Post 1- Syria

    Syria is a state that is continuously in the news for reasons that have global implications. They are currently in the midst of a civil war that according to Nicolae Balcescu, has claimed the lives of over 250,000 people and has millions of refugees fleeing to surrounding countries causing a massive crisis. Besides the civil war, there is also a terrorist group taking hold on many sectors of Syria, called the Islamic State, or ISIS. They are an extremely violent group that uses extreme tactics to gain power and territory following their religious views of Islam. They have claimed part in many terror attacks around the world, including the most recent shootings and bombings in France. They were up against a regime in Syria led by Bashar al-Assad. Under this regime, Syria's somewhat stable economy due to the oil fields, crashed and they have been torn apart by war.

 

 

    Bashar al-Assad was elected president of Syria on an unopposed ballot in the year 2000. Protests began against his rule in 2011, causing an uprising of rebels. Under the direction of Assad, terrible actions were taken against people who spoke out against the regime. Assad is accused of multiple war crimes, including using chemical weapons against his own people. Those who spoke out against Assad were even murdered by the Syrian army and militia. The state is now in a full blown civil war. There are those fighting to keep Assad in power, the rebels fighting against Assad, and the terror group ISIS fighting for jihad and taking control in parts of Syria. These major events have drawn a lot of attention from major world powers like Russia and the United States. The United States proposed intervention after evidence was found of the use of chemical weapons dropped on its' own people, and Assad agreed to remove these weapons from Syria, even though there is still evidence of their use. Due to this lack of stability in the Syrian government and leadership, the Islamic State has been able to take hold in many parts of Syria. Led by the US, groups began using air strikes against the regions under ISIS control. Evidence to support effective use of these strikes has really yet to be produced. One worry is that Russia is using these air strikes against western nations instead of what they claim.

    Due to all of the violence and war in Syria, over four million refugees have fled the country to other surrounding nations in search of safety and some sense of security. Once fleeing Syria, getting to another country is the first challenge these people face. They pack in by the hundreds on to small boats and leave, a lot of times not even making it to the destination due to the weather and ocean conditions. Once arriving in neighboring countries, a lot of times this refugees are not allowed in or are given little to no help. Not only do a lot of these refugees need help to find shelter and food, they have also experienced life altering events that have very severe long term implications. They do not know how to function in every day society because of the mental trauma and violence they have seen and been apart of. The air strikes launched by foreign countries have made is that much more unsafe to live in parts of Syria. Not only does one fear of a takeover by the militia or ISIS, but there is the fear of an air attack, as well. A good proportion of the refugees are fleeing to Jordan and Turkey, but these states being two of the smallest in the area around Syria, this is not good for either country's infrastructure. One other big issue with this crisis is that there are a lot of children being displaced from homes due to the displacement. Efforts are being made in Turkey and Jordan, as well as nations further away to expand in an effort to accommodate the amount of people now coming into these countries.

Post #1 - Saudi Arabia: The Kingdom in Crisis

Post by Nathan Gerdes 

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia dates back to 1932 when King Adb-al-Aziz of the Al Saud family gained control over Hejaz from the Hashemite family. He then united the areas under his family's control into the present day Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (overview). Following the discovery of vast oil fields in 1938, as pointed out in a timeline prepared by BBC, the poor desert kingdom quickly transformed into one of the wealthiest nations in the region. During this time, the Al Saud family succeeded to rule under the descendants of King Abd-al-Aziz.

"Young prince in a Hurry" - The Economist

In 2005, Crown Prince Abdullah was named King of Saudi Arabia. He remained in power until his death in 2015. Under King Abdullah's rule, the kingdom faced backlash and chaos relating to Islamic terrorists including al-Qaeda and the Arab Spring of 2011. However, King Abdullah still managed to move the nation forward both socially and diplomatically. He gave women the right to vote and run for elected office, he led Saudi Arabia and Qatar to agree to a final delineation of the border, and he overhauled the judicial system. In addition, he increased welfare spending and appointed the first ever female minister of the kingdom.

