As the world contemplates what to do with Syria, I had the opportunity to speak to Shadi (last name withheld) and his mother and I asked them about what life was like in Syria before the Arab Spring, as well as other things. Shadi and his mother now live in a small town in northern New Jersey. Both Shadi and his mother were living in the US and went to visit Syria before the outbreak of the uprising in that country. They wanted to return to the US but could not and thus were stuck in the land of their birth in the midst of a revolution for 2 and ½ years. Finally Shadi and his mother were able to escape from Syria and come back to New Jersey in June of this year to live with relatives. I sat down with Shadi and his mother for over four hours to discuss Syria in detail.
I specifically asked what life was like in Syria before the revolution and how was the relationship between Muslims and Christians who make up 10% of the population? The answers I received were different than what you will hear in the mainstream media. Shadi and his mother, who are Christians, were insistent that Christians and Muslims got along without any conflict priory to the revolution. Christians though a minority, had equal access to all the rights and privilege of social, academic, political, and financial aspects of Syrian society. I was told of a Syria that was getting better and more modernized under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad (Bashar-the-lion) as compared to his father’s stricter control. Bashar introduced or expanded private banking, private hospitalization, internet, cellphones and modern amenities to Syria. The Syrian government funds itself mostly from oil exports and has no personal income tax.
The catalyst of the Syrian revolution was in Daraa, in the southwest region of Syria near the Jordan border. A handful of teenagers were arrested for vandalism by Bashar-al-Assad’s cousin, Gen. Atef Najeeb. The teenagers were brutally beaten and tortured by Gen. Najeeb’s men because they spray painted anti Assad and anti-government graffiti. When family members and tribal leaders came to Gen. Najeeb to secure the release of the 15 teenagers, the General refused and disrespected the tribal leaders and sent them home without releasing the teenagers. The Sunni residents of Daraa reacted with protest and demonstrations. The overreaction by Gen. Najeeb was later apologized for by Bashar-al-Assad, but that was far too late, Syria was already on fire. The majority of the population of Daraa is Sunni as is over 60 percent of Syria, while Bashar-el-Assad is a member of a minority Shia subgroup called Alawites.
Sen. Robert Menendez still believes the threat of force must remain in play with Syria, Politico said. As the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez praised the chance of eliminating chemical weapons in Syria, but showed concern…
Posted: September 15th, 2013 | Author:admin | Filed under:Bob Menendez, Syria | Tags:Senator Bob Menendez, Syria | Comments Off on Sen. Menendez: Syria chemical weapons deal comes with heavy risks
The United States and Russia on Saturday agreed on an ambitious plan to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons by the middle of next year and left the door open to sanctions if Damascus failed to comply. The landmark deal was hailed by the West, but rejected…
Posted: September 14th, 2013 | Author:admin | Filed under:Syria | Tags:Russia, Syria, U.S. | Comments Off on US and Russia in landmark deal on Syria weapons
As talks continue about the situation in Syria, Congressman Chris Smith (R-4) wants the UN Security Council to establish a war crimes tribunal to hold President Bashar al Assad and others accountable for the use of chemical weapons. Smith told NJ Today…
The United States concedes that Russia will not allow the UN Security Council to authorize military strikes against the Syrian regime, senior White House officials said Friday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officials said a UN report due on…
Enlarge As diplomatic crises go, this one has had more twists and turns than a Wild Mouse. First there was the endless hand wringing over red lines turning pink and America losing its credibility in the world. When it seemed inevitable that US bombs…
Posted: September 11th, 2013 | Author:admin | Filed under:Syria | Tags:John Kerry, Obama, Putin, Syria | Comments Off on Here’s what the main players want in the standoff over Syria
President Barack Obama urged US senators Tuesday to help him seek a diplomatic response to Syria’s use of chemical weapons but said he wants Congress to maintain the threat of force. The president spent more than two hours on Capitol Hill in closed…
Drew Angerer/Getty Images TEANECK — Archbishop Cyril Aphrem Karim, regional leader of the Syrian Orthodox Church based in Teaneck, looks at his civil war-ravaged nation and sees Iraq. “What happened in Iraq will happen to Syria also,” Karim said…
President Barack Obama said a Russian plan to head off threatened US strikes on Syria by securing a deal to destroy the regime’s chemical weapons could be a “significant breakthrough.” Obama warned Monday he had not taken military strikes off the table…
Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) has proposed a solution to the use of chemical weapons in Syria that does not involve the United States bombing the country — the investigation and prosecution of those crimes against humanity.
Smith, New Jersey’s longest serving congressman and a well regarded champion of human rights, introduced a Concurrent Resolution last week that, if passed by both the House and Senate, would direct President Obama to work with the United Nations to set up a tribunal to investigate war crimes war crimes committed by the Syrian government and the rebel groups waging a civil war in the county.
In a interview with The Washington Post’sBrad Plumer, Smith, who has previously worked on war crimes tribunals involving Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone and Rwanda, criticizes the Obama targeting “20 year-olds who might be on an air force base” rather the actual perpetrators of use of sarin gas against the Syria people, be it the Assad regime or the rebels.
A tribunal would be a non-lethal alternative to a bombing campaign — which no one knows how long it will last. During the House hearing [on Wednesday], I asked Secretary Kerry: How do you define “limited”? How do you define “short duration”? And he didn’t answer. There’s no sense that bombing will end this war. No one is even remotely suggesting that. And I’m equally concerned about a strike where there are consequences that have or haven’t been anticipated that could occur.
Smith said the tribunal should convene immediately and that there in no need to wait for the end of the Syrian civil war.
Smith said that he asked Secretary of State John Kerry at a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee if the Obama administration had proof that the chemical weapons were deployed by the Assad regime. Kerry wouldn’t answer.
Smith said that he anticipated that Russia, China and the rest of the world community would support an investigative prosecutorial tribunal.
As the world contemplates what to do with Syria, I had the opportunity to speak to Shadi (last name withheld) and his mother and I asked them about what life was like in Syria before the Arab Spring, as well as other things. Shadi and his mother now live in a small town in northern New Jersey. Both Shadi and his mother were living in the US and went to visit Syria before the outbreak of the uprising in that country. They wanted to return to the US but could not and thus were stuck in the land of their birth in the midst of a revolution for 2 and ½ years. Finally Shadi and his mother were able to escape from Syria and come back to New Jersey in June of this year to live with relatives. I sat down with Shadi and his mother for over four hours to discuss Syria in detail.
