Terrorism in Syria
Marcus Poree
April 24th, 2018
Professor Romano
History 1000C
There is countless problems in Syria involving the Syrian civil war, and a big part of the problem is innocent civilians being murdered by the hand of “terrorist”. I quote terrorist because the idea of terrorism can be pretty subjective depending on which side you’re representing. The US views groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS as terrorist, however some Middle Eastern countries may disagree, and even support them. The Government in war in Syria has the entire world’s attention and with so many parties fighting for the same land, many bystanders on all sides fall victim to opposing forces trying to force their enemies into submission.
The earliest act of modern day terrorism in Syria, began in the 80’s, when the Islamic Uprising began with Sunni Muslims against the Ba’ath political party who have controlled the government in Syria since 1947 . From 1976 to 1982 there were tons of attacks on civilians and off duty military officers. Assassinations of high Syrian military officials, Ali Haydar, Ahmad Khalil and ‘Abd al Hamad Ruzzig and series of bombings around the capital Damascus, that killed hundreds of civilians, in 1986. The people responsible for these attacks include groups like Al Qaeda who are still relevant today.
Many of the terrorist groups were are spawned to combat outsiders who try to interfere in Middle Eastern countries. Many of these terrorist groups are made up of Sunni Muslims. Sunni, which is a sect of Islam, takes a very direct translation of the Quran, and believe that people that do not believe in their beliefs are unholy, and should cleansed.
Terrorism has had a big resurgence since the 2000’s. Specifically in Syria radicals were at large. Groups like Al Qaeda that were very active in the 2000’s. Terrorist groups consisted of many Syrian citizens, along with many other arabian countries. They served to fight against western powers who try to have control in Muslim countries. They believe that the western world should not interfere with Muslim relations, especially because they are not believers in the Quran. Terrorist groups have a lot of hatred for the US, with attacks like 9/11. They loathe the United States because of our constant support to suppress Muslim attacks in the Middle East, where they are not welcomed.
The problems in the Syrian problems in the 21st century stem from the government under Bashar al-Assad. Bashar promised reforms to better the economy, and reduce corruption in the government and introduce a more democratic culture in Syria. In the beginning of the new rule, their were reforms that permitted people have more opinion in the governmental process, and many political prisoners were released. This period was known as the “Damascus Spring”, but was short lived, when the government went back on their promises and reinforced the old way they had recently abolished.
Bashar Al-Assad has been very inconsistent president with giv...