With the transfer of power to 79-year-old King Salman in 2015, the future of Saudi Arabia looked bleak. By this time, conflicts had surrounded the borders of the nation, oil demand had been suffering do to fracking and newly discovered oil reserves in the United States, and Saudi Arabia faced its first budget deficit in over five years (chart).

King Salman

King Salman appointed his 30-year-old son Prince Muhammad to defense minister and head of the royal court shortly after he vacated the throne. Prince Muhammad is the deputy crown prince, but will likely succeed his father when power should be transferred. This also relates to Prince Muhammad’s independence and assertiveness while still prince.

The King and his son have by no means allowed their time in power be wasted. According to an (article) in the Economist, just weeks after he was appointed defense minister, “fighter jets from Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s richest state, led a coalition into action against the Houthi militias of its poorest, Yemen.” According to Prince Muhammad, the goals in Yemen are to reestablish the Yemen government and protect the borders of Saudi Arabia. In an interview with the Economist, Prince Muhammad strongly defended Saudi Arabia’s current efforts by stating:

“I have surface-to-surface missiles right now on my borders, only 30-50 km away from my borders, the range of these missiles could reach 550km, owned by militia, and militia carrying out exercises on my borders, and militia in control of warplanes, for the first time in history, right on my borders, and these war planes that are controlled by the militia carry out activities against their own people in Aden. Is there any country in the world who would accept the fact that a militia with this kind of armament should be on their borders?”

The Houthis have been receiving help from Iran which does not help the tensions between the two nations. This is occurring concurrently as Saudi Arabia watches from the sidelines as the United States, which Saudi Arabia considers an ally, continues negotiations with Iran. To add to the tension, on January 2, 2016, King Salman ordered the execution of 47 dissidents by beheading. According to a Time article, three were Saudi Shi’as, approximately one-third were al-Qaeda-linked Saudis, and the majority were Sunni. Among these was a prominent Shi’ite cleric Sheikh Nimr. This lead to upheaval in Iran and within hours, the Saudi embassy in Tehran was overran. Saudi Arabia quickly severed any diplomatic ties with Iran. In relation to U.S.-Iran relations, the Time article states:

“U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had, immediately after the anti-Saudi riots which destroyed Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran, telephoned Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to discuss the issue. He then telephoned his Saudi counterpart, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, only to be told that the Saudis did not wish to speak to him. This was the worst snub to the U.S. by Saudi Arabia since the late King ‘Abdallah bin ‘Abd al-’Aziz al Sa’ud cut short U.S. Pres. Barack Obama’s State visit to the Kingdom on March 28, 2014.”

Between foreign affairs and rock-bottom oil prices, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in crisis and must make great strides to return to a path of success. 

Post #1- Turkey

       Turkey is a relatively small country, comparative in size to the state of Texas. With a population of roughly 79 million, almost all of them practice Muslim religion (99.8%).

        Turkey used to be a unified governmental country, with a small 15 percent of the population isolating themselves called the Kurdish. Referred to as Kurds, they play a big role in the problems in Turkey with the government. In the 1990s they began to support the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) which both the U.S. and Turkey considered a terrorist group. The current president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, created a new party, the pro-Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP). The launching of the newest group in 2015, the Peoples' Democratic Party, is what stirred up the real tension. 

      The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) is inordinately made up of Kurds and creates a malicious environment for the rest of the country. While it is reported that this is the entire country's choice of party, demographics show that it is south-eastern Turkey that largely supports them. They are aimed towards implementing gender equality and rights for women. However, their attempts to attack other parties in Turkey has created tension between the groups. Worries arise from this that Turkey can no longer count on the Kurdish citizens for support through war, terrorism, or other times of conflict in the country.

        Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the current president of Turkey and describes himself as a conservative democrat. Recently, Turkey seems to be in danger while portraying themselves to be more hostile towards their surrounding countries. In November, Turkey shot down a Russian plane that flew into their territory. This was the first time in more than a half century that a member of NATO shot down a Russian plane, according to an article by Fox News.

       NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization which holds 28 member countries and attempts to instill the intentions written in the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949. On their official website, they state, "NATO promotes democratic values and encourages consultation and cooperation on defence and security issues to build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict."



       Clearly, their objective was misdirected by Turkey's recent actions. Despite the falling out, though, Russia hasn't stopped pushing their limits. They have violated the border multiple times since and Erdogan is getting fed up. On Friday, he sent a warning to Moscow that they would "endure the consequences" if they did not cease the invasion of their borders. Russia denies that they even invaded the borders in the first place. So, here we have potential trouble with Russia.
      Turkey is bordered by Syria, as well, and may begin to see more trouble coming from that end in relations to ISIS. Back in July, Erdogan and Obama agreed to work together to, "stem the flow of foreign fighters and secure Turkey's border with Syria." Erdogan agreed to open Turkish bases to U.S. drones and planes, and vowed to work together with the United States to bomb ISIS targets in Syria. According to an article by the Atlantic, they think that this ensures Turkey as an enemy for ISIS.
      What does this mean for Turkey? Well, with the country beginning to split politically, they definitely need all the help they can get -- emphasizing the United States. Their border with Syria now offers a direct gateway for attacks from ISIS. And Russia's failure to cooperate (according to Turkey), is basically an antagonistic combat that will get nothing but a violent response from Turkey, creating more violence and potential damage to the security of NATO.

Post #1. Algeria, A work in Progress

  Post by Tom Sanders.  

     Beginning in the 1960's Algeria has been free from the previous control and constraint of living under the rule of France. In these past 50 years, the people of Algeria, Algerians, have been hanging in the balance of a country slowly moving towards stability and one that is divulging into chaos. According to a timeline, produced by The New York Times, over viewing the past half month of Algeria's history, the world could soon bear witness to the fall of a country.

          The current Algerian President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika age 78, is facing a crisis. With his health failing from a stroke in 2013 and his country in a state of turmoil plagued with street violence, poverty, crime and drug trade, Bouteflika seems to be getting desperate to hold onto his seat upon the throne. In an article written by Carlotta Gall titled, "Algerian President Fires Intelligence Chief in a Shake-Up of Security Forces",  Gall informs that on top of removing Mohamed Mediene, the head of Algeria's intelligence service for close to three decades, President Bouteflika has been detaining other security officials and officers who oppose his view. Mediene in particular has been publicly opposing Bouteflika's run for a 4th term as President and this shady, backroom poker style deal of his removal might be Bouteflika's way of reassurance for staying in office. A close friend and ally of Mediene who also worked as a counter terrorism correspondent under Bouteflika was arrested in August of 2015 (Gall). Coincidence? I think not .

          In the grand scheme of life, the trouble of Algeria will not shutter the common folk who live hundreds and thousands of miles away and this is a problem. Algeria has a Presidential system based government where the President holds most of the power. The United States also has a partially Presidential system based government. What is astounding is that if what is happening in Algeria, wrongful imprisonment, the vast poverty, violence, was happening in America...shit would hit the fan. Nixon was impeached for attempting to cheat the run at presidency, rest assured a candidate that locks up his competition would receive much more severe consequences.

          On a list of GDP per capita composed in 2014, the United States ranks 1. Algeria, however, falls much lower to 48. Algeria's GDP is barely 1% of the United States. This is not the main or only cause for Algeria's woes but it most certainly does not help. Lets put it into perspective this way. With such a lower GDP it can be assumed the Algerian economy is not up to par with America's. A struggling economy puts great strains on families and citizens everywhere they turn. Companies go out of business, unemployment rises, children can't afford to get an education and the process of improvement is halted on a country-wide scale.

