Has the Time Come for Military Intervention in Syria?

Abstract

ABSTRACT In its third year, the Syrian civil war still divides the international community and defies diplomatic solution. A series of international conferences have brought together more than 100 nations under the label “Friends of Syria.” However, with the UN Security Council unable to take any action because of the Russian and Chinese vetoes, no progress has been made. Two successive special envoys of the UN Secretary-General have been unable to bring the warring sides to the negotiating table, while agreements reached at a Geneva conference co-sponsored by the United States and Russia have remained a dead letter. The conflict has developed into a proxy war in which rival power blocs fight over the future geopolitical shape of the greater Middle East. With almost 100,000 dead and more than 1.5 million refugees, the war has prompted a debate on the advisability or otherwise of direct intervention by outside powers interested in ending the conflict by toppling President Bashar al-Assad's regime. This article discusses the arguments for and against intervention and the possible impact of action and inaction on the broader balance of power in the eastern Mediterranean region.