The bombing in Syria is based on a flawed strategy – just as Operation Rolling Thunder was during the Vietnam War. But will world leaders learn the lessons of history?
Rebuilding Syria will be complex and costly. But expertise and extensive funds will be in short supply due the geopolitical absence of the US and other Western countries.
The US, France and Britain launching air strikes this weekend on Syria in retalition for an alleged gas attack by the Assad regime – but niether side is likely to up the ante soon.
Ghouta, Syria is being destroyed. The latest news tells of at least 40 residents killed in a chemical weapons attack. But Ghouta’s past was all about beauty, and its very name meant “green oasis.”
Despite a devastating toll in the seven-year conflict, which has seen 400,000 people killed and six million displaced, there is no end in sight for the people of Syria.
Over the past three decades, Turkey has launched countless operations across the Iraqi and Syrian borders, succeeding only in making matters worse for itself. This time may be no different.
To understand the complexities of the conflict in Syria and what might happen next, it helps to untangle the three layers of strife in the war-torn country.
Associate Professor in Islamic Studies, Director of The Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation and Executive Member of Public and Contextual Theology, Charles Sturt University