even more intractable and a solution on terms favorable to U.S. national security even more elusive.This paper discusses five such conundrums. The first is that military, political, and economic pressure on the Asad regime, a principal feature of U.S. and Western policy, in many ways exacerbated problems for Syrian civilians, the Syrian opposition, and Syria's neighbors without yielding political concessions or reforms to the nature of Syrian governance. The second involves the Syrian opposition--though highly fragmented save for most extremist elements and thus an ineffective force for driving political change in Syria, the United States nonetheless continued to accord it considerable international support and legitimacy. The third conundrum deals with the challenges of balancing the U.S. relationship with Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally, while simultaneously working with a Kurdish-led militia viewed by Turkey as a national security threat. The fourth centers on Russia's involvement in Syria and, specifically, the contradictory need for the United States and Russia to work together in Syria even while the two countries hold opposing views on a continued role for Bashar al-Asad in Syria's governance. And the fifth conundrum is that foreign interventions in the Syrian conflict, including those designed to counter the Asad regime's brutality and hasten a resolution of the conflict, may actually have made the war longer and bloodier, particularly for civilians. This is consistent with the historical experience with foreign intervention in civil wars elsewhere.