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A. What are the Key questions on the Conflict in Syria?
The United States will debate limited options for a military strikes on Syria in response to a chemical attack on Aug.21, 2013 that the United States government says killed more than 1.400 people, more than 400 of them children. The Obama administration has sought to reduce American entanglements abroad, withdrawing forces from Iraq two years ago and moving toward another military entanglement, this time in Syria? The Syrian conflict affects American foreign policy in a number of ways, but the Obama administration has approached it cautiously, not only because it wants to reduce American military engagement overseas but also because the conflict is complicated and quickly shifting. The rise of sectarianism and the slow collapse of the state in Syria poses a danger to the Middle East as a whole. Millions of refugees have fled to neighboring nations, including Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, destabilizing them and inflaming sectarian tensions. Violence has also sporadically spilled over into Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey and even Israel, raising the specter of a broader conflict. On Aug.21, the Syrian government is believed to have killed hundreds of civilians in a chemical attack on the Sunni-majority suburbs of the capital, Damascus, violating international law and crossing what the Obama administration has called a “red line”. It is believed to be the largest chemical weapons attack since Saddam Hussein of Iraq used a gas attack in the Kurds in 1988, and some observers, including senior Israel officials, have argued that allowing it to go unpunished sets a dangerous precedent for Syria and its main ally, Iran, suggesting that the use of chemical agents could be tolerated in the future.
B. How did the conflict in Syria begin, who are the antagonists, The conflict in Syria grew out of the 2011 Arab Spring protests, when Syrian peacefully demonstrated in towns across the country against Mr. Assad, who succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, as president; between the two, the family has held the presidency for four decades. Unlike some other countries facing democratic protests, the Syrian government responded with violence, killing many protesters and radicalizing the movement. Civilians began to take up arms, at first to defend their demonstrations and later to fight security forces in their cities and towns. This nascent armed demonstrations was at first bolstered by army defectors who organized themselves, with Turkish help, under the umbrella of the Free Syrian Army, but over time radical Islamists, including some allied with Al Qaeda, came to play a dominant role, defeating government forces on the battlefield in some towns in the north and east and imposing their rule there.
C. Who outside Syria supports the rebel coalition Russia and Iran are the Syrian government’s two most important allies, providing financial and military support. Russia additionally provides Syria with important diplomatic cover, including the potential use of its veto on the United Nations Security Council. The largest sources of support for Syria’s rebels have been Turkey and conservative Sunni monarchies in the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Western countries have been more reluctant to embrace the rebels, providing primarily diplomatic support, in part because of the increasing influence of radical Islamists in the diverse and fragmented coalition of anti-Assad groups. D. The conflict has been growing in intensity and scope for more than There are a number of theories about why the Syrian government might have chosen to use chemical weapons at this point, just days after United Nations weapons inspectors arrived to investigate earlier allegations of chemical weapons use. One theory proposed by a senior Israel official is that the attack in the Damascus suburbs may have been a miscalculation: Syria may have been using chemical agents on a smaller scale for some time, and used an unintentionally large amount in last week’s attack. “Maybe they were trying to hit one place or to get one effect and they got a much greater effect than they thought, ” said the official. Another theory, argued by Juan Cole, a professor of Middle East Studies at the University of Michigan, is that a siege mentally may have contributed to the Assad government’s decision to use chemical weapons. Faced with intractable Sunni rebels in the Damascus suburbs, the Alawite-led government may have decided to send them a message that the capital would be defended at all costs. E. What do the United States and its allies hope to achieve through military Pentagon officials have said that President Obama is considering limited action “to deter and degrade” the Syrian government’s ability to deploy chemical weapons. He is not considering a more ambitious air campaign like the one that helped oust Col.Muammar el-Qaddafi in Libya in 2011, nor is he considering any action that would lead to the deployed chemical weapons, said Pentagon officials, as well as their headquarters and rockets or artillery units that could be used to launch them. Any strikes would not target chemical weapons storage facilities, which could have environmental or humanitarian consequences or open up sensitive sites to looters. The New York Times, 2013, August 27 Exercise 26 Complete the sentences using the information from the text. 1. The reason of the conflict in Syria is... 2. The conflict in Syria began in..... because.... 3........ bolstered the nascent armed movement. 4. The two most important allies to Syria are......, providing ...... 5. .... support Syria’s rebels. 6. One theory proposed by a senior Israeli official is that ... 7. Another theory, argued by Juan Cole, is that... 8. According to Pentagon officials President Obama is considering limited military action to...
Topical Quiz Translate into English: 1. Считают, что вопросы определения статуса Иерусалима, водных ресурсов, статуса палестинских беженцев, израильских поселений на западном берегу реки Иордан являются ключевыми камнями преткновения в разрешении арабо-израильского конфликта. 2. Случилось так, что проблема палестинских беженцев стала источником напряженности и нестабильности в отношениях между Израилем и Палестиной. 3. Несмотря на резолюции ООН, призывающие к репатриации беженцев, Израиль отказался их выполнять. 4. Резолюция ООН от 1947 года разделила территорию Палестины на еврейское и арабское государства. 5. Вспыхнувшее на оккупированных территориях в декабре 1987 года народное восстание палестинцев (интифада) заставило израильские власти прибегнуть к поиску компромисса. 6. Декларация 1993 года, подписанная в Вашингтоне при посредничестве США и России обязательно должна была открыть новые пути урегулирования кризиса. 7. В декларации 1993 года Израиль давал согласие на организацию Палестинской национальной автономии, а ООП признавала право Израиля на существование. 8. Мировое сообщество хотело бы, чтобы переговоры по восстановлению мирного процесса были возобновлены. 9. Подобные действия поставят многих людей в затруднительное положение и заставят предпринимать решительные меры в вооружённом восстании. 10. Секретные службы ожидают, что насилие вновь повторится перед встречей на высшем уровне в Иордании и перед визитом премьер-министра Израиля в Вашингтон. 11. Войска Израиля должны были быть выведены из 5 городов западного берега реки Иордан как результат переговоров между Израилем и Организацией Освобождения Палестины в 1995 году. 12. Чтобы прекратить насилие, израильский премьер-министр, палестинский лидер и президент США встретились в Египте в 2000 году для проведения переговоров. 13. Израиль и Палестина подписали соглашения, направленные на возобновление мирного процесса на Ближнем Востоке.
SUUMING UP Give a smooth talking on the following topics: 1. The stumbling blocks of the conflict 2. The countries and organizations interested in resolving the conflict 3. The ways of resolution
Topical questions 1. What are the reasons of the conflict between Israel and Palestine, 2. Why has it been so hard to get the sides to agree to a long-term ceasefire? 3. What is the status of Jerusalem? 4. What are the reasons of the conflict in Syria? 5. What countries and international organizations are involved in resolving the conflicts? 6. What issue do you consider the most important in each conflict and why? 7. How real are prospects of resolving the conflicts? 8. What are the latest developments in the region? 9. Why is the Israeli-Arab conflict long-running? 10. Do the conflicts in Syria and the conflict between Israel and Palestine have anything in common? How different are they? Give reasons. 11. In what ways has the world community been trying to inspire peace process to find a solution of the conflicts? 12. Does Russia participate in mediating activities in resolving both conflicts? Role play Act a round-table discussion (negotiations) on the Middle East as representatives of the Quarter conflict along the following lines: a) Ceasing the fire between the warring sides. b) Working out an agreement on the stumbling blocks of the conflict. Word list
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