Topic:
Country: United States of America
Delegate Name: Andre Stoll
Security Council
Situation in Syria
United States
Andre Stoll
Forest Hills Eastern
Syria is a country located in the middle east that the same ruling family has governed for the past fifty years. The most recent in this line of rulers, Bashar-al Assad took power in 2000. His rule has been described as a regime by many outside sources. During early 2011, as part of the wider Arab Spring protests in the Middle East, unrest over the despotic ruler of Syria began in the country, eventually culminating in all-out armed conflict and civil war between rebels and the Al Assad government in 2012. In response, a global coalition led by the United States and Turkey formed to back the Syrian rebels, while Iran and Russia backed the Assad forces. This war has also allowed Islamic extremists to seize land in Syria and form a new Islamic State, that has been used to harbor terrorists and plan terrorist attacks. Since the start of the war, civilians have been repeatedly targeted, with the U.N. stating that at least 306,887 civilians have been killed. There have been many allegations of war crimes against civilians throughout the conflict. The war in Syria has resulted in a massive humanitarian crisis due to the millions displaced by the conflict. Since the start of the war, over 6 million people have fled to other countries as refugees. There have been numerous attempts by domestic, foreign, and international government coalitions to de-escalate the conflict, but despite this, there is no end to this war in sight. Multiple ceasefires have successfully been organized, but all have ultimately devolved back into armed conflict. The UNSC has passed 27 resolutions on the Syrian conflict since 2013, including resolutions on humanitarian access, peace talks, and chemical weapons in Syria, but none have been fully implemented.
The United States views the war in Syria as a war for democracy waged by rebels against an Aristocratic and brutal regime. The U.S. has led multiple military coalitions in the assistance of the rebels, providing weapons, training, air support, and ground troop support. The U.S. had deployed 2,500 soldiers to Syria at one point in this war, although that number is now down to around 900 as of 2022. In addition to supporting the Syrian rebels, the United States has also led a multi-national coalition known as CJTF–OIR(Control Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve) against the Islamic State in Syria. After a series of successful military campaigns executed with the support of the Syrian Kurds, the United States eradicated the ISIL presence in Syria, resulting in ISIL losing the entirety of its territory and the majority of its leadership. The U.S. has no plans of withdrawing from Syria until the Assad regime has fallen, with the head of U.S. Central Command stating there was no “end date” for the U.S.’s presence in Syria.
The United States believes that the only way for this conflict to end is for Assad’s regime to end and for a new government to be democratically elected. To that end, the U.S. desires for all ongoing support of and trade with the Assad government to cease. The U.S. desires more international aid to be given to the people displaced by this conflict, and for countries to be more accepting of the Syrian refugees. The U.S. also believes that the ongoing Kurdish separatist movements should be considered and democratically settled.
