Blog 8: Syria Destroys Chemical Sites, Inspectors Say

Summary:  Thursday, a day earlier than planned, weapons inspectors finished destroying 39 of Syria's 41 chemical weapons facilities.  Officials say this is a monumental step in destroying the entire chemical weapons arsenal possessed by Syria's government.  Syrian president Assad has ben relatively cooperative through the entire Russian-United States agreement to end the chemical weapons program, amidst a civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people.  The two facilities that haven't been destroyed are in a site that surrounded by fighting, and too dangerous to get to.

Analysis:  Supporters and opposition to the Syrian government are still skeptical that destroying the chemical weapons are the correct course of action to end the civil war.  There is still other means of oppression the government is using against its people, including denying humanitarian efforts to help the citizens affected by the war.  Others are also concerned about the chemical weapons possessed by Israel, Iran, and other parts of the Middle East.  Rebels are still skeptical of Assad's willingness to give up his chemical weapons so easily, as it secures his position as president at least until 2014.

Eva Holland
Friday, November 1
10:26pm

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/world/middleeast/syria.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&ref=world&

Blog 7: U.S. and 10 Other Nations Back Peace Talks, but Syrian Moderates Are Uncertain

Summary:  For months, countries including the United States, European nations, and Arab nations, have been planning United Nations peace talks to end the bloody civil war waging in Syria.  Earlier this week, eleven nations expressed support for the peace talks to take place, but the moderate Syrian opposition has not yet decided whether or not to join.  The nations presently involved outlined several goals to remind the Syrian opposition of their support against the Syrian government.  They spoke of the political settlement that would end Syrian president Assad's reign over the country that has led to 100,000 of deaths and a two year long civil war.  The group also expressed the intent to support the Syrian rebel forces through the process, however the Syrian opposition still remains skeptical.

Analysis:  Weeks ago, United States president Obama cancelled a military strike on Syria that the Syrian opposition was relying on as a strong retaliation against the Syrian government.  The US called off the strikes after agreeing to a Russian plan to end Syria's chemical weapons program, which has already begun taking shape over the last few weeks.  The Syrian rebels have been a force against the plan to destroy Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, saying that it will not end the civil war.  It seems that the opposition is skeptical of any assistance at this point, and seems determined to take down the Syrian government alone.

Eva Holland
Oct 24, 2013
10:12pm

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/23/world/europe/britain-urges-support-for-moderate-opposition-in-syria.html?ref=syria&_r=0

Blog 6: Erdogan, Syrian Rebels' Leading Ally, Hesitates

Summary:  Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria, Turkey has been a leading ally for the Syrian rebels.  Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has kept the border between Turkey and Syria open for rebels to keep weapons, cash and other supplies to send to the battlefield.  He has long fought for Syria's president Assad to step down, but with the shift in the global policy towards the war in Syria, Erdogan has found himself in an awkward position.  Turkey relied on the United States and other western nations for military action and support against Assad.  Now that the United Nations is purging Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, Turkish authorities are not sure whether to continue supporting their original policy or to support the policy to end an era of chemical weapons use in Syria.

Analysis:  Erodgan denies supporting the rebels but admits to leaving the border between Syria and Turkey open, without police enforcement.  He did rely on the support of the United States for his fight for Assad's resignation.  When Obama backed out of the military strike on Syria, Erodgan was angry that the global plan had shifted from imminent military action to diplomacy.  Erodgan is now unsure of whether to back plans to end the chemical weapons program or continue supporting the rebel forces.

Eva Holland
Oct. 18, 2013
9:21 pm

Blog 5: 100 Specialists to Carry Out Tricky Syria Disarmament

Summary:  In a statement released by the United Nations Secretary General early this week, it is reported that one hundred chemical weapons specialists will enter the country, over the next eight months, to work alongside the joint mission to dismantle Syria's chemical weapons arsenal.  It was announced that in addition to the work inside Syrian borders, the team will establish a staging ground on the island of Cyprus, about 300 miles west of Syria.  This staging ground will prove to be important as it has been realized that the processing of destroying the chemical weapons will be harder than originally expected.  While the chemical weapons plants and housing units area in government controlled areas, many of them are in regions of the country that are under Syrian rebel attack.  While the Syrian government has been cooperative thus far, the rebel groups have been less than accommodating.  An operation of this size has never been attempted before and the risk is much more dangerous in a country years deep in a civil war.

Analysis:  While officials and experts have taken all the necessary precautions so far, they seem to continue to encounter unexpected obstacles that will make this operation more difficult than expected.  While they originally believed cooperation and agreement by the Syrian government was essential, they didn't realize that the cooperation of the rebel groups would be harder to attain.  Rebels don't believe destroying chemical weapons is the key to ending the civil war, and they are in control of many regions where the chemical weapons are located.  Officials haven't currently decided to transport weapons out of the country before destroying them, but they are open to whatever options will make the operation the safest for all involved.

Eva Holland
Oct. 11, 2013
10:12pm

Blog 4: Weapons Inspection Team Beings Work in Syria

Summary:  Tuesday, after weeks of threats and negotiations centered on Syria's chemical weapons, a team of international weapons inspectors began the process of dismantling Syria's weapons arsenal.  While in Syria, the team is staying in one of the safest areas where international officials often stay and are still seeing fighting and attacks.  Thus far, the Syrian government has been cooperative through the whole process, but as the began their inspections this week, the team realized the rebel group is being less than welcoming.  In fact, a third of the weapons sites described by the Syrian government are in areas that are outside the government's control.  The inspectors are planning to spend the next days and weeks verifying information from the government about the location of the chemical weapons and begin the initial planning of destroying the chemical weapons production facilities.

Analysis:  The cooperation of the Syrian government seemed slightly too good to be true, which the international weapons inspectors are now realizing.  The large amounts of the country that are still under rebel control and attack also house some of the chemical weapons production facilities, creating an obstacle for the dismantling process.  Since the rebels have been less than welcoming so far and since they have contributed their fair share to the civil war, negotiating with them may prove to be harder than expected.  This also means the expected yearlong process may be much longer than a year. Many Syrian's are unsure that this is even the right way to go about ending the civil war because they believe that the chemical weapons are such a small part of the entire war.  There are bigger issues, such as the 100,000 people killed so far and getting food and supplies to the ones struggling to survive in the war torn country.

Eva Holland
10/4/13
9:36pm

Blog 3: The United Nations moves forward with eliminating Syria's chemical weapons

Summary:  The United Nations Security Council is set to vote Friday evening on a draft resolution of the plan to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons program.  The vote comes after the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Executive Council's decision to adopt the plan.  The decision and vote have come just in time as the United Nations Human Rights Council strengthened pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to allow further access to the Syrian people in the form of humanitarian aid and to allow war crimes investigators to continue their search.  Syria has denied access to its people for the past two years as the investigators have tried to ensure that those responsible for human right crimes are properly punished.  The Commission of Inquiry also aims to support agencies that are delivering aid to more than six million people.

Analysis:  Steps towards the plan to eliminate Syria's vast arsenal of chemical weapons continue to move in a positive direction.  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been cooperative in recent weeks as investigations have begun, but he still seems resistant towards aid brought to his people in the wake of the recent chemical weapons attacks.  It seemed suspicious that in the wake of the attacks, Assad was so willing to give up the locations of his chemical weapons program, but it seems that his resistance to humanitarian aid is more in line with what is expected from the dictator who has killed ten of thousands of his own citizens.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/28/world/middleeast/united-nations-syria.html?ref=middleeast

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/09/27/world/europe/27reuters-un-assembly-syria-opcw.html?hp

Eva Holland
September 27, 2013
8:46pm

Blog 2: Syria's First Deadline on Chemical Weapons Pact

Summary:  Syria has met its first deadline on the chemical weapons pact proposed by Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and United Nations officials last week.  The first deadline was met with an initial declaration of the chemical weapons possessed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian government.  It is believed that the Syrian government has 1,000 tons of precursor chemicals and agents and at least forty-five sites associated with the chemical weapons program.  The framework of the pact laid out by Kerry, Lavrov, and UN officials requires Syria to disclose amounts and locations of all of its chemicals, the facilities used to produce them, and the locations in which they are stored.  The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons will do an inspection of Syria's arsenal by November, and the call for the destruction of all Syria's chemical weapons is set for 2014.  Thus far, Mr. Assad has been willing to cooperate with the demands of the UN and the OPCW.

Analysis:  Not everyone is convinced by President Assad's sudden willingness to cooperate over the chemical weapons possessed by his government.  Initial deadlines have been met, more have been laid out, and goals of destroying Syria's arsenal have been made.  Secretary of State Kerry, along with other officials, is not sure that the deadlines decided on will be met quickly enough.  He is pushing the United Nations Security Council to act sooner than previously agreed on.  He fears that without the remaining threat of force or military action, Assad will have the opportunity to deceive officials in charge of inspecting his arsenal and making sure he has disclosed all information linked to the production of chemical weapons.  It does seem hard to believe that someone who just recently carried out an attack on thousands of people is suddenly so willing to cooperate with terms laid out to destroy chemical weapons.  It seems to be a process that will be approached a step at a time for now as so many nations are now involved and hoping for a peaceful outcome.

Eva Holland
9/20/2013
8:26pm
SOC 202-03

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/world/middleeast/syria.html?hp&_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/world/middleeast/kerry-challenges-security-council-to-take-syria-action.html?ref=middleeast

Blog 1: Syria Talks Yield Plan to Discuss Peace Conference

Summary:  Secretary of State, John Kerry met with Russian and United Nations officials Thursday, in Geneva to discuss the efforts to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control as part of a plan to eliminate them.  Earlier in the week, after being visibly uncertain about what action to take, President Barack Obama met with Russian president, Vladimir Putin to discuss a plan to disarm the Syrian government.  The United States and Russia have been previously divided on who should be involved in an international peace conference, so discussions this week and the intent to discuss more later this month seem to be a step in a unified direction.  However, officials are uncertain about how to get Syria's leaders to attend peace talks.  Syrian president, Assad has tentatively agreed to release information about chemical weapons used by his government, but the Syrian rebel opposition has not agreed and seems uncertain after President Obama's decision to hold on of military action.  Mr. Kerry and other officials believe this is the first part in a long process of ending the civil war in Syria.

Analysis:  This is not the first attempt to combat the civil war waging in Syria, and it is likely not going to be as easy agreeing to peace talks and handing over chemical weapons.  President Putin is not used to playing the role of peacemaker and some are skeptical of his willingness to do so.  He and his counterparts agree that military action is not acceptable in trying to control the Syrian government.  While he believes that Assad's willingness is a serious step in the direction of a resolution, American officials are skeptical that Assad will continue the steps to disclosing information and whereabouts of all of his chemical weapons.  While this may be a first step, it is far from a resolution.

Eva Holland
9/13/13
10:43 am