Introduction to International Politics
Foreign Event Analysis
| Locale | ![[]](http://www.kvasaheim.com/flags/flag15-sy.png "Flag of Syria") | Syria |
|---|---|---|
| Title |
US attacks Syrian Farm Suspsected of Housing Terrorists
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| Summary |
Four US helicopters crossed the Iraq/Syria border and fired on a farm, allegedly killing a number of civilians, including four children. US officials claim the raid focused on a network that brought militants from North Africa and other areas of the Middle East into Syria. Syria has condemned the attack, calling it an act of aggression. They have also called for Iraq to make sure their state is not used to launch attacks into Syria.
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| Analysis |
US foreign policy has certainly grown more bold since the end of the summer, with the US launching raids into both Pakistan and now Syria. This is probably the result of George Bush coming to the end of his term, and thus not caring about public opinion as much anymore. These attacks are meant to root out terror networks to increase the security of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan; however, it poses a high risk of alienating different members of the world community.
Syria has no chance of standing up to the United States by itself. Their best bet is to ally themselves with more powerful nations who share tense relations with the United States. In their case the best chance is an alliance with Russia and Iran. While these nations still do not match the power of the United States, the states pose a much bigger threat to the United States together than separately.
This alliance would make the United States much more hesitant to engage in cross-border raids. As a rational actor, the United States knows it is not in its best interest to start a war with Russia and Iran, even if US power is still greater than the two combined.
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| Perspective |  | Realist |
| In-Region URL | ||
| Out-of-Region URL | ||
| Submitted | October 31, 2008 at 02:31 am | |
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