Syria, Russia, and the US are currently trying to negotiate a (temporary) peace treaty. Syrian president Bashar Assad is hoping that this treaty will pause the civil war long enough to reduce chaos, but not so long that terrorists can use the ceasefire to their advantage. The US is pretty clearly against Bashar Assad and wants him out of office as soon as possible to end the attacks on Syrian civilians. Last year, government attacks were the cause of nearly 8000 recorded civilian deaths. Russia's stance with Syria is unclear. Its government has supported Bashar Assad and the Syrian army in its ultimate goal of ending terrorism. However, human rights groups have said that Russia was directly involved in the bombings of five medical centers and two schools last Monday. Ideally, the treaty will help all three countries conclusively decide on a relatively non-violent plan to bring peace to Syria.
This is the first war related interaction that our country has had with Syria, but definitely not our first involvement in foreign affairs. During the 1970's in the Cold War, the USSR was spreading it's domain over Asia. The US feared that they would take control over western Europe and middle eastern countries. US troops were sent to train Afghani people and Islamic extremists to defend themselves against Russia's impending power (it's also a common belief that we were using Afghanistan as our own frontline). However, once Russia stepped back, so did America- leaving large groups of people, many of whom were radical extremists, with military grade weaponry. Because of the lack of government and any kind of regulation, these groups rose to power and became the Taliban. Will the long term effects of the Syrian peace treaty be similar to this?
http://www.npr.org/2016/02/22/467621611/examining-russias-role-in-the-syrian-conflict
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