According to information gathered by CNN, Syrian opposition leaders have stated that with a week left to go, the month of August has been the most violent month in this 17-month long uprising. Activists report that about 3,700 people have been killed in the last 25 days.
While reports from the ground indicated that President Bashar al-Assad's forces have begun to engage in even more indiscriminate shelling of civilian towns, official government statements suggest that "Armed forces continue pursuing terrorists in Aleppo and its countryside."
Government officials in the neighboring nation of Turkey have weighed in on this phase of the conflict, stating that "We didn't tell anyone to take up arms and revolt. But we cannot remain silent about the Syrian people who had stood up and fought in the name of values which Turkey also cherishes." This is unlikely to be a sign that the government plans on getting publicly involved, as the nation has continued to deny supplying weapons and safe houses for Syrian rebels, despite reports indicating otherwise.
The crisis in Syria is not only all of the violence and bloodshed occurring right now, but the effects that will have on the whole society for generations to come. Sometimes when discussing foreign policy it can be easy to forget that a nation's actions now not only affect the short-term violent struggle to overthrow a tyrant, but the long-term attempt to help create a peaceful nation. The U.S.'s decision to stay on the sidelines might help avoid being seen as a western imperialist power, but it will more likely be seen as a moral failing.
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Comments: 1
things could change. after November, the presidential election will be settled, and whoever is president will be free of charges of "wagging the dog." Some of it depends on Assad. If he continues upping the brutality, the pressure on us to crush him will grow.