SYRIA

The Situation:

The head of the Syrian regime is Bashar Al Assad who will not step down as president or surrender his power to any of the rebel forces (some of whom are secular and some of whom are radically religious). In the past week the United Nations (U.N.) has ordered an investigation into a possible chemical weapon attack that killed over a thousand men, women, and children. The evidence seems to conclude that indeed chemical weapons were used, and evidence points to a strong possibility that the weapons were used by the Syrian regime to attack members of the opposition groups.

Task:

You must decide whether there should be a military attack on Syria as a punishment for using chemical weapons against civilians.

Step one: Working alone and through the lens of your role (i.e. U.S. President, a rebel group, etc.) you should read the articles below and decide whether you think there should be an attack or not.

Step two: As a group, each person should share who they are, their decision of whether there should be a military strike on Syria by the U.S. or not, and FIVE reasons specific to their role that guided them in their decision. The group should debate the matter until they have come up with a decision everyone agrees with.

Resources:

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/war-in-syria--real-people-tell-their-stories-of-survival--hope/?_ga=2.245239685.1606368259.1524157487-547376904.1524157487

https://www.cnn.com/2013/08/27/world/meast/syria-civil-war-fast-facts/index.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/04/12/syria-explained/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.3b9d2b94f4df

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26116868