Betrayal, secrecy, alliances; all adjectives that should describe a soap opera, not the current state of a country. Unfortunately, for the inhabitants of Syria these words describe the environment they live in today.

The Syrian Civil War has tormented the small Middle Eastern country for almost two years, attracting attention from the U.N. and people across the globe. The crisis began dueto a long-term promise of reforms the government did not meet, unsettling many citizens. Actsof rebellion against the Assad family, the ruling family, threaten the country and have escalated to a degree the world can no longer turn a blind eye to.

The Assads are of Alawite ethnicity and have been in power since 1971. Their governmental tactics have not settled well and a group known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA) is attempting to push the Assads out of office. Syrians originally formed the FSA as a way for the masses to voice their suppressed opinions, yet tensions between the government and its people have hit a breaking point. Rebel infiltration of the FSA has led to irrational acts of violence from both the government and the association. Approximately one point five million people have fled the country, according to the United Nations, whilst the remaining population lives in fear due to the recent release of chemical weaponry. The Syrian government claims that chemical weapon use has only been used by the FSA.

However, it has been revealed that the government has used the weapons as well.

The U.N. has previously stated that if Syria uses chemical weapons, the United States and United Kingdom may intervene. The problem remains that the U.N. has not given the U.S. and U.K. full permission to intervene. Still, both countries have already begun discussing a possible invasion regardless of the U.N.’s pending approval. However, the U.K.’s most recent decision against invading Syria surprised President Obama, who is still pushing for a U.S.

“We need to create a coalition government led by the U.S., the U.K. and France and work to include Russia and Iran to dispose Assad,” said Ms. Julianne Farkas, AP World History teacher. “We must allow Syria to reorganize itself under close U.N. supervision.”

President Obama has decided to ask for Congress’ approval of the U.S. incursion, rather than performing immediate attack on Syria. Congress has delayed voting in light of current events, since President Obama has recently met with President Putin of Russia in order to discuss the Syrian crisis. The billion dollar question is whether the U.S. should go forth with their invasion if Congress accepts it despite the fact that the U.N. has not entirely approved their

“I don’t think we should get involved because it has nothing to do with us,” sophomore Kayla Ladis said. “We are just going to create unnecessary conflict.”

Although it is unclear if Congress or the U.N. will approve of President Obama’s plan to invade Syria, the rest of the world holds their breath in hopes that Syria can overcome this tragic warfare and rebuild themselves as a government and a country as a whole. “I think we have to set a precedent,” said Ms. Kratz, AP Human Geography teacher. “We, the world community, won’t tolerate the use of chemical weapons against a country’s own people.”