The summer in politics

Well hello there all you freshers (and everybody else)! Here comes yet another year of Imperial. A small amount of us do tend to have an interest in politics surprisingly enough. So if you are one of those people who likes to learn about world affairs or likes to have a drunk rant, like I do, about how good or bad things are around the world, then read on. Now is the time to empower yourself with every bit of information needed to thwart those who don’t agree with you. How? By reading up on the most important issues of course.

Just an aside for all freshers: This year will pass way too quickly. No joke.

Main Story – Syria

When the Arab spring took place two years ago, Syria saw an opening to be free from the Assad regime. They saw how effective the protest had been in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere, and thought that they could be able toform their desired government in due course.

However, Assad has been brutal in the way he has been dealing with the protestors. There has been a civil war taking place in the region for far too long. There are 2 main groups taking part in this war: The Free Syrian Army and the supporters of Assad. The conflict has worsened due to the use of chemical weapons. Both sides are too busy blaming each other for the use of chemical weapons. The Huffington Post claims that 110,000 lives have been lost in this war but the exact numbers are unknown. It’s unfortunate to see how the revolt that started during the Arab Spring has unfolded.

The chemical weapons dilemma:

The international community has been ambivalent about being involved in Syria due to its past failures in the region.

US interference in Middle Eastern conflicts has often ended up having the opposite effect to what was expected when they went in. As a result, the western public is against military intervention in Syria. Americans do not want to see their country get involved in a war which does not improve the US standing in the region. Furthermore, after the Iraq war, they have become suspicious about their government’s international interest.

This has caused a number of problems for President Obama. He openly stated recently that it would be ‘the last straw’ if the Assad regime used chemical weapons against its own civilian population. However, now there seems to be ‘substantial evidence’ to show the use of these weapons. As a result, Obama has beentrying to gather votes for an air strike in Syria. This seems to be an uphill battle for the president as there is overwhelming opposition to such a strike. The UK parliament has also voted against an air strike in Syria. This has made matters even worse for him.

Russia has also shown a fierce opposition to American intervention. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has asked Syrian officials to submit their chemical weapons to international agencies. As a result, Obama has stated that he would put an air strike on hold if Syria submits its chemical weapons.

My Take:

US should not take part in air strikes in Syria. Assad already has enough time to prepare for such an air strike. The only way the air strike would be effective would be if there are ground troops to support the air strike. Furthermore, there are worries within the Syrian public that the air strikes would result in further civilian casualties. Russian authorities, I believe, have provided an alternative which the international community should respect.

The second important story – Egypt after the Arab Spring:

A very rosy picture was painted about the path towards which Egypt was headed after the Arab Spring. However, people are becoming more and more pessimistic about the future of the country. Months after Hosni Mubarak was ousted from Egypt, democratic elections were held. The Freedom and Justice party, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, came to power with Mohammad Morsi as their leader. A new constitution was drafted which the West has not been in support of, as it gave The Freedom and Justice party immense power.

Mohammad Morsi was also losing support at home for the same reason as well as his inability to deal with the economic issues. This resulted in a massive protest around Egypt and resultantly military intervention.

The Egyptian military and democracy:

The Egyptian military took over the parliament on July 3rd. The head of the armed forces, Gen. Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi, announced that the constitution has been revoked and an interim government headed by Chief Justice Abdul Mansour has since been put in place whilst a new constitution is drafted. This has led to widespread protests across Egypt with Islamist groups setting up camp in various suburbs of Cairo. The military crackdown on these tents has also lead to a loss of a number of lives. The BBC states that according to eyewitness accounts, at least 40 people have died in the protests.

My Take:

I am quite worried about how this situation will play out. It is necessary that the Muslim Brotherhood is made part of the democratic process to prevent them from being dragged further underground. This could turn them more fundamental in nature and give them a concrete reason to act in such a way. However, the idea of having them in power is also dangerous to secularism in the region. I’m not against the military intervention, although I am against the manner in which it is currently being conducted, but it is very important that the Muslim Brotherhood remains part of the democratic process to maintain stability in Egypt.

The third story – Scotland independence debate:

A referendum is to be held to see whether Scotland should stay in the UK. The Scottish public will be asked: ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’. Throughout summer, there was an ongoing debate about where the Scottish vote was headed. According to the BBC, the Holyrood parliament supports the vote. There is a strong belief that the Scottish public will be voting overwhelmingly to stay in the UK.

My Take:

I am definitely in support of the referendum. It would give a reason for the aggravated pro-independence protestors to calm down, regardless of how the referendum goes. If the vote goes in their favour, then it would prove their point as valid. However, if the vote goes against what they expected, then they would have no reason to complain. I don’t understand the relevance of such a long winded debate about this issue. Let’s just have the vote and see how it goes.

The final story – Edward Snowden:

Edward Snowden used to be a National Security Agency contractor but fled to Hong Kong after revealing information about extensive phone and Internet surveillance by the CIA. The idea of having their privacy being breached without prior consent caused public outrage in the US and the rest of the world.

He also recently revealed information about the US and UK government ‘cracking online encryption’. This has sparked further debate about internet security. People question as to whether the technology could be grasped by people outside the intelligence agencies and what implications that could have.

My Take:

The case of Edward Snowden is one of civil disobedience. He believes that what he has done is something that will uphold the liberty and freedoms of the US citizens. However, it is different in the sense that he has fled the country rather than staying his ground for what he believes is right (as has been done by civil disobedience leaders of the past like Martin Luther King). What makes his departure moresuspicious is the fact that he has fled to Russia. Now I don’t know what his intentions are but I am rather suspicious of them.

Also, the fact that he is losing support at home shows that not everyone believes that what he is doing is right. It is one thing fighting for a country’s right and another to leak information that can hamper the same country’s security.

That doesn’t mean that these democratic governments have come out as the good guys. It is quite scary to see how much power this gives the government. Any information could be taken out of context by the government to prosecute their fellow citizens. This would weaken the power of the democracy and it is essential that something be done about this.

That’s all from me for now. If you have any comments, please contact Felix.