Blog 10; Syria: The End of Chemical Weapons Equals Starvation.

           Syria left in shambles from war has now been left with little food supply for their population. The country has faced the lowest wheat production in three years. Now the president Bashar al-Assad has to find a stable food supply. Assad has found a trade partner, but he plans to sell these good with a high profit margin... for his personal gain. Assad has done this by using his friend's companies that are being found out then magically disappearing. This inner circle of close, personal friends has commented to the media that the government is not making any money, and they are only doing their part to help Syria in desperate times. The U.S. has attempted to send food to Syria, however the United States have been blocked and president Assad continues to use those that are "helping out", by charging high rates for food that they desperately need.

           Without a stable food supply more people will migrate out of Syria, or simply die of starvation. The fat that the president is trying to cover up high profit for his inner circle may only add fuel to the fire of the war that has only begun. The rebels are already strongly against the government, then they go and fraud the people. All of the chemical weapons are gone and the plants to make these weapons are destroyed, however war and terror still continues. With the war continuing the country is not making any money, or exporting any oil. Without one of our oil sources and the government only pissing off the rebels the war may be long, and as a result our oil cost may rise. The war will affect not only Syria, but all of the world, and only time will tell when the fighting will be over.

Brianna Hunt
2:00 pm Thursday, November 14, 2013.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/14/us-syria-food-idUSBRE9AD0UI20131114

The last blog. :(

Blog 9: One Plant Left That Was Once in a Sea of 23.

Inspectors sent to Syria from the United Nations to destroy 23 chemical weapons production sites and arsenals, have confirmed that 22 have been destroyed since thursday. The inspectors were not sure how long it would take to visit the last 2 sites because they were in dangerous areas, where the civil war was being fought. To confirm that the 22nd site had been destroyed they used special cameras. These cameras were tamper proof and had special features that always knew the time and location of the camera and the footage could not have been edited. Once the film was taken with the arsenal looking destroyed by the war its self, the inspectors cross referenced the video with satellite imagery. The inspectors state how surprisingly cooperative the Syrian government has been throughout this process. Right now with the arsenals being almost completely wiped out Syria has avoided United States intervention, however now the 1,300 metric tons of chemical must go somewhere, which is causing tension again with Syria and Russia against the U.S., France, and England.

Syria has been moving in a positive direction with destroying the arsenals, however they could possibly be just playing the nice possum card, to later have Russia "destroy" the chemical weapons. The United States wants to destroy these weapons themselves, but Syria does not want to fork over the weapons to us as claimed by their president, Bashar al-Assad. Syria seems to be avoiding tension for now, but the future still is unclear whether intervention will occur by an outside force. The U.S once hungry for intervention has calmed down, but this could just be the calm before the storm.

Brianna Hunt
Nov. 8th
9:30 am.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/world/middleeast/syria.html?_r=0

Is Syria Lying?: Blog 8

The United Nations inspectors have almost completed their goal. They have reached all but two chemical weapons arsenals. The two arsenals they have not visited are in war zones. Now the arsenals can be destroyed. The United States wants to disarm Syria, by mid-2014, however Syria has claimed they do not want to hand over chemical weapons to the U.S.. Officials stated that destroying mixing and filling equipment should be fairly easy, but the destroying of warheads and bombs is a concern. Russia has offered a lending hand to Syria in destroying the chemical weapons. Syria has disclosed that they have 41 chemical weapons facilities, at the 23 arsenals. However, Syria did not disclose any sites where the chemical weapons were tested. The United Nations inspectors can't visit the other two arsenals until there is a cease in fire, or until it is completely safe.

It is a good thing that Syria has reported their chemical weapons, assuming they reported them all. It's also good that the inspectors have made it to most of the chemical weapons arsenals, however the report did not say what size, or what the type of the two arsenals that are left. These last 2 arsenals could be largest, or they could be the smallest. The size of these chemical weapon arsenals seems to be quite hidden from the public. The bad of this situation is that Syria has claimed they want to end the chemical warfare, but does not want to give the chemical weapons to anyone but Russia. Previously in the chemical confusion when tensions where high, Russia posed sides with Syria against the U.S., France, and the United Kingdom. This means Syria could just be passing off the weapons to Russia in alliance. Hopefully, these weapons will be truly destroyed, but only time will tell. This could only be a snowflake to a snowball affect on its way for war.

Brianna Hunt
Nov. 1, 2013.
3:00 pm

Blog 7: Disease To End War?

