The conflict in the Middle East is both one of the most talked about issues in modern geo-political discourse, and at the same time, one of the least understood modern socioeconomic traumas. What is happening in the warring states of Palestine, Syria, the Gulf states, the United States, Russia, Jordan, and multiple smaller rebel groups is disgusting and appalling, and the root of this evil begins with four separate influences in Syria, and the nations that they have backing their progress.
Everything began in March of 2011, when peaceful Arab spring demonstrators, who wanted democratic change in Syria, were fired on by the soldiers of the nations, then by dictator Bashaar Al-Assad. Later that year, citizens started shooting back at the dictator. With time and uninvolved superpowers, the disagreement quickly swelled into nationwide civil war. The first low blow of the war then occurred when radical jihadi prisoners were released, as Al-Assad noticed many radical jihadist groups joining the rebellion. This was all in an attempt to deter foreign nations from backing the rebellion financially, because of the radical Islamic groups.
From this point on, it was clear to the world that this war would be long. Immediately, the Gulf states start financing the rebels through Turkey, the Ayatollah of Iran is financing Assad, and slowly but surely, the entire conflict becomes a war-by-proxy between the Gulf states and Iran. The Middle East is split by Sunni-Islamic forces, and Shia-Islamic forces.
In this quick and dramatic turn of events, the war played out to be a long and convoluted one, so much so that the world would need to decide now when it would become involved, and on who's side. What we would have hoped for is the majority of states to back the free rebels of Syria, and promote an attempt to oust an unruly dictator. What we got was the opposite. Russia begins to back the Iranian Ayatollah, and the USA backs the rebels with secretive training and arming of Syrian rebels.
If you wanted to picture this conflict now as a schoolyard brawl, with nations calling on their friends to come help fight, and the older nations claiming their dad will beat up the other nations dad, then the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is the one kid who jumps in the middle and starts punching everyone, and is only there for the fight, with no intention beyond causing pain to others.
ISIS breaks from Syrian rebels to begin fighting with Kurdish rebels who are also in contest with Assad, as well as invading loosely held land in Iraq, proclaim the east as its Religious Caliphate, and turn the entire world against it, heel and toe.
Its safe to say that, with the conflict in the East the way it is, no one really knows who to support, or why the should even get involved, but the most we as Americans with voices and hearts can do is to become educated on the matter. When we are electing our officials to control the matter, we know what we want, and we can know better what they want. We have the freedom in America to know all there is to know about the world, and the weight of that freedom has pushed us to reject the facts, and go on living happily because the forces of fascism are not at our doorstep. Americans will soon realize that freedom is education, not ignorance.