          In an attempt to bring Algerians out of the darkness of poverty the Algerian government began the construction of new apartments and housing for those with nowhere else to go. In another well worded article by Carlotta Gall, the housing system is said to be "shoddy...and too small for families that had grown in the many years since they applied". Not everyone was relocated from the slums into the new housing. When hearing the news they haven't been selected to move, some even chose to take their own lives than continue to live in their current condition (Gall). The housing project was started with the utmost best intentions, but the corruption Bouteflika has planted in the Algerian government has seen to make it a staple point of what is wrong with this country.

          It is my belief that when the population struggles and can't dig itself out of a hole, the government must have some sort of solution, not matter how small. So when a country such as Algeria is struggling, how can the people turn to a President such as Bouteflika and trust him to advise and orchestrate the rise out of the pit when he has let them down time and time again?

Current state of Egypt

Blog by Cole Stoecklein:

            This Monday, January 25^th marked one of the most pivotal moments in the common era of Egypt, the Egyptian Revolution. It was pivotal socially, politically and religiously. However, looking back five years it seems this pivotal moment has merely led to the same circumstances.

            In 2011, thousands of people came out to Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt to protest their president, Hosni Mubarak. They protested peacefully for several days, and planned on doing so until President Mubarak stepped down from his presidency. Their peaceful protests were met with violent force, and up to 800 people were killed. Adding fuel to the flame, Mubarak and Egyptian officials then shut down communication via social media for Egyptians in Cairo, which only infuriated protestors more. After several tumultuous days, Mubarak eventually stepped down.

This moment was celebrated as a triumphant moment for the people of Egypt, and there was a glimmer of hope for a new, representative government. After the short reign of the Muslim Brotherhood as a political group, a new president by the name Abdel Fattah el-Sisi took power in June 2014.

In the eye-opening story by Iyad El-Baghdadi of the Huffington Post, “On the Anniversary of the EgyptianRevolution, Sisi is terrified” it is clear that not much has changed since the 2011 revolution. The people of Egypt still feel oppressed as ever; in fact, the hashtag “#Ash-shab yurid isqat an-nizam” (the people want to bring down the regime) became the top trending topic among the Arab Twittersphere.

Sisi, seemingly out of sheer fear, took identical approaches to quiet down the activists. Like Mubarak, he secured Tahrir Square with military enforcements. Many arrests were made of young, political activists. In an eerily similar scene to 2011, many young activists homes were broken into and their social media history was searched. It is very clear that Sisi is scrambling to silent a movement that most Egyptian officials have claimed to be silenced. The irony of the situation lies in the claims made by Sisi at the start of 2016, for he declared 2016 to be the “year of the youth”, yet the youth have found themselves suppressed, harassed, and helpless.

On young Egyptian man posted on his Facebook that during Mubarak’s reign he wanted to immigrate, but now under Sisi he dreams of “getting asylum anywhere to escape your hell and your injustice” (Huffington). Sisi is publicly begging for young Egyptians not to migrate; yet the young Egyptians feel as if they have no choice. El-Baghdadi calls the state of Egypt a “tragic comedy”, for indeed it is sad what the state of the country has come too, but it is also predictable.

So, how did we get here? El-Baghdadi points to viewing Sisi as a paradigm (Huffington).  Sisi is a paradigm in the way that he makes people view Tyranny as a way to bring stability, and that the foundation of a strong country isn’t the people, but the government. In the time of unrest following the 2011 revolution, people were looking for a political savior, and people thought that they had found that in Sisi. In fact, around the peak of his campaign in 2014, an Egyptian newspaper dubbed him “The messiah, the savior”. It’s unfortunate how far off the people of Egypt were on Sisi, and now that they have come to that realization change is in the near future.

Sisi’s fear has never been more evident, and he has every reason to be afraid. The Egyptian people have proven strong enough to make a political change when they rally together. But after 5 years of no change, do they have the will power to revolt again?

Testing

This is a blog for German/T_A_M/Journ/PEA_ST 3510- Global Citizenship, Section A. We will be covering the Middle East and North Africa geographical area.