In Syria 22 people, mostly toddlers have contracted polio. This is the first outbreak in 14 years. The country is in outbreak response mode. More than 100,000 children are now at risk, since they were never vaccinated when they were born. The United Nations and World Health Organization have put their focus on rapidly vaccinating the country. The people that fled the country due to the war are also planned to receive the vaccine. Although these organizations are trying to track these refugees down, it seems nearly impossible due to the war. The chance of spreading polio is very high. These poorer countries run the risk of contacting contaminated feces with food or liquids. The disease is currently un-curable.

The good of the polio outbreak, I believe is the fear of polio could end the war in Syria quite soon. Polio is un-curable, which could instill fear into the people of Syria and cause them to end the war and worry more about the medical problem at hand. The bad of this situation is the people whom have already fled from Syria due to the war have already entered other countries, potentially taking polio with them. There are Syrian refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Egypt. These countries need to stay alert and anyone with signs or symptoms needs to seek urgent medical help. Also these places must keep their water and food resources clean, and separate from Syria. With so many people from Syria in other countries, it would not be shocking news. This polio outbreak could potentially become a world problem and a mass outbreak.

Brianna Hunt
2:45 pm. Oct 25, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24668437

Syria Attacking others?: Blog 6.

 Four men were arrested in West London on October 15th. They are all in their late 20's and drew attention with the mischief being caused. They were arrested on the ground that officials believed they were planning a terrorist attack. The men were of turkish origin, Azerbainjani origin, and of Pakistani origin, however they were all Islamic. The reason authorities believe they began to plan this attack was due to religion. They also now believe the men some how have a relation to Syria. Syria has been in the news lately due to their civil war, using chemical weapons. The chemical weapons factor is supposed to be coming to an end, however progress is slow. The accused terrorists are being detained and questioned. It is unsure if any charges will be pressed. 

Many situations could be possible from these accused terrorists. One, they could possibly be working with the Syrian rebels and be planning on attacking the United Kingdom. This would mean, they could use chemical weapons in other parts of the world other than Syria. A reason why this situation could be possible is because at one point in time the United Kingdom had threatened to intervene in Syria, if the use of chemical weapons was not stopped. If this is the case, then I am sure the United States, and France will jump in to actually further insure Syria to solve its problems by external force. The other situation is these "terrorist" may not be linked to Syria at all. This would mean they were doing it for Islamic purposes. If is it for Islam, this could have potentially became a world trade center like attack on England. The police did stop the four men before anyone, or any property was damaged, all there is to do is to wait and wait for the truth to unveil its self. 


Brianna Hunt 
Oct. 17
5:40 pm.
http://www.itv.com/news/2013-10-14/four-suspected-terrorists-questioned-over-plot-for-british-attack/

Blog 5: Syrian Inspectors Do Work.

             The United Nations had sent a team of 27 inspectors to disarm and destroy all chemical weapons in Syria. The past 10 days those inspectors have been inspecting the plants and holding area of chemical weapons in the government controlled areas, AKA the easy ones. They have hoped that the fighting will stop, when they cross to the rebel side for a "safe passage" for the inspectors. They hope all of the chemical weapons and their plants will be destroyed by mid-2014. However, violence continues as a regime war plane had struck one of Syria's larger towns Safira. This war plane killed at least 16 people. A video was posted of the seconds after the attack showing charred bodies, and parts of bodies everywhere. On a positive note, many countries around Syria's borders are accepting Syrian
people as refugees. Due to the war so far over 100,000 have died.

              The fact of other nations taking in civilians is a positive movement. The fact that people who aren't involved in the war can now take refuge in safe countries is a good sign that innocent lives will not be wasted, or used chemical weapons on by the rebels.The fact of the chemical weapons not being destroyed until mid-2013 seems really slow. Also, the article didn't state whether Syria was complying with this article or not, could be scary. If Syria's rebels do not comply with this, it  only seems like a death sentence for the inspectors, and the illegal making of chemical weapons by people that are not qualified to do so. This could only lead to awful accidents. However, is Syria's rebel do agree maybe the war will end sooner and lives will be saved. As of right now it appears the war is in no near future of ending. Foreign influence to end the war, now seems uninterested.

Brianna Hunt
5:50 pm
09 Oct. 2013

Blog 4:Progress in Syria

        Syria still is continuing to use chemical weapons in their civil war, however it is unclear to which side is using these weapons, the government or the rebels. There is progress going on, there are currently inspectors in Syria. The inspectors were sent by the United Nations, whom previously tried to make a deal with Syria, but was halted by Russia. These inspectors hope to have plans made by November 1st to destroy these places where chemical weapons are produced. An incident occurred Tuesday where a hotel where the inspectors had previously stayed, had a mortar shell dropped in.  This was a big deal due to the fact that in the most secure areas violence, and terrorism is possible. With the threat still possible the United Nations wants to resolve Syria's problems as soon as possible, however it  seems as if it might be a long haul.

         Syria is being forced to make progress, but this is good for the right's of humans. They do not really care about what the United Nations has to say due to Russia having their back. Syria never agreed to to dismantle their arsenal of chemical weapons. Terrorism continues and Syria's war is not ending anytime soon it appears. As of now the United States, the United Kingdom, and France may not have to intervene, due to the inspectors in Syria having plans to make plans to destroy chemical weapons by November !st. However, Syria could always reject these plans and war could potentially break out over this issue. With violence being in acted towards these United Nations inspectors, the deadlines not being met, or the inspectors having to abort this mission is a real and serious possibility. With our government in a shut down, the fact of us going to war has been put on a back burner, along with the United States being concerned with Syria's issues.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/world/middleeast/weapons-inspection-team-begins-work-in-syria.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0
Brianna Hunt
Blog 4
October 2, 2013
6:10 p,

Blog2: Support Grows For Russia

Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov released some new statements to the press about Syria and their position on intervention. He stated that Russia was fine with the UN Security Council bringing in chemical weapons experts to Syria, but still wants no military intervention in Syria by other countries. Lavrov also stated that he believes the chemical weapons are being used by the rebels and not the Syrian government. Then this brought the Syrian foreign minister to question the United States about their motives to launch military intervention plans in Syria. The foreign minister also states that if the United States inters Syria, that the only people that will be hurt are the peaceful ones, meaning the women and children. The meeting ended by both foreign ministers saying they welcome each other, and agree to try to keep out foreign intervention at all costs. Then Turkey sent additional troops and jets to the Syrian border.
                      The more Russia and Syria talk of no intervention at all costs, the more tension is built, not only in the United Nations, but in the surrounding countries. Turkey illustrated this by sending more military toward the Syrian border. The fact that Syria keeps saying that the issue of chemical weapons can be solved without intervention, but the use of chemical weapons in still in use is like one big slap to the United Nation's face. Right now there isn't intervention Syria, but if they continue to avoid the issue by promising the issue will be solved internally, but physically doing nothing, means war is a possibility in Syria. The countries that very strongly opposing Syria's use of chemical weapons are the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. President Obama has made statements about Syria and being ready to go to war. This is a possibility in the near future, of the United States jumping in, then our natural allies jumping in too and an all out world war breaking out, in which Syria could all possibly use chemical weapons, even after they banned in 1968 by the United Nations after the horrors that were produced from WWI and WWII.

http://rt.com/news/lavrov-syria-foreign-minister-603/
Brianna Hunt
19 Sept. 2013
5:45 pm.

Blog1: Syria Backs Russian Plan for Weapons

Syria began a civil war in April, 2011. This occured after peaceful protest broke out into fights. The fighting has led to murders, rapes, and torturing of the activists by the government. The Syrian government has also used chemical weapons on their people which is illegal by United Nations standards. The U.N. containing all the countries has now been forced to act. The U.N. wrote a proposal to solve the chemical warfare issue without foreign influence, however Russia and Syria opposed two chapters of the agreement. Now the verbal war has begun with Syria and Russia, against the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.
              The U.S. wants to send our military in for intervention to assist the rebels and overthrow the Syrian military. Russia will assist the Syrian government until the end, blocking any foreign influences. The war seems to be coming to no end. The rebels will not back down, especially with the government using extreme force on the people. If Syria continues to use chemical weapons and ignore the U.N.'s offers then surely a war will break out between Syria and Russia, against the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. This could potentially cause WWIII to break out in which chemical weapons will be used by at least Syria and Russia, or the war could just run its course until it dies off. Right now all remains unclear due to Syria and Russia refusing chapters 6 and 7 of the chemical weapons banning. It's really now in the hands of Syria and United Nations to come up with a solution that will work for both sides. Either way is quite scary. The war in Syria could end and they could just keep those weapons in stock, or even worse we send in our troops, with French and British troops to begin a war that could last a long while.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323595004579066524164827140.html
Brianna Hunt
09/12/13
5:45