Why Experts Discourage Syrian Intervention
What’s the Latest Development?
Even securing the most basic humanitarian rights for Syrian refugees would require committing tens of thousands of ground troops and escalating the conflict to global levels, said Markus Kain, an expert in security policy at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “Together with military officials, Kaim calculated that to establish a humanitarian corridor that is 50 miles wide and 31 miles deep, a contingent of 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers would be necessary.” To protect that corridor from hostile military strikes, the international community would need to create a no-fly zone, thereby creating an international military conflict.
What’s the Big Idea?
The US has been slow to intervene in Syria despite its history of military engagement with foreign despots in the Middle East. Still, it is already working indirectly to train Syrian rebels and help Jordan cope with refugees crossing the Syrian border into its territory. “In light of developments in recent days—the suspected use of chemical weapons in Syria, two Israeli air strikes against the country and most recently the renewed kidnapping of four UN peacekeeping soldiers along the Syrian-Israeli border—calls for Western intervention in the Syrian conflict down the road could grow louder. But engagement would by no means be easy.”
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