Syria Socratic Seminar

The situation in Syria is critical right now and is threatening the security not only of itself, but of the rest of the world as well. The participants seemed to realize this and most of the details of what is going on. They knew all of the numbers involving the chemical attack on August 21 in Damascus and basic facts about Syria and the attack. The participants focused mainly on the possibility of some sort of military attack and what would be related to it. They did not spend much time, however, on whether or not it was Assad’s government behind the chemical attack and accepted as fact that he was responsible. The participants also mentioned who was involved, especially the parties with links to extremist groups. They covered all of the basic facts and talked about many different issues and possible solutions.

Out of the eleven participants, eight were in favor of some sort of intervention, but only four supported military intervention. Arguments against military intervention included that there was no proof that it could successfully create a democracy, weapons could fall in the hands of extremists, and troops would just cause death and financial problems. People were equally against a drone strike and argued that they posed a threat to civilians, could cause a chemical leakage, and even that they are unfair and a war crime. For both boots on ground and drone strikes people feared Ass ad could retaliate and attack other countries. A pro given for drone strikes is that it is the best option for destroying weapon stores. A better received option was for economic sanctions and to support refugees. For economic sanctions, it would be difficult due to Russian vetoes and would only delay the conflict. It is too late for it to be of much help. Most people were in favor of aiding refugees, but decided a line would need to be drawn between aiding and arming.

This meeting went very well. The discussion flowed and avoided long pauses while also allowing everyone to voice their thoughts. It was overall very productive and a lot was discussed.

The participants were too dismissive of the possibility of a drone strike. They called it a danger to civilians even though technology has reached the point that rockets are accurate within inches of their target. The strikes are completely safe it is only the intelligence that can pose a danger. Also, people were afraid of chemical leakage even though the military’s plans are to take out delivery devices not the chemicals themselves. Someone even called a drone strike unfair and a war crime. This is completely wrong because no government in the world considers drones a war crime. Drones however are the best way to eliminate weapons and pose the least of a threat to US military. Unlike a boots on the ground approach, which will cause many US soldiers to die, and humanitarian support, which is just useful as a supplement to another solution, drone strikes are the most viable solution